Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium - History

History

The field is named in honor of longtime MSU baseball coach, athletic director and ABCA Hall of Famer C.R. "Dudy" Noble. And on April 27, 1998 the facility was renamed Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium, honoring another ABCA Hall of Famer, then-retired Bulldog skipper Ron Polk and the late Gordon DeMent, a successful businessman and longtime fan of the Baseball Bulldogs from Indianola, Miss.

Mississippi State has been playing baseball at the present stadium site for 40 years, dating back to April 3, 1967 and a 5-3 Mississippi State win over Illinois Wesleyan.

What today stands as one of college baseball's top facilities grew in large part from the labors of Tom D'Armi, chief assistant coach to longtime Bulldog skipper Paul Gregory. When the tin-roofed grandstand and bleachers seating more than 2,000 were moved to the stadium's present site in the mid 1960s, it became D'Armi's task to "build" the new field. The task of hauling in and leveling top soil, planting and nurturing the turf, building the bullpens, placing signs on the outfield fence and planting the cedar trees beyond the outfield fence, fell to D'Armi. The hard work didn't go unrecognized. The field was subsequently honored by the U.S. Groundskeeper's Association as the nation's best maintained athletic field.

In 1971, thanks to the generosity of the late E.B. "Dutch" McCool, a former MSU baseball player and one of the founding fathers of Holiday Inns, Inc., Mississippi State took the lead in the Southeastern Conference with the installation of a lighting system. The advent of night baseball in Starkville helped spur the growth and popularity of Bulldog baseball.

Later, the well-manicured turf was enhanced with the addition of a drainage and sprinkler system. Further additions to the baseball plant included an expanded scoreboard and animation-equipped message center, new batting ranges and the purchase of an infield tarp.

Mississippi State hosted its first SEC Baseball Tournament and NCAA Regional in 1979, setting attendance marks and opening eyes along the way.

The crowds mushroomed further in the 1980s as future Major League stars Jeff Brantley, Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Thigpen helped the 1985 Bulldogs win the SEC championship, host and win another regional championship and earn MSU's highest national finish, a tie for third place at the NCAA College World Series.

It was apparent that the interest in Bulldog Baseball had easily outgrown its cozy Dudy Noble Field facility.

Two years after that magical 1985 season Mississippi State unveiled the most dramatic advancement for its baseball facilities ever ‹ an impressive $3.5 million project that would give MSU the biggest baseball stadium in the league. The new facility at Dudy Noble Field, built in less than nine months, featured an impressive concrete grandstand structure with 3,700 maroon theater-style seats, a spacious elevated press box, restroom, ticket, souvenir and concession-vending facilities, and a well-appointed 40-locker dressing room and team area. A pair of 1,500-seat bleachers that once overlooked the end zones at MSU's Scott Field were refurbished and put in place along the foul lines, raising seating capacity at Dudy Noble Field to 6,700. The facility was constructed on schedule by W.G. Yates & Sons of Philadelphia, Miss, and the expanded capacity at the stadium helped increase MSU's annual baseball season ticket base to more than 6,000, virtually assuring Mississippi State of a place among national leaders in college baseball attendance every year.

The Bulldog Club, MSU's athletic fund-raising body, shouldered a $2 million bonding program to account for the biggest portion of the project, with the remainder financed by alumni and friends through the sale of $1,000, $500 and $250 chairback seats, honorary deeds to plots of Dudy Noble Field turf, and other general donations.

The expansion became a model for future college baseball facilities and helped ignite a drive to update baseball facilities throughout the SEC.

An additional permanent concession stand was added near the first base entrance to the stadium in 1989, and a year later, the cinder warning track at the outfield fence was extended to completely encircle the playing field. That project, along with the installation of a 6-foot-high (1.8 m) padded outfield fence, was made possible by a donation by former MSU All-American and Major League standout Will Clark.

In 1993, Mississippi State completed the construction of an indoor batting range under the first base grandstand, a sorely-needed addition made possible by a gift from best-selling author John Grisham, an MSU alumnus and an avid fan of Bulldog Baseball. For the book, "Inside Dudy Noble, A Celebration of Mississippi State Baseball", he wrote an introduction about his time at MSU and in the Left Field Lounge.

Mississippi State's baseball home underwent another major change at the turn of the century. In August, 1998, construction got under way on an ambitious project that would add 18 skyboxes and more than 600 additional chairback seats to the already impressive-looking concrete grandstand structure. The project was funded through the sale of the new stadium seats and the leasing of the luxury skyboxes. At completion during the 2000 season, permanent seating capacity at Dudy Noble Field had eclipsed the 7,000 mark.

Still, the improvements, some highly visible and others perhaps not so noticeable, continue at Dudy Noble Field. The infield and portions of the adjoining outfield areas have in recent years been resodded, the infield dirt replaced, and the pitcher's mound rebuilt.

The green padding on the facing of the stadium wall was replaced prior to the 2002 season, and a new flooring material has been installed in both dugouts and the tunnels leading to them. The Bulldog locker room has been completely recarpeted, improved lighting added and new lockers installed, one of many projects funded by the four-year old MSU Dugout Club. Prior to the start of the 2003 season 46-foot (14 m) "major league" foul poles were installed along with a colorful "wall of fame" wind screen on the outfield fence.

Early in the 2004 season a speaker system was added near the concession stand area, while a new state-of-the-art scoreboard/message center was installed in the middle of the season beyond the existing scoreboard.

Also begun during the final week of the 2004 home season was the installation of wrought iron fencing and gates beneath the grandstand.

Additional stadium improvements are on the drawing board, all part of Mississippi State's commitment to maintain Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium as the consummate collegiate ballpark for players and spectators alike.

In 2007 Dudy Noble held the largest crowd in super regional history of 13,715 in a victory over the Clemson Tigers that sent the Bulldogs to the College World Series in Omaha, NE.

Following the 2008 Season, a new larger Hi-Def video board replaced the 4-year old smaller screen along with a covering for the back of the scoreboard which displays the current year's baseball schedule. Planned renovations for the Summer of 2009 include replacing all the out-dated drainage and pump systems below the field and all grass on the field.