Alex Box Stadium
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Alex Box Stadium INTRO THIS IS LSU ¨ PREVIEW TIGERS COACHES REVIEW HISTORY RECORDS LSU MEDIA lex Box Stadium, the home of the LSU Fighting Tigers, has April, 1996, when two of the four light towers were moved. The Aa storied history which spans several decades. Always remaining two towers were moved in February, 1997. known as an excellent facility, recent efforts to upgrade the The “Intimidator”billboard depicting LSU’s NCAA titles stadium have made it comparable to that of most professional was unveiled in Alex Box Stadium prior to the ‘97 season. It minor-league clubs. stands above the right field wall as a testament to LSU’s base- Last season, the Tigers drew 284, 328 fans to Alex Box ball excellence. Some of the other additions to the stadium in Stadium as LSU finished first in the nation in total attendance the past decade include a players' meeting room and a "Home for the ninth straight year. The Tigers set an Run Village" parking area behind the outfield NCAA record for per-game attendance, fence which allows fans to tailgate before and averaging 7,898 per contest. LSU estab- "I want to commend what I truly believe may be during games. A new outfield fence was lished an NCAA total attendance mark in the premiere crowd in all of college baseball . installed in 1995 with a 15-foot hitters' back- 2003 as 291,676 fans purchased tickets for that is a special, special crowd out there. I want drop in center field. “Baseball at the Box.” to say that the way the fans have responded all In 1994, "The Box" featured a freshly weekend to just excellence and outstanding play LSU has been among the nation's renovated and expanded players' locker room leads me to believe that they truly do appreciate attendance leaders for the past 14 seasons, the difficulty of playing this game. I'm glad to and lounge, along with additional chair-back finishing No. 5 in 1991, No. 6 in 1992, No. 4 have our players play in front of a crowd that I seats in the grandstand. In 1993, an advanced in 1993, No. 3 in 1994 and 1995, and No. 1 truly believe appreciated their performance." outfield drainage system was installed along from 1996-2004. with additional bleacher seating behind first - Baylor Coach Steve Smith after the 2003 Over the past 21 seasons, the Tigers NCAA Super Regional in Alex Box Stadium base. have attracted over three million fans to In 1992, the stadium featured the Alex Box Stadium. A total of 3,434,652 installation of expanded chair-back gold patrons have watched the Tigers play at "The Box" since 1984. seats, an umpires' dressing room, terrace-level seating above The stadium is recognized both for its old-fashioned charm the third-base dugout and bleachers behind the left-field wall. and for its modern renovations. Since 1985, it has been the site Renovations for the 1991 season included the installation of a of four SEC tournaments, 16 new grandstand roof and the con- NCAA regional tournaments, struction of a playground/picnic three NCAA super regional area behind the left-field bleachers. series and one ABCA Hall of The stadium began to Fame tournament. Each year, resemble its present form with the “The Box” undergoes facility- arrival in 1983 of coach Skip improvement projects designed Bertman. In 1985, the Tigers' locker to enhance the comfort and room was given a facelift, and a enjoyment of LSU baseball fans. fully-equipped training room, a Prior to the 1999 season, the coaches' dressing room and a play- stadium scoreboard was moved ers' lounge were installed. from left-center field to right- Larger dugouts were con- center field. Bleachers were then structed in 1986 along with a new installed in left-center field, The squad room in Alex Box Stadium outfield fence. The press box was increasing seating capacity to houses LSU’s five NCAA Championship trophies. expanded, and the stadium's right 7,760. field fence was moved to make Visitors to Alex Box Stadium room for additional bleachers. In in 1998 had for the first time the opportunity to enjoy a conces- 1987, the stadium's restroom facilities were enlarged, and a new sions/picnic area behind the right-field bleachers, complement- concessions stand was built beneath the grandstand. ing a similar facility behind the left-field bleachers. "The Box" also features a modern scoreboard and message A major renovation project was completed at Alex Box center, a state-of-the-art sound system, luminous field