I always considered Pullman Park Butler's diamond in the rough, with its vast potential to be the best venue for baseball in Western Pennsylvania. Now, it appears the diamond has been cut and polished for future generations.

There were no video games or other electronic contraptions to divert our attention from playing baseball the mid-1970s and early 1980s.

From early March through mid-August, Pullman Park buzzed with baseball activities. The primary use was for Prep League, which was operated by the Butler Area Baseball Association. However, enrollment in the Prep League wasn't limited to Butler City teenagers, ages 15 to 18.

Prep League was like the United Nations of teen baseball. Players from Saxonburg, Karns City, Chicora, and Penn Township joined us. For city players, it was our first exposure to talented players from other parts of Butler County.

We all had one thing in common: We enjoyed playing baseball at a high level of competition.

I was fortunate to play against Scot Thompson of Penn Township, who later played for the Chicago Cubs. He was a few years older than me and he could run like a deer.

In one particular game, I was pitching against Scot with the bases loaded. Being younger, I was in awe of him and quite nervous.

I threw Thompson a palm ball on my first pitch, which he effortlessly knocked over the right-center field wall in the general vicinity of the AIRCO plant.

The league usually consisted of two games per evening, with the second game played under the lights. For most of us, playing night ball at Pullman Park was an exciting time, because there existed pockets of darkness in the outfield where the light simply did not illuminate. Fly balls to the outfield were an adventure.

The Butler City American Legion team played its home games at Pullman Park. It was not uncommon to play a Prep League game at 6 p.m., followed by a Legion game. We used Pullman Park's "Gold Room" to change uniforms.

Some names I associate with Pullman Park include Doggie Cavalero, Jim McKinney, Dick Doutt Sr., Rick McKinney and Bob Muto.

Doggie and Rick performed grounds maintenance. What a pair!

Jim, Dick and Bob were managers and coaches who gave countless hours of their personal time to make our baseball experience happen. They were firm, yet, at times, almost comical. Imagine how hard it is to keep 12 or 13 teenagers in line.

I had the privilege of playing against another famous professional, Terry Francona, who is the manager of the Boston Red Sox. Terry, like Scot Thompson, would run like the wind and hit with the precision of a surgeon.

Here are a few random thoughts on playing in Pullman Park:

• Most of us earned nicknames, such as "Digger," "Ser," "Mole," "Snod," "Lum," "Duckie," "Bucky," and "Walrus." (The real names will remain privileged.)

• During summer droughts, the outfield was like a concrete parking lot. A line drive to the left-center or right-center gap would roll swiftly to the wall, resulting in a stand-up, inside-the-park home run.

• In the wooden bat era, I never hit a home run over the fence. The first time I used an aluminum bat while playing for the Butler Yankees in the Eagle County League, I put one over the left-center field wall.

• Bob Foley made the best catch I've ever seen at Pullman Park. He was in center field, which was the deepest part of the park. I hit a rocket to deep, deep center field. Bob turned his back and sprinted to the wall. He caught the ball over his shoulder while in a full sprint, much like the famous Willie Mays catch that is replayed many times on TV.

• Those who parked in the lot behind the third-base bleachers often discovered windshields broken by fouled balls when the returned to their cars.

• I wonder how many concrete construction projects contain baseballs hit foul from Pullman Park over the first base line screen and into the DuBrook mixing hopper?

• When I played for Butler High at Pullman Park, we had wool baseball uniforms, complete with wool turtleneck dickies that we had to wear. When the temperature rose above 60 degrees, the wool was extremely scratchy and laden with sweat. The manager required us to wear those dickies unless it was about 70 degrees or so.

In summary, my memories of playing baseball at Pullman Park are probably some of the best of my life. Our social lives revolved around the baseball diamond, so, if I was ever bored, I'd just go to Pullman Park

Butler attorney William C. Robinson Jr. played baseball at Pullman Park from 1974-76 and 1981-83.