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Parks & Recreation Department Joe Ward Community Center Park History 435 E. Sunshine Joe Ward Community Center is named for Joe H. Ward, who spent most of his adult life mentoring San Antonio youth. His civic leadership began in 1948, the YMCA of San Antonio formed a committee headed by Ward to study building a facility on the far northwest side of the city. Ward, an All-Southwest Conference tackle at the University of Texas in 1922, coached football at San Antonio’s Edison High School from 1931 to 1943 before going to work at the YMCA. Under Ward’s guidance, the Northwest Branch of the YMCA was chartered in 1951. Property was purchased between McNeel Road and Sunshine Drive, and volunteers constructed a gymnasium on the site. For more than 20 years, Ward mentored thousands of young people at the Northwest YMCA, and was affectionately called "Papa Joe." Joe Ward died in 1975, and three years later, the YMCA sold its Northwest branch to the City of San Antonio. At the request of the YMCA and many community leaders, the new public park and community center was named for "Papa Joe" Ward who had devoted his entire life and career to the youth of San Antonio. Renovation of Joe Ward Community Center was completed in 2000 using $338,000 in 1994 Park Bond funds. |