lighting, Stadium in 1997, as two of the facility's light towers were an underground field sprinkler system and a beautifully land- moved behind the seating areas in order to give all fans an scaped entranceway. unobstructed view of the playing field. The project began in 20 2005 LSU BASEBALL YEARBOOK Alex Box Stadium Originally a 2,500-seat facility, the concrete and steel grandstand of Alex Alex Box Box Stadium was completed in 1938. Funding came from the Works Progress Administration, a federally sponsored agency which constructed public ath- (1920-1943) INTRO letic facilities, among other such projects. ¨ THIS IS LSU In its first two years, Alex Box Stadium was the site of spring training for LSU's baseball sta- the New York Giants. Such legendary baseball figures as Mel Ott, Carl dium was named in 1943 PREVIEW for Alex Box, a letterman Hubbell, Bill Terry and Dick Bartell were on hand with the Giants. on the 1942 team. Box TIGERS was killed while fighting in North Africa during COACHES TOP 10 ALEX BOX STADIUM ATTENDANCE FIGURES World War II. Simeon Alex Box was born REVIEW ATTENDANCE OPPONENT DATE SCORE August 5, 1920, in Quitman, Miss., and attended HISTORY 1. 8683 Houston 3/6/04 UH, 10-5 George S. Gardiner High School in Laurel, Miss. 2. 8622 Louisiana-Lafayette 4/11/00 LSU, 8-2 Box came to LSU in 1938 and majored in petrole- RECORDS 3. 8521 Mississippi State 3/26/04 MSU, 7-3 um engineering. He also played football and 4. 8512 Auburn 5/9/03 LSU, 6-5 baseball, served as vice president of the junior LSU 5. 8510 Arkansas 4/27/02 LSU, 8-0 class in engineering and was a member of sever- 6. 8440 Alabama 5/19/02 LSU, 5-1 al professional societies. MEDIA 7. 8437 Auburn 5/10/03 LSU, 20-3 Box pursued his advanced ROTC studies in 8. 8413 Ole Miss 4/13/01 LSU, 15-2 the engineering regiment. A handsome, popular 9. 8360 Texas State 2/28/04 LSU, 2-1 figure on campus, he met and developed a close 10. 8310 Tennessee 4/26/03 LSU, 10-6 relationship with Earle Hubert, an attractive member of Delta Zeta sorority from Plaquemine, La. They had an understanding that she would complete her elementary education degree while he was serving in the military; then, they would Stadium Information Total Attendance in later marry. Tragically, the terrors of warfare changed those plans. Seating Capacity . .7,760 Alex Box Stadium (1984-2004) After being commissioned in the U.S. Army, Playing Field Distances YEAR DATES ATT. AVG. Box made short stops at camps in Florida and Foul Lines . .330 ft. 1984 24 22,021 918 Power Alleys . .365 ft. 1985 25 40,746 1,630 Pennsylvania and went on to England in August, Center . .405 ft. 1986 34 81,075 2,385 1942. He was posted to the First Infantry Height of Fence . .10 ft. 1987 27 46,084 1,707 Division, called the "Big Red One" in North In center field . .15 ft. 1988 27 46,831 1,734 Africa. Lieutenant Box, a tank commander, dis- Playing Surface . .natural grass 1989 33 65,781 1,993 played his heroism on November 9, 1942, when 1990 30 78,616 2,621 he risked his life in helping destroy six enemy Tournaments Hosted 1991 37 113,832 3,077 machine gun nests and an artillery emplacement NCAA Regional Tournaments (16): 1992 34 114,937 3,381 near Arcole, Algeria. His brave acts earned him 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1993 39 137,306 3,521 the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's sec- 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 1994 33 143,595 4,351 ond-highest decoration. 2003, 2004 1995 36 148,995 4,139 Only two months later, there was a fierce 1996 39 226,805 5,816 battle in Tunisia, and Box's tank was shredded by NCAA Super Regional Series (3): 1997 39 252,864 6,484 a German mine. He was killed instantly on 2000, 2003, 2004 1998 35 232,597 6,645 February 19, 1943, at the age of 22. Brigadier SEC Tournaments (4): 1999 38 271,888 7,154 General Theodore Roosevelt, wrote a letter of 1985, 1986, 1991, 1993 2000 39 286,874 7,355 condolence to Box's mother, Mattie, saying "the 2001 37 276,622 7,476 ABCA Hall of Fame Tournament (1): 1991 deeds and death of your son have gone to make 2002 36 271,179 7,532 up the spiritual background that is this country." LSU Record in 2003 39 291,676 7,478 Laurel, Miss., superintendent of schools R.H. 2004 36 284,328 7,898 Watkins eulogized Box as a “perfect example of an Alex Box Stadium (1984-2004) Totals 717 3,434,652 4,790 YEAR GAMES W-L-T PCT. athlete, a Christian gentleman, a scholar and a 1984 31 23-8 .742 2004 National Attendance Leaders soldier .