Mike Turo Baseball Field

Saturday, June 9, 2018, at 11:00am, James Monroe Campus Schools are renaming the baseball field to the “MIKE TURO FIELD”, the man who has dedicated his life to helping the students and teens of this community.  What can we say about a man who has had such an impact on so many people’s lives, both on and off the field?

Legends aren't born, they are developed and molded through years of hard work and nobody works harder than Coach Mike Turo. In the South Bronx, under Coach Turo, James Monroe High School has continued to dominate New York City Baseball - winning 6 PSAL Championships, runner up 4 times, winning the Bronx Division Championship 35 times, and winning 13 Monroe Holiday Tournaments while holding a record of 1,325 wins and 227 losses. Their success, perhaps more than any flame-throwing pitcher, power hitter or speedy leadoff man, goes back to the Head Coach from Holbrook, Long Island who grew up in the Bronx.  He teaches more than baseball and executing the fundamentals, he teaches about life. 

Coach Turo has been at Monroe since December of 1977, over 40 years, and during that time Mike‘s individual accomplishments and awards for his hard work and love of the game love are many. To mention a few, he was chosen as New York City Coach of the Year by “New York Newsday”, “New York Post” and the “New York Daily News” 13 times. Coach Turo was the winner of the Frank McGuire Award honoring the five top coaches in the country and was also selected by Sports Link, Inc., producers of the “All American Baseball Game” as National H.S Coach of the Year. Off the field, one of Coach’s proudest moments was when he won the Teacher of the Year Award, from the Superintendent’s Office & Federation of High School Parents’ association.

To the Coach, more important than all of those accolades is his impact on his players’ lives. Coach Turo’s relationship with his players over the years is not only professional, but he thinks of these boys as family. He wants the best for his players and will settle for nothing less. Anyone who has played under Coach Turo knows that he can be very strict at times. But they also know, maybe not at first, that it is all out of love and the Coach just wants to see them succeed both on the field and in life. Mike is most proud of helping to send over 400 baseball and soccer players to college and 44 boys on to pro ball. He is now coaching the children of his former players which tells you a lot about the program. Every year about 200 boys come down in September to try to fulfill the dream of being a part of the Monroe Baseball Program. Little do they know on that first day that they will not just be signing up to learn the right way to play the game of baseball, they will also be learning the right way to play the game of life.

This year the city has decided to rename the Monroe baseball field after the Coach who has dedicated most of his life to this school and the young men who have walked on this field, a well-deserved honor. The South Bronx is an inner-city school, where people are struggling every day.  The coach is out there every year trying to raise money for uniforms, umpire fees, equipment and balls. The school has been able to purchase a sign for the renaming, but in order to obtain a new scoreboard for the field, we must raise the money on our own. Something that will stand the test of time, just like Coach Turo.  A new scoreboard and installation will cost approximately $18,000 and we are looking to you for help. Anything that you can provide will be greatly appreciated. This would mean so much to Coach Mike Turo and his family, and we thank you in advance.