The Italian Athletic Club of America - Stockton (IAC) was founded in April 1938 by several young Italian-American friends to who proposed bringing the game of baseball to the Oak Park baseball diamond. With a desire to organize and celebrate their Italian heritage, the group began to hold meeting at a service station located in downtown Stockton. Soon, the group became large enough where the service station was no longer suitable and the meetings were moved to Pete Avansin's basement. The IAC formally incorporated on June 27, 1040.

As membership continued to grow, the IAC would move to three different locations in Stockton, before deciding it was time to own our own building. In 1959, the IAC purchased a five-acre parcel of land at the corner of West Lane and Fulton Avenue, where we would remain until 1964, when the club decided to sell the property for a considerable profit. With cash in hand, the IAC began looking for new land to build our new IAC clubhouse.

In 1965, the members settled on our current property at Cherryland Avenue in Stockton. By the end of the year, the IAC celebrated it's first Christmas party in our new home!

In 1987, Dennis Marciasini envisioned the first outdoor Bocce courts and began playing with a group of members. The membership enjoyed the games and pitched in to make sure there was food and fun when the games were being played. In 1994, the courts were leveled and correctly measured out. Soon we were hosting Bocce tournaments on Wednesdays, with Dennis cooking meals for the Bocce players. With the increased interest in Bocce we soon outgrew our 4 outdoor courts.

In 1996, after several years of research and planning, we built and opened our indoor Bocce Ball courts. We are very proud to have hosted the United States National Bocce Federation - National Bocce Championships in 1999, 2004, and 2013!

From the very beginning, with the vision of those several young men, the IAC has withstood the test of time. Not only have we survived through recessions, wars, and hardships; we have thrived. As a result the Italian Athletic Club of America - Stockton is still going strong with a membership in excess of three hundred.

We are a proud organization and will continue to celebrate and maintain our Italian-American heritage for decades to come.