Bob Christofferson (Groundskeeper)
Baseball (2016)
Marc H. Blau Meritorious Service Award Recipient
(2008)
Bob Christofferson has devoted over 40 years of his life to baseball in the South Puget Sound region, serving as a player, coach and groundskeeper.
During the 1970s, Christofferson played for the Stadium High School and Central Washington University teams, spending the latter half of the decade serving as a coach at three different local high schools.
From 1971-1980, Christofferson worked as an assistant groundskeeper at Cheney Stadium, before being promoted to Head Groundskeeper and Stadium Manager in 1981. He served in this capacity for the next twenty years, as Cheney Stadium played host to many state baseball championships, as well as the 1990 Goodwill Games.
During this time, he also took on many major construction projects, including renovating the clubhouse and building the ticket office, souvenir shop, two concessions stands, new bleachers in left and right field and a new field lighting system. Christofferson’s work earned him the Pacific Coast League Groundskeeper of the Year award in its inaugural year of 1994, as well as in 1998 and 1999.
In July of 2000, Christofferson was called up to the big leagues, so to speak, when he was promoted to the head groundskeeper position for the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. For the past 16 years he has served in this role, as Safeco Field has hosted the 2000 and 2001 American League Championship Series, as well as the 2001 MLB All-Star Game and the past several state high school baseball tournaments.
Fittingly, in 2005 the Sports Turf Managers Association awarded him the Harry Gill Trophy, signifying recognition as the top sports turf manager in the country.