YBB: Morrison Field dedication set Thursday
groundbreaking of Tommy Morrison Field at the Center Youth
Baseball Park in November. The field, which has been under con-
struction since that time, will be dedicated next Thursday at 5:30
p.m. (Photo by John Krueger)
For the past seven months players in the Center Youth Baseball 13-14 Year Old Division have been 'licking their chops' as they await the opportunity to play on the newly constructed Tommy Morrison Field. On Thursday, they'll finally get their chance.
After years of hope, planning, fundraising and dedication, the field whose name is directed to one of the 'founding fathers' of Center Youth Baseball will be unveiled and dedicated on June 10 at 5:30 p.m. The ceremony will be followed by the final two regular season games on the field located just off Roughrider Drive in Center.
The creation of the fourth field at the complex is a continuing effort of not only Center Youth Baseball, but of the community as a whole. In 1954 the league and host site of numerous State tournaments the past several years was created with a dream by Morrison and friends Bob Fairchild and Bob Clifford.
Three other fields are used on a regular basis and will be the host sites in July, with T-Ball, 11-12 Year Old Tight Base and Majors Junior and the 13-Year Old South Sub-State tourneys coming to Center.
"Tommy Morrison was a key figure in the organizing of boys' baseball here in Center," said life-long supporter and board member Bob Reeves. "The hard work of Mr. Morrison and others laid the groundwork to Center youth baseball today."
Little did those founders of the league know that night when they sat in the house of Gene Scherzer that the organization would grow to the degree that it has today. Thousands of boys and girls have participated in the local league over the past 56 years, supported by coaches, businesses, civic organizations, and, of course, the City of Center itself.
Tommy Morrison Field is a venue that measures 250 feet to the outfield fences, which cost nearly $132,000, with the installed lighting costing about the same amount. The City of Center has been a major benefactor in the creation of the new field, along with donations from the Center Youth Baseball Association, the Center Noon Lions Club ($15,000), and the Center Rotary Club ($15,000), along with countless others who have donated funds, materials and time toward the creation of the field.
"You see the community's handprint on this [park] everywhere you look," Reeves said about the local complex as a whole. "You see the Lions Club, the banks, the community and the Rotary Club, just to name a few.
"We started with two fields down here, and then the Little League raised the money and built a T-Ball field. And then Little League raised money and the community contributed and built a concession stand, which was about a $60,000 project. Then we built the batting cages."
Center began reaping the benefits of state-wide recognition over the past two summers, hosting five Dixie State tournaments in the summers of 2008 and 2009, welcoming teams from three divisions the first year and two last summer. After the summer of 2008 Center was voted the No.1 Dixie host site in the state of Texas.
In 2010 three State tourneys will converge on the Center area during the first week of July again.
"Center Youth Baseball would like to thank all of those that have worked so hard to make this project a reality," Reeves stated of the new field's completion. "And, in particular, we want to thank Mrs. Tommy Morrison and the Tommy Morrison family for their generous donation and their support, as well as Mayor John Windham, the Center City Council and the City Manager Chad Nehring."
The summer baseball program is not the only benefactor of Tommy Morrison Field. The completion of the field will officially 'bridge the gap' between the 12-year olds and high school, enabling players in Shelby County to help their high school teams by continually working each summer to better themselves and to continue the momentum as they work toward their high school careers at their respective schools.
The winners in this endeavor and the youth program as a whole are the players who step on the field. The Center complex and the league were founded to help kids to stay active and out of trouble, and it has not only done that but has helped forged a bond between the youth and adults and the league and the community as all have benefitted.
And it all started that one night in a living room in Center.