HomeClassic Paintball ScansSteve "The Colonel" Buzick, of Southern Comfort - c 1987

Steve “The Colonel” Buzick, of Southern Comfort – c 1987

Last month I posted an advertisement for the Southern California field, Southern Comfort, which was scanned from the August 1987 issue of Front Line. Find the previous article on Southern Comfort at: https://paintballhistory.com/steve-busicks-southern-comfort-frontline-8-1987

Steve Buzick at the Southern Comfort Swimming pool.
Steve Buzick holds two flags at the side of Southern Comfort’s swimming pool. Scanned from the September 1987 issue of Front Line.

But even after locating this ad I was still looking for more information on the field’s operator, Steve “The Colonel” Buzick, since I had heard so many Southern California paintballers talk about him. As I kept going through old Front Line Magazines I ended up finding a small write up on Southern Comfort and two photos of Buzick in the September 1987 issue!

A write on Southern Comfort and the pool.
A write up in the september 1987 issue of Frontline really capitalized on Southern Comfort’s pool.

The article in the September 1987 issue of Front Line really plays up Southern Comforts pool:
“Southern Comfort takes a step towards civilized paintball. Where the players can leave as clean and refreshed as they arrived. Pool guests are welcome at no charge. Steve Buzick and his Southern Comfort are apt to make a real splash among the paintball playing fields.”

Southern Comfort ad, scanned from the August 1987 issue of Frontline.
Early ad for Steve Buzick’s Southern Comfort field. Scanned from the August 1987 issue of Front Line.

I showed the ad pictured above to Danny Guardado and Gilbert Martinez, who both knew Buzick from playing on the Mafia and helping out at the field. Gilly also played on Stars and Bars, Southern Comfort’s home team, which Buzick captained.
Gilly and Danny said that by the time they were playing there regularly, the pool wasn’t really used since it was a little ways from the staging area.

Buzick on the cover of the 1987 issue of Front Line.
Buzick is pictured on the right side of the September 1987 Front Line cover.
This caption explains the September 1987 Front Line cover.
This caption explains the September 1987 Front Line cover.

Danny’s older brother, Joe likely knew Buzick better than Danny or Gilly since he worked for Buzick after leaving his position at Adventure Game Supplies and helped the Colonel manage his field.

Top portion of the Rebline ad.
Top portion of Buzick’s CAS Rebline Ad shows the available colors and the CAS logo. Scanned from the December 1990 issue of Action Pursuit Games.

As time went on , Buzick planned to concentrate more on his line of markers, the Rebline pumps, and Buzick orchestrated a sub lease to Jed Burns, of Fields of Fury.

Bottom portion of Rebline ad.
Bottom of the third of the CAS Rebline ad explains the Rebline’s advantages over other Nelson pumps.
Scanned from the December 1990 issue of Action Pursuit Games.

I’m guessing Southern Comfort’s sub lease to Jed Burns would have been put together later than September 1990 since the Rebline advertisement above, printed in the December 1990 issue of Action Pursuit Games still contained the line “[Confederate Army Supplies Line] also operates Southern Comfort “War Games Field (SC). SC is the oldest existing field in Los Angeles County.

Middle portion of the Rebline ad showing two of Buzick's CAS pumps.
Middle portion of the Rebline ad showing two of Buzick’s CAS pumps.

I’m not 100 percent sure on the circumstances but Buzick’s sub lease to Burns didn’t last for very long before the field turned over to John Ferguson of Fields of Honor.
Danny Guardado remembers his brother explaining that Buzick’s lease contract from the land owner stated Buzick wasn’t allowed to sub leases and that Fields of Honor owner John Ferguson might have known this? Hopefully I’ll get a video of Danny explaining this in the future.

Filberto Sanchez explains (with the help of Keith Collins and Mikey Chung), in a video we recorded on April 5th of 2014, that the original Fields of Honor was off the 210 freeway and the Osburn exit in the “Hillscrest forest.”
Ferguson’s second location was the old Southern Comfort field. And when the 1st locaiton was forced to close, Ferguson moved to the old Southern Comfort.
Sanchez continues, “[Ferguson] used that field kind of for private games once in a while. And what happened is that [The original Fields of Honor location] closed down. Remember they asked him to leave (talking to Keith and Mikey), so they closed down the Fields of honor at Osburn, so he had to move over to Lopez Canyon, which was the old Southern Comfort, cause we went and we had to go work on it…”

If you have any photos of the Southern Comfort fields, or of Steve Buzick, or know any information about Buzick after 1990 please post or email.

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