Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

stadium located in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, United States, on the campus of

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

. It opened in 1939, and serves as the home field for the Western Michigan Broncos baseball program. The stadium hosted the inaugural

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

and again in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

History

Originally constructed in 1939, it was part of a $250,000 project that also included the construction of the adjacent

Waldo Stadium Waldo Stadium is a stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is primarily used for football, and has been the home of Western Michigan University Broncos football in rudimentary form since 1914, and as a complete stadium since 1939. It currently has ...

, home of the WMU football team. The baseball field was dedicated and opened in the spring of 1939, and was named for Judson Hyames, who had coached the baseball squads at WMU from 1922–36. He accumulated a record of 166–62–6, and had accomplished one of the more successful records in the region. Hyames also served as athletic director at Western Michigan. The stadium itself was renamed in 2008 after a $1 million donation by Robert J. Bobb. Carved out of a hill alongside Stadium Drive, Hyames Field was able to offer a unique playing environment. Features include hill banks down both foul lines, in particular the right field side, which is an open grassy knoll popular with spectators. The original construction also included concrete seating behind

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

, along with

restrooms A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or pris ...

, concessions, and storage facilities located beneath the seating. This structure had been completely covered by a permanent roof; however, the roof had fallen into disrepair in recent years and was removed in the winter of 2005. The 2006 baseball season continued without the roof, although the steel

girder A girder () is a Beam (structure), beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a sta ...

s for it remained. Other renovations and additions over the years have included an electronic

scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score (sport), score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards i ...

, batting cages, and more effective turf management. In 2008, Robert J. Bobb, chief executive officer of Cardinal Growth L.P. and a 1969 WMU alumnus, committed $1 million to the renovations of Hyames Field, which was later dedicated as "Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field" on May 14, 2011. The project included grandstand restoration, the installation of chairback seating, construction of new walkways, dugouts, press box, two VIP suites, bathrooms and a concession area. Other major donors included members of the 1955 WMU baseball team and

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

executive and WMU alum Bill Lajoie.

College World Series

At the time of construction, the facilities of Hyames Field were considered to be some of the best in the country. The site was the home of the first two

in 1947 and 1948. The 1947 contest was particularly memorable, featuring future

American League MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers' ...

Jackie Jensen of

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

. In the same contest, future

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

played

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

squad. The CWS moved to

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

in 1949, and to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

in 1950, where it has been featured since.

References

External links

Official Website
{{College World Series Western Michigan Broncos baseball College baseball venues in Michigan Sports in Kalamazoo, Michigan Buildings and structures in Kalamazoo, Michigan Event venues established in 1939 1939 establishments in Michigan Sports venues in Kalamazoo, Michigan

History

College World Series

See also

References

External links