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Princeton University Athletics
Baseball's Clarke Field Dugout Construction Project Continues
October 15, 2015 | Baseball
PHOTO GALLERY
PRINCETON, N.J. – Thanks to the efforts of the Princeton 1985 EIBL championship baseball team, the Tigers have broken ground on a new project that will bring state-of-the-art dugouts to Clarke Field.
“The championship team of 1985 is arguably the most successful team in Princeton baseball history,” said Robert H.B. Baldwin '42 Head Coach of Baseball Scott Bradley. “In honor of former coach Tom O'Connell, they have joined together to raise money to build new, much-needed, dugouts at Clarke Field. Their gifts, along with one additional anonymous gift, made this all possible.”
With construction beginning in mid-July, the project is slated to be complete this fall. This latest facility improvement comes on the heels of the installation of a new scoreboard last season. In 2005, a brand new infield was installed and the outfield fences were repositioned.
Spearheaded by Chip Newton '86 and the rest of the 1985 Princeton baseball team, the dugouts are being built to honor Tom O'Connell, who served as head baseball coach from 1982-97, racking up 323 career victories. His 1985 squad captured the ninth of 10 EIBL championships for the Tigers, finishing the season with a 29-12 overall record and a 16-3 mark in league play.
Clarke Field has been home to the Princeton baseball for 40 years and is named for Bill Clarke, a former Major League catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, who became the program's first head coach upon his retirement in 1909.