Cal Ripken Jr. dedicates new McCulloch Park diamond; outfield fix funded

MUNCIE, Ind. − Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. came to Muncie's McCulloch Park Tuesday morning to add one more renovated field to the list of 110 developed by his late father's foundation to promote youth baseball in towns and cities across the country.

The occasion included an announcement by the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation that renovation of the diamond would be extended to the distressed outfield, which is expected to be ready for play in the 2023 season, according to foundation Senior Vice President Chuck Brady.

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The outfield work will be in addition to the finished $1.5 million upgrade to the infield, including artificial turf, and renovated dugouts and stands, which was dedicated Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Ripken. Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour had said the city would apply for various grants to pay for upgrades to the outfield. That is being provided now by the foundation with the help of board member Dan Towriss, CEO and president of Group 1001, a financial services concern based in Indianapolis. Towriss grew up in Muncie.

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Ripken, who earned the nickname "Iron Man" for the Baltimore Orioles by playing in 2,632 consecutive Major League games, more than any player, told the assembled fans and officials at the park on Tuesday of the foundation staff's passion to help children and provide places for them to belong, develop and learn lessons through baseball.

"Baseball is a magical, magical game," Ripken said.

Towriss would attest to that. The last time he walked off the baseball field at McCulloch Park was 1990. He had just pitched a game to win a state championship for Muncie's American Legion Post 19. He returned for the dedication of the field, which is now named for one of his company's firms, Gainbridge Field.

The executive, who now lives in Zionsville and in Florida, said the lessons he learned playing baseball and working with coaches like the late Bobby Graves, who coached the Post 19 Muncie Chiefs for 19 years. Towriss said he was able to apply what he learned on the field in business.

"It's the determination," he said.

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According to Ridenour, the businessman donated "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to remake his hometown field.

Towriss said the soon-to-be-added improvements to the outfield, which was left bare in places this summer, will include new sod and possibly new lights at the field.

Ball State University President Geoffrey S. Mearns was on hand at Tuesday's ceremony, and related telling Towriss about the needs of the beleaguered field in Muncie. Mearns even started to describe where the field was located before the former Muncie Chiefs pitcher told him he was very aware of the facility but had not realized it had fallen into disrepair. That was genesis for the effort to remake the field.

Towriss had worked to develop 10 other community baseball fields through the foundation before contributing to the rebuild of the field where he used to play in his hometown. The name Gainbridge Field replaces Francis Lafferty Field, named for the longtime educator and coach who did much to maintain the facility through the years.

Officials saluted Lafferty during the ceremony with a round of applause. The renovated field features a plaque in his honor.

Gainbridge Field has a lot of history to build on. The Muncie Fruit Jars started playing at McCulloch Park in 1906 and was the first pro-baseball team in Muncie. By mid-century, in 1943, the Pittsburgh Pirates used the field in Muncie for spring training due to the effort to cut travel expenses during World War II. Hall of Famers Frank Frisch and Honus Wagner managed the Pirates at the time and spent their springs in Muncie. After the war, the Cincinnati Reds developed a minor league relationship with Muncie and used at the diamond in the park. Major League pitcher Joe Nuxhall and star outfielder Wally Post both played for the Reds affiliate in Muncie.

Current Muncie Chiefs appeared for the ceremony met with Ripken, who signed jersey and baseballs and spoke with gathered fans.

Ridenour shