Dudy Noble is college baseball at its absolute finest

DawgNsuds · Jun 6, 2013

Lots of conversation around Dudy Noble in numerous threads. I searched for to see if this and may have missed it but I thought it would be appropriate to share the thoughts of one of UVA's larger baseball benefactors.
 This is John Grisham's perspective of Dudy Noble Field, Polk-Dement Stadium and what it means to a Dawg Fan. It can't be articulated any better than this. It is reprinted with his permission.

"It is tempting, in this short space, to talk about people. I could write pages about the young men who've played at Dudy Noble. I could go on and on about those electric moments, such as Burke's grand slam, back to back home runs by Clark and Palmeiro, Raffo's monstrous shots, Showalter's .459, B. J.'s 19 strikeouts, Thigpen's throws to the plate, Pete's dirty uniform, the easy grace of Jody Hurst chasing fly balls, and on and on. If they're just a bunch of kids playing a game, why do we talk about them years after they're gone? And it would be easy to write about Ron Polk and the house he built and the throngs that fill it. It is a credit to him that we are disappointed when we don't make it to Omaha. We expect it. He's spoiled us.

But I can't write pages here; perhaps another day. So I'll just talk about the place.
I guess every ballpark, in earlier times, was something else. Great things come from humble origins and all that, but it's difficult to believe Dudy Noble was once a cow pasture. I discovered it early in March of 1975 while a sophomore at State. This was before Polk, and the crowds were small. On those cool spring nights, I would take a thermos of coffee and sit by myself in the bleachers by first base. I was 20, older than some of the kids I was watching, and had just recently hung up my spikes because I couldn't hit a junior college curveball. I was sad because I wasn't playing, yet I loved to watch the game. It was a pleasant place to be in the spring, but the park wasn't magical, yet.

The following year State hired Ron Polk, and Dudy Noble snapped back to life. He won, as he always has and always will, and suddenly the stands were full, the crowds were loud, the trucks and trailers appeared in left field, the Lounge was open for business, and the clouds of barbeque smoke became a symbol of baseball success at Mississippi State. We outgrew the old park, and he convinced us to build a new one.
The older I become, the more I find myself drawn back to Dudy Noble. There are many reasons. It's great baseball played by very talented kids. The game is pure and uncorrupted by money. The place is filled with memories, both of my college days and of the great games and moments since then. It's a wonderful place to unwind. The mood is festive. Time is meaningless. The game is played without a clock. There are no telephones in Left Field. Deadlines are more distant. Appointments seem insignificant. Regardless of wins and losses, I always feel better when I leave Dudy Noble than when I arrive. There are few places of which this can be said.

Several years ago, during a regional, Brigham Young played one of the early games in the first round. The gang I hang out with in Left Field always adopts a visiting team. It's nothing official...like everyone, we live in fear of the NCAA and its regulations...It's just our effort to make sure these kids are well fed and taken care of while visiting Starkville. We sent word through our sources to the BYU players, and during the late game a bunch of them arrived at our truck in the Lounge. They were hungry, and tired of fast food. State was playing, and Dudy Noble was packed. We fed them for three hours. Late in the game, I sit next to one of the BYU players and watched with amusement as he tried to eat crawfish. He'd already been served spareribs, pork shoulder, catfish, frog legs, steak and smoked sausage, and as we watched the game I helped with the crawfish. A dense charcoal fog hung over left field. The mob pushed toward the fence. Jim Ellis boomed from an amazing assortment of speakers. There was a constant roar.
The kid was awestruck. "Unbelievable," he kept saying as he looked around. "Unbelievable."
I've seen this reaction many times from ballplayers, and for some reason I always feel compelled to share my knowledge of Dudy Noble and its legends. I filled his ear. Someone passed up a plate of boiled shrimp, and quickly forget about the crawfish. I told stories about Polk, many of them true, and of the stadium and how it was built and the record crowds and the history (my version)of the Left Field Lounge. I unloaded a dazzling array of statistics of past teams and players. I told tales I knew to be false (how could he know?). It was quite a performance, really.

He didn't hear a word. He ate his shrimp and watched the chefs at play in the fog. He studied the zany architecture of the trailers and trucks and vans packed together. He stared at the crowd of 9,000 rowdies who had gathered for a college baseball game. "Unbelievable," he said again. "I wished I played here."
I wish I had played there, too, but I never came close. And so I return year after year to watch the best of college baseball, to see old friends and make new ones, to cook and eat, to see the show. There may be larger parks, but not larger crowds. There may be prettier parks, but I doubt it. Dudy Noble is college baseball at its absolute finest.

John Grisham

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Wicked Pissah · Jun 6, 2013

The whole grisham thing feels like an ole miss grove "pat yourself on the back" type deal. Dudy noble is great 2 or 3 times a year. It use to be great almost every weekend. Fact is, grisham hasnt been to a game in probably 20 years and doesnt support msu baseball any more. Ill always be a fan of msu. If he really meant all that below, youd think he would show even a mild interest in our program.

