Who was John Thurman? Modesto’s baseball stadium likely getting name change
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Field honors John Thurman, longtime local official and community advocate since 1983.
- City approved lease with Main Street Baseball; Pioneer League team will play.
- Team ownership plans to sell stadium naming rights and sees public input on team name.
Last month, city officials announced a partnership with the owners of Modesto’s new Pioneer Baseball League team, which will play home games at John Thurman Field. The day after the Modesto Nuts’ final game at the park, the City Council unanimously voted to approve the lease with Main Street Baseball LLC, and CEO and President Dave Heller said he is seeking the public’s input on naming the team and also plans to sell the naming rights to the stadium.
Since 1983, the ballpark has been known as John Thurman Field. Though the name is well known, perhaps not many know about the man after whom the field is named.
By many accounts, and the numerous articles in Bee archives, John Thurman was a well-loved and respected son of Modesto. “A champion of California agriculture” read the headline on the news story reporting on his death in 1983. Known as an advocate for the elderly and the impoverished, and those with special needs, Thurman also loved baseball.
“One of the last vacations he took before he passed away was to Arizona for spring training,” said his daughter, Susan Thurman.
It was his passion for the game that led to the field being renamed in his honor. Thurman was elected to the state Assembly in 1972, which was the first year he purchased hundreds of tickets to hand out to anyone who could not afford them. The team at that time was named the Modesto Cardinals. He repeated his tradition every year until his death.
The event was called John and Julie Thurman Night and drew crowds to what was then called Del Webb Field. The week Thurman died, the annual event was to take place, and it became a memorial to the man who worked tirelessly for the betterment of Stanislaus County.
Thurman was born May 6, 1919, in Richmond, and his family moved in 1926 to Stanislaus County, where he graduated from Ceres High. He served in the military from 1940-45 and returned to Modesto, where he married Julia Forni and took over management of the family dairy farm.
He first ventured into politics in 1960, when he ran and won a seat on the Hart-Ransom School District Board of Education and served in that position for 10 years.
In 1970, he was elected to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors and served until 1972 when he ran to represent the 27th District in the California State Assembly.
Upon arriving at the Legislature, the Democratic assemblyman built a reputation for working across the aisle and creating transformative agriculture legislation, including the Thurman Master Plan for Agriculture, which laid out state agriculture policy for the first time.
“Agriculture isn’t Republican or Democrat. You have to balance environmental concerns, health, and worker safety,” he said, according to a story in the Bee archives. His ability to connect with his colleagues earned him Freshman Legislator of the Year.
As the chairman for the Joint Committee on Aging, Thurman advocated for the elderly and brought free or low-cost flu shots to seniors, first paying out of his own pocket for those who needed it locally in 1973. He then helped to pass a bill in 1974 that provided free or low-cost flu shots to seniors statewide. Called the John Thurman Act, it was signed into law by Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1974. Susan Thurman said he had lost both his father and his father-in-law to the flu and the initiative was in memory of them.
In 10 years as an Assembly member, Thurman played a part in 180 pieces of legislation that became law. In 1982, he decided to retire from politics to focus on his family and his other community priorities, like advocating for children with special needs. He served as the grand marshal for the Special Olympics every year starting in 1974. He died of a heart attack on July 27, 1983.
Just a week after his passing, Modesto City Councilmember Richard Patterson suggested naming the baseball stadium after Thurman as the city began to look to rename Del Webb Field. The original field was built in 1955 and was named after the owner of the New York Yankees, who was also a former Modesto Reds baseball player.
On Tuesday, Sept. 13, 1983, the council unanimously approved the name change to honor Thurman.
“When they renamed it from Del Webb to John Thurman stadium, it was a real honor for him,” Susan Thurman said. “It was a reflection of how the community felt about my father and his love for the area, his love for Modesto and Stanislaus County, and his love for baseball.”
Susan Thurman now lives out of state, but returned home in April to celebrate the life of her mother and brother, who passed away within months of each other. Her mother, Julia Thurman, last October, and her brother Robert Thurman in February.
“They were the last Thurmans living in Modesto. I am about two weeks from selling the Thurman Dairy that has been in my family for 100 years, and now the likely renaming of John Thurman Stadium. So I feel like this is a grand goodbye to a community that has meant a lot to us. So we decided to have their celebration of life at John Thurman Stadium,” she said.
In her eulogy, she remembered her father, too, and said, “He had his two big loves of life, being a farmer and being a politician. And I think that’s what made him, that and being a family man. Those three things made him happy.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM.
