Meet me as Mosback Field... Where?

On the first day of school, the Oceanside High School football team played its season opener against the Massapequa Chiefs. Second-year head coach Rob Blount had the Oceanside Sailors ready and eager to play. In a discussion of the upcoming game with a friend, the conversation took a pause when I asked if the game was to be played at Mosback Field. After getting a blank stare, my friend replied with the inevitable question, “What’s Mosback Field?” I quickly realized that very few people have any knowledge of Mosback Field.

Mosback Field is the main athletic track and field at Oceanside High School. As an avid jogger, I frequently find myself at the field. Commonly referred to as the high school football field, Mosback Field is used for many sports, including football, soccer, lacrosse and track. It is also the outdoor location where the OHS graduations occur every year.

Mosback Field is an impressive facility that has been transformed into a state-of-the-art athletic field over the past 10 years by the Board of Education and administration. The artificial turf, which has replaced the grass field, is extremely well maintained and has the feel of a perpetually manicured lawn. Lights have been installed which allow for the field to host night games. The brand-new bleachers make it more comfortable, accessible and enjoyable to watch sporting events. I am particularly fond of the synthetically resurfaced track, which is a pleasure for jogging as it is much more generous on muscles and joints than pavement.

On the periphery of this modernized track and field, slightly west of the scoreboard and flagpole, sits a nondescript, relatively mundane brick monument. Reaching no more than five feet in height, the monument bears the field’s dedication as the “Charles R. Mosback Memorial Field.”

Charles Mosback was a teacher, coach, director and principal in the Oceanside School District over the course of 32 years. Originally hired by the district as the Director of Health and Physical Education in 1931, Mosback became a beloved teacher and coached the high school’s football and basketball teams. Nine years later, Mosback was hired as principal of Oceanside High School to replace Dr. Walter S. Boardman, who had been appointed as the District’s School Superintendent.

Mosback’s instruction and direction on the playing field occurred at the Merle Avenue School 6 until the high school building on Skillman Avenue opened in 1954. Mosback remained principal of OHS for 23 years (including the two years he served in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant during World Ward II), before being forced to retire after suffering a stroke. Mosback’s impact was best described by Boardman, as written in a letter commemorating his 25th anniversary with the Oceanside School

District:

"Sincerity, loyalty and energy have characterized your every action over all these years. Issues have been faced courageously and in firm resolve that right prevail. You have been loyal to your professional associates, your Board of Education, and to your friends. The habit of giving your best, learned at home and on the filed of sport, has been taught and lived in every type of situation."

Thus, it was only fitting that the Oceanside School Board chose to dedicate the OHS athletic track and field to the memory of Charles Mosback after his death. On Oct. 20, 1973, prior to the start of an Oceanside-Baldwin football game, Mosback was “honored [as] one of our finest citizens and educators and recognized [for] his interest in, and contributions to, athletics in Oceanside.” Mosback’s daughter, Ruth Ann Bramson, came in from St. Louis, Miss., and participated in the ceremony on behalf of the Mosback family. Despite the fanfare of the field dedication, nearly 40 years later the name “Mosback Field” has become trivialized.

Always an athlete and coach at heart, it is likely that Mosback would have thoroughly enjoyed the Sailors’ performance on its opening day. The Oceanside Sailors’ dominated Massapequa in a 34-7 win. Mosback’s belief that Oceanside High School’s success in sports would raise the community’s morale became reality and the community cheered on quarterback Tyler Heuer’s outstanding performance in leading the Sailors’ offense for 295 total yards and five touchdowns. Mosback would be proud of the efforts of Coach Blount, Heuer and the entire football team.