It was on the Leland football field where Pat Tillman earned his first headlines, developing the reputation of a fierce but fair competitor who never left the game.
Tillman's legacy grew as he went on to star at Arizona State University and in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Tillman walked away from a $3.6 million contract to serve in the elite Army Rangers. In April he died in action in Afghanistan.
In this era of high-paid, pampered athletes, Tillman's sense of duty set him apart and he became an American legend.
Friday night the Almaden Valley community made sure that Tillman's name will never be forgotten by retiring his No. 42 jersey and naming the school's new facilities -- complete with a FieldTurf artificial surface -- Pat Tillman Stadium.
Former 49er Ronnie Lott was the master of ceremonies, and a group of Tillman's teammates from Leland's 1993 Central Coast Section Division I championship team were on hand to remember their friend and teammate.
Portable lights were brought in for Leland's only night game of the season. U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren of San Jose spoke to the packed Leland bleachers.
``Pat gave up the passion for his sport for something much more important, the passion for his country,'' Lofgren said.
``Now a generation of young people will learn from him that you can't choose your time or the challenges you will face in life, but you can decide how to meet those challenges.''
Tillman's former coach at Leland, Terry Hardtke, talked about the impact Tillman had on his teammates during the 1993 championship year. Tillman scored 31 of the team's 68 touchdowns. On defense he had 110 tackles, 10 sacks and three interceptions.
``No one has ever compiled stats like that in CCS history,'' Hardtke said.
``But when Pat was asked about it after the championship game, he deflected the praise and said, `All the credit should go to the great players on the Leland team.' That's tells you all you need to know about Pat -- he was a coach's dream.''
The last speaker of the night was Tillman's father, Pat Tillman Sr.
Tillman Sr. joked that he'll miss the old muddy Leland field, but said it was a true honor to have the field named after his son.
``Terry forgot to say what a handsome man Pat was,'' Tillman Sr. said with a smile.
``And he could bring a lot to the table when you had a conversation with him. It will be nice to sit and watch the kids develop as players on the field. The character they develop there will help them in other aspects of their life.''
Paul Yllana, a teammate of Tillman's on the 1993 team and now a vice principal at Leland, said the ceremony meant a lot to the current and future residents of Almaden.
``Ten, 20 and 30 years from now when kids ask who Pat Tillman was, we can teach those students the lessons Pat taught us,'' Yllana said.
``We can tell them about what Pat believed and what he was able to accomplish in his life.''
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NEVER FORGET
Mrs. JULIE MOORE -&- PAT TILLMAN =
Selfless American Heroes for the Ages
NEVER FORGET
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