Abe Martin Field
| Location | Saluki Drive, Carbondale, Illinois, USA |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°42′17″N 89°13′16″W / 37.704833°N 89.221205°WCoordinates: 37°42′17″N 89°13′16″W / 37.704833°N 89.221205°W |
| Owner | Southern Illinois University |
| Operator | Southern Illinois University |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
| Field size | 340 ft. (LF), 370 ft. (LCF), 390 ft. (CF), 370 ft. (RCF), 340 ft. (RF) |
| Surface | Rye grass (infield), Bermuda grass (outfield) |
| Scoreboard | Electronic |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1964 |
| Renovated | 1988, 2000, 2011 |
| Expanded | 1966 |
| Tenants | |
| Southern Illinois Salukis baseball (1964-present) | |
Abe Martin Field is a baseball venue in Carbondale, Illinois, USA. It is home to the Southern Illinois Salukis baseball team of the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. The field, opened in 1964, holds 2,000 spectators. It is named for former Southern Illinois baseball coach Abe Martin. In recent years, both alumni and fans have complained about the venue's outdated features, but renovation plans were announced in May 2011.
After the field's 1964 construction, it remained undedicated until 1972. On April 30, 1972, the field was formally dedicated to Abe Martin. Martin coached Saluki baseball for 19 seasons (1946–1964) during a 33-year tenure at the university. A scoreboard was also added around the time of the dedication.
In the decades after the facility's opening, several minor improvements were made. In 1966, new bleachers, believed to have been taken from Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, were added. Sportsman's, the former home of Major League Baseball's both St. Louis Cardinals and Browns, had closed earlier that year. In 1988, a clubhouse was built. 2000 renovations saw bermuda grass installed in the outfield and batting cages beyond the right field fence. In 2006, an electronic scoreboard was constructed past the right center field fence.
As Martin Field entered its fifth decade of use, calls for improving the aging facility increased. The facility, called "Ancient Abe" by writer Todd Hefferman, is the oldest in use by a Missouri Valley Conference team. In 2011, plans were made to update the field.
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