TankOwens · Jun 6, 2013

never mind the fact that Grisham paid for the batting / pitching facility located underneath the DNF 1st base grandstand.

esplanade91 · Jun 6, 2013

Wicked Pissah said:
The whole grisham thing feels like an ole miss grove "pat yourself on the back" type deal. Dudy noble is great 2 or 3 times a year. It use to be great almost every weekend. Fact is, grisham hasnt been to a game in probably 20 years and doesnt support msu baseball any more. Ill always be a fan of msu. If he really meant all that below, youd think he would show even a mild interest in our program.

This is a bad example because Rafael probably could care less because that's the kind of guy he is, but do you think it's any different from him pulling for UAB against us because his son played there? Hypothetically speaking, he probably went right back to giving a crap about MSU the day his son graduated (graduates? I have no clue). If his son decides to come here he'll be our biggest fan. MSU has been doing everything it can to get back on good terms with Grisham for a while now. Every year since I was a freshman the "freshman class reading" or whatever, the book all incoming students are advised to read to promote discussion and what not, has been one of his books. The latest one was about baseball and from what the people at the library told me it was inspired by Dudy.

Grisham is a Mississippi boy to the core. I would imagine he came to a lot of games when he was serving in Mississippi government, but now that he's pretty much a full-time author 1) he's become much more of a celebrity and less of the kind of the guy you would randomly strike up a conversation with in LFL 2) he doesn't have the time or convenience.

If you're going to rag on Grisham you can get out.

RobbieRandolph · Jun 6, 2013

Raffy cares enough to have a skybox.

esplanade91 · Jun 6, 2013

RobbieRandolph said:
Raffy cares enough to have a skybox.

I used him as an example because he was very vocal last year when we played that he was "a fan" of UAB and was wanting them to beat MSU.

I highly doubt he pays for it though, just like he wasn't even close to the highest donor for the Palmeiro center. Guy is flat broke.

Wicked Pissah · Jun 6, 2013

Yes, in 1993 I believe. Again, he hasnt done anything in 20 years. Meanwhile, he built UVAs program. Think of what we could have done with that money.

esplanade91 · Jun 6, 2013

Wicked Pissah said:
Yes, in 1993 I believe. Again, he hasnt done anything in 20 years. Meanwhile, he built UVAs program. Think of what we could have done with that money.

What makes you think he would have donated the same amount of money for us as them? Ever occur to you that he gave them money BECAUSE we didn't allow his kid on the team? Or that's why UVA allowed him on the team? No doubt we would have reaped some benefits, but you have to think that it wouldn't be "game changer" benefits. What else do we need? Their program has only been relevant for a decade.

Drebin · Jun 6, 2013

esplanade91 said:
I used him as an example because he was very vocal last year when we played that he was "a fan" of UAB and was wanting them to beat MSU.

I highly doubt he pays for it though, just like he wasn't even close to the highest donor for the Palmeiro center. Guy is flat broke.

Palmeiro is flat broke? That's ridiculous.

Requiem For A Dawg · Jun 6, 2013

esplanade91 said:
I used him as an example because he was very vocal last year when we played that he was "a fan" of UAB and was wanting them to beat MSU.

Probably because his son was playing UAB.

dawgman.sixpack · Jun 6, 2013

Two Words Double Header The crowds diminished when the SEC and college baseball went to the three day weekend. When it was double headers Fri nite or Sat, the crowds were much better.

patdog · Jun 6, 2013

The crowds diminished when the winning stopped. Now that we're winning again, the crowds are back.

KurtRambis4 · Jun 6, 2013

While true

I think I've seen him at The Dude exactly once. That was an alumni game 8 years ago or so.

Todd4State · Jun 6, 2013

RobbieRandolph said:
Raffy cares enough to have a skybox.

Technically, I think all former players have a skybox at Dudy-Noble Field.

DerHntr · Jun 6, 2013

Wicked Pissah said:
Yes, in 1993 I believe. Again, he hasnt done anything in 20 years. Meanwhile, he built UVAs program. Think of what we could have done with that money.

I love it when people get mad at how another person donates money

Wicked Pissah · Jun 6, 2013

Im not mad. I think yall are missing the point. It to me would be like if some famous write from the early 70s wrote about vaught hemingway and the 50 thousand flags and slow dixie, etc. it just isnt that way any more and neither is dudy noble. I may be in the minority but I view msu baseball a lot like OM football fans view their program 20 years ago.

That is all im saying. This write up gets brought up every year and it makes me feel like an ole miss, pat myself on the back, grove piece. I just want us to effing sack up and earn a title that goes with it...

DocHolliday.sixpack · Jun 6, 2013

Grisham has a sky box. I've been fortunate enough to use it one time.

RobbieRandolph said:
Raffy cares enough to have a skybox.

Now this was some years ago when I was in my Junior year at State, 2000. I'm not sure if he does current day.

Dudy Noble is college baseball at its absolute finest

DawgNsuds

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Wicked Pissah

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TankOwens

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esplanade91

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RobbieRandolph

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esplanade91

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Wicked Pissah

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esplanade91

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Drebin

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Requiem For A Dawg

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dawgman.sixpack

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patdog

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