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Throughout the late spring and summers every year, you could find the late Sam Scoppa somewhere at Elm Park.
He could be working in the concession stand.
Maybe he was taking in a softball game.
He may have just been wandering around the complex checking on various things.
It didn't matter if he had a job to do that day or was just there to enjoy a game -- Scoppa rarely left Elm Park when it was being used. His wife Harriett knew just as well that he'd always be over there. Occasionally she'd set a plate at dinner for him, only to realize he wasn't going to be home.
"There'd be times he could be out of the house by 6 a.m. and not be home until midnight during tournament weekends," his youngest daughter, Lisa Scoppa-DePalo, said. "My mom would say, 'Do you want a cot there?' He spent so much time there. It gave him peace. Everyone wants an escape and something to do and I think he just loved taking care of that park."
Given how much Scoppa enjoyed and cared for Elm Park, it isn't surprising that when he passed away in 2005, the family had the funeral procession drive by Elm Park so their dad could go past it one last time.
Expansion
From 1951 until his death, Scoppa was involved heavily with the Elm Park Complex and did a lot over the years. From expanding to three fields to installing bleachers and helping run lights, it's a passion Scoppa had during his six decades of involvement.
"He was so dedicated to the park and it meant so much to him," longtime Elm Park volunteer and Scoppa's friend, Don Phillips, said. "His leadership and the way he was so dedicated to the whole program and taking care of the park and the improvements he wanted to make (stand out). He was just a great guy.
"He's kind of like a second father to me. My dad passed away when I was 9 and Sam took me under his wing."
In 1967, lights were first installed at Elm Park with a system that consisted of 34, 1,000-watt light bulbs on Field One. In 1998, the lights were upgraded and made up of 42, 1,500-watt light bulbs. Overall, that renovation in 1998 ran roughly $25,000. It was just one of the numerous improvements to the Elm Park Complex over the years when Scoppa was involved.
Scoppa started the Williamsport Softball Boosters Association in 1974 and served as its only president until his passing in 2005.
Scoppa's children all described their father as a nice, kind man who would do anything for anyone and rarely lost his temper. And each one also said he had a huge passion for Elm Park.
'His fifth child'
"That was his fifth child," his daughter Sandy Scoppa-Miller said with a laugh.
"That was his passion. He loved going up there," his son Vito Scoppa said. "It was just always something he wanted to do. I don't know what drove him to it. I guess just his love of the game."
Sam Scoppa did indeed love the game of softball. For years he played with Ray-O-Vac at the Sweet Steele Field on Arch Street in the Industrial and City Softball Leagues. Eventually he had the opportunity to have control of Elm Park in 1951 in cooperation with the City of Williamsport and his friend Bob Marshall. Prior to it being a softball complex, it was a golf course. Scoppa was instrumental in getting the first field put in and then, over the following decades, two additional fields were built.
After playing softball, Scoppa stayed involved with the game by being a long-time umpire and in 2008 was inducted into the West Branch Hall of Fame for softball administration.
"He just wanted to see people happy and see people enjoying softball," Lisa Scoppa-DePalo said. "My dad loved all sports. He was a bowler (too), but softball and Elm Park? That was his baby."
In addition to loving the game of softball, Scoppa loved everything about Elm Park and was happy with the way the park looked for the 50-plus years he was involved.
Proud of the fields
Scoppa did just about anything imaginable at Elm Park, from working the concession stands, taking money at the front gate, doing renovation projects and everything in between. Once there were three fields, Scoppa, Phillips and others wanted the complex to be full for tournaments and that's precisely what happened over the decades.
"He was proud of the fields and the way they kept them. He was always happy to have the teams playing in there. He was always into expanding and making things better, improving the lighting and fixing the bleachers and just improving everything all the time," Vito Scoppa said.
"They were overly proud of the way they kept the fields as far as the grass being mowed and everything lined out perfectly, and that was part of it. The teams that played always made comments that it was the nicest field they played on."
"He liked to see activity as much as possible. We even played on Friday nights. We had 40 and over fast-pitch leagues. So almost seven days a week (there'd be games) and it would be nothing for him to put 40 to 60 hours a week in at Elm Park," Phillips said.
The hustle and bustle of tournaments and games was what Scoppa loved to see. It didn't matter if it was a youth softball league playing or a fast-pitch adult league.
If someone was on the field competing, it made Scoppa smile.
"He was proud of it," his daughter Charlene Scoppa-Campbell said.
"Teams enjoyed coming here. They used to say they liked the park. He always wanted to be there."
It's been 15 years since Scoppa passed away, but even all these years later, Scoppa's legacy for what he's done for Elm Park still lives. His family joked that Elm Park was his fifth child and, in a way, it truly was.
"My dad is Elm Park," Lisa Scoppa-DePalo said. "Sam Scoppa is Elm Park."