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REAGAN FIELD

Reagan Field History & NotesReagan Field

  • The first Murray State game played on the new Reagan Field was March 11, 1989, when the Racers played Eastern Illinois.
  • Rick Grogan threw the first pitch and Willie Wilder hit the first MSU home run.
  • The move to a new location occurred when the Martha Layne Collins Industry and  Technology Building was built in the first site for Reagan Field in 1987.
  •  In the previous season, while the field was under construction, Murray State carried on a “suitcase season” in which all 37 games were played off campus.
  • In 2014, lights and grandstand seating was built.
  • In 2015, Reagan Field saw a spacious press box added to the mix.
  • In 2016, a padded outfield wall was built and wind screening was added along the side fences.
  • Named for coach Johnny Reagan, the facility is one that he designed and laid out himself.
  • The field features symmetrical dimensions: 330 feet from home plate to the foul poles, 375 feet in the power alleys and 400 feet to straightaway center field.
  • On March 30, 1989, the field was the site of Johnny Reagan's 700th career coaching victory, a 7-5 win over Lincoln Memorial.
  • The field was officially dedicated on April 15, 1989.
  • Coach Johnny Reagan is a beloved figure in Murray State history. He coached the Thoroughbreds for 36 years from 1958 to 1993. He compiled 776 wins and 11 Ohio Valley Conference titles and nine OVC Coach of the Year honors. He was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 1971 and the OVC Hall of Fame in 1988.