BURBANK : Lockheed Turns Over 4.8-Acre Park to City

With a handshake and a game of catch, Lockheed Corp. turned over a $3.2-million company park to the city of Burbank.

“This is just about the best Christmas gift I could get,” Burbank Parks and Recreation Director Mary Alvord said. “And I have a sports staff drooling over its ball fields.”

The deed to 4.8-acre Robert E. Gross Park, named for the man who was Lockheed’s founder and chairman until his death in 1967, was handed over to Mayor George Battey Jr. by Lockheed Vice Chairman Vince Marafino.

The two then traded baseball caps and walked over to one of the ball fields, where Marafino delivered a ceremonial softball pitch to Battey.