BASEBALL
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One of America’s best amateur baseball facilities, Bohl Diamond at Blair Field in Long Beach, will again be the home site for Dirtbags games.
Long Beach State operates the facility under an extended lease from the City of Long Beach and is in Recreation Park at the corner of 10th Street and Park Avenue. Blair Field has been honored by Baseball America as one of the top 15 collegiate ballparks in the nation in the past and is acknowledged as one of the top five most historic collegiate stadiums in the country.
Long Beach State baseball officially moved to the facility for the 1993 season. A $1.4 million renovation in 1992 and additional improvements in subsequent years make the stadium a prime spot for all baseball fans.
Improvements included 774 new box seats, located in the first five rows behind the Super Box seats, between the first and third base bags. In 2008, Long Beach State and the City also combined to build a new scoreboard with a full LCD color video screen and LED score displays.
Before the 2016 season, a new outfield fence was installed as Phase I of the Blair Field renovation efforts. The new wall reduced the dimensions of the notorious pitcher’s park while providing a safer, padded barrier for outfielders. The old dimensions of 348-387-400-387-348 feet from left to right field were brought down to 335-380-395-380-330.
In 2017, the Troy & Danyll Tulowitzki Batting Facility and Jered Weaver Bullpen were constructed, thanks to the generous support from the prominent former Dirtbags. A locker room update also occurred during the 2017 season, culminating in an NCAA Regional and Super Regional hosted at Blair Field.
On Dec. 11, 2017, Long Beach State announced that Blair Field would be renamed in honor of longtime Long Beach State supporter Marilyn Bohl. The facility now bears the name Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, following a multi-million dollar gift from Bohl. Her contribution went towards several planned upgrades throughout the ballpark, including new stadium lighting, a new playing surface with an improved drainage system, a multi-purpose team facility along the left field line, plus upgrades to fan experience via renovations to the restrooms and seating areas.
On June 1, 2021, Marilyn Bohl and the University announced a new phase of renovations. The plans included brand new LED lighting for the entire stadium, as well as a brand new video board in right field and a renovated player development facility down the third baseline.
The new LED lighting has since been completed before the start of the 2022 season, while the new Bryson Financial video board/scoreboard was finished before the beginning of the 2023 season.
THE TROY & DANYLL TULOWITZKI BATTING FACILITY
The Troy & Danyll Tulowitzki Batting Facility was completed prior to the start of the 2017 baseball season. Constructed along the right-field side of the stadium, the 9,600-square-foot facility features six batting tunnels of various sizes. The structure stands 32 feet, with an interior clear cage dimension of 23 feet.
HISTORY
Blair Field is named for Frank Blair, the first and only sports editor at the Long Beach Press-Telegram from 1921 until his death in 1953. Blair had been a vocal leader in the drive to build a new ballpark in Long Beach.
Before Blair Field was built, Recreation Park already was a baseball landmark. Opened in 1924, the 1,000-seat wooden grandstand would see the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels begin what would be more than 30 years of use. Future major leaguers from Bob Lemon and Jack Graham, to Ricky Bridges, Joe Amalfitano and Ron Fairly played at old Rec Park. Connie Mack's Athletics and barn storming teams with Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller and Satchel Paige would all play there. In fact, the old field was so used that the City removed the worn grass field and created a completely skinned field in 1929.
Blair Field opened on Friday, April 11, 1958 with Poly High School pitcher Gordon Nelson throwing the first pitch to Huntington Beach High School shortstop John Daros. Poly would win the game 3-1 before less than 100 fans. Four days later, Long Beach State would defeat Long Beach City College 14-6 in the first collegiate game. Ironically, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants played their first "West Coast game" that same day.
In 1961, the Dodgers would play an exhibition game at Blair Field versus the Dallas-Ft. Worth Rangers before a still-record 6,250 fans. In 1966, the Chicago Cubs held spring training and played eight exhibition games at the ballpark. The Angels and Indians would play additional games in 1967. For 13 years, the Los Angeles Rams used the facility as their practice site, until their move to Anaheim.
The home of amateur baseball in Southern California, the stadium has been the home for five Moore League high schools, American Legion and Connie Mack baseball for over 40 years. Hundred's of future professional players, including future major league all-stars Jeff Burroughs, Bobby Grich and Tony Gwynn, have played at the ballpark. Local legends like Ray McKinstry, Harry Brittan, Fred Strobel, Jack Caplinger, Red Meairs and Jack Graham have given a lifetime of service to the community's baseball youth over the decades.
In 1992, after years of decay and community outcry, the City invested $1.4 million in a complete stadium renovation. The three-phase project would take eight months to complete and included:
- New metal seats are in place of the original wooden benches.
- A new roof.
- A new backstop.
- New paint.
- New Triple-A standard lighting.
The most time-consuming and costly work was a complete excavation, installation of modern drainage, and replacement of the playing field. Today, the Bermuda playing field at Blair Field is recognized as the finest collegiate field in the country.
Subsequent years have seen the City and Long Beach State cooperatively continue to upgrade the facility with a new batting cage, picnic area, improved locker rooms, and sound system upgrade. The stadium's first-ever tarp arrived in time for El Nino in 1998, and last year, 800 new box seats and a $300,000 scoreboard - custom-designed to fit the old ballpark aesthetically - were added.
Thirty-six years after construction, Long Beach State became the stadium's first full-time baseball tenant in 1993. Starting with 753 fans at that home opener in 1993, Dirtbags attendance has continued to build to 30,000 per season, ranking in the NCAA top-25 total attendance list.
In addition to LBSU and the five area high schools, Blair Field has been the host of six MTV Rock & Jock softball games, five Area Code Game tournaments and has been the filming location for over 200 films, TV, and commercial productions, including Moneyball, Space Jam, Mr. Baseball, and Odd Couple II.
In 2003, Long Beach State hosted its first NCAA Regional at the park, drawing over 10,000 people to the four-team, three-day event.
It is believed that more future major leaguers have played in high school, Legion, Connie Mack, or collegiate games at Blair Field than any other field in the country.
