Throughout the years of sports broadcasting, fans have come to recognize some of the most iconic voices such as Bill King, John Madden and Al Michaels.
The same could be said for Watsonville native Rick Stubblefield who spent more than 50 years calling out names of local young athletes into a microphone from atop of a press box or near the scorer’s table inside of a gym.
But the community will miss their jolly announcer following the news of his sudden death on Dec. 14, which sent shockwaves near and far. Stubblefield was 73 years old.
“You could probably talk to anybody on the street, and they would have a story about Rick because he just touched so many lives going back 50-60 years,” said MerriLou George, a lifelong friend of Stubblefield. “Just ringing the bell for the Salvation Army this year he had two or three pictures on Facebook of people who came in that he hadn’t seen in 30 years…He just knew so many people, and everybody just really, really loved him.”
Stubblefield was born Aug. 21, 1951, in Watsonville. He attended Salsipuedes School—now called Alianza Charter—and graduated from Watsonville High in 1969. He was inducted into the Watsonville High School Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009.
He was one of five children. Three of his brothers—Bill, Mike and Ronnie—died. His brother Larry currently lives in Montana.
According to his family and friends, Stubblefield loved going on breakfast outings to his local favorite restaurants such as Cowboys Corner Cafe, Red Apple Cafe, Beach Street Cafe and Cadillac Cafe in the outskirts of Corralitos.
He also enjoyed watching movies, listening to music and attending professional sporting events to catch his favorite teams including the San Francisco 49ers and Giants. Some nights were spent hanging out with close friends such as George.
Both of them attended the same schools but George—who at the time went by the surname McGrath—vividly remembers Stubblefield joining Salsipuedes Little League Baseball when it first began in the late ‘50s.
“Rick was there as a little tiny guy but by the time he was in his teens he was already doing things, announcing games,” George said.
Stubblefield was heavily involved in youth sports such as Salsi Little League, which later transformed into Pajaro Valley Little League. He even has a baseball field named after him.
“When I was a young kid I used to go to the Little League field at Salsi and watch him announcing before he started coaching the Braves,” said Stubblefield’s nephew, James.
Stubblefield’s enthusiasm for prep sports was also unparalleled as he displayed raw emotion in his voice to announce hundreds of games.
Watsonville track and field coach Rob Cornett sat beside Stubblefield in the press box at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas during the Central Coast Section Division III football championship game between Aptos and Carmel on Nov. 29.
“[Stubblefield] was just a nice person to talk with,” Cornett said in a text message. “He wanted to know all about what was happening lately at the high school and how track and field/cross country was doing. He always had great things to say about past and current athletes, and their parents.”
Cornett said Stubblefield made it a point to mention as many names as he could while announcing football games that way parents could hear their kids over the loudspeaker.
“He made memories for those families,” Cornett said.
Brad Hubbard, who was Watsonville’s athletic director from 1991-98 and 2006-18, said that Stubblefield turned Thursday night and Saturday morning freshman football games into huge events.
“We were all the beneficiary of that because he made it really special,” Hubbard said. “It was a special deal for us.”
Stubblefield genuinely cared for the community. At times, one would catch him inside of grocery stores volunteering his time to help raise money for the Salvation Army.
Watsonville Athletic Director Becky Clark said Stubblefield was seen as a type of a rare gem that was a giver.
“As the new athletic director, he would ensure that I was okay, that everything was okay,” Clark said. “It was more than just showing up to announce…Just a very genuine soul, a true giver, a coach, a person who wanted to mold and see our community thrive. And that is so very rare and special. I sincerely don’t want that to be forgotten.”
Clark said Stubblefield was always willing to help, including all the moving parts of getting the new bleachers and press box installed at Emmett M. Geiser Field on campus.
She also mentioned how Stubblefield showed up despite dealing with schedule adjustments, last minute changes, or any of his ailments.
“That willingness through pain, that was never an issue,” Clark said. “That makes me think of the people that give when they’re suffering, and that’s the kind of man he was. Through it all, he was gregarious and laughing and excited to be part of whatever sport he was representing.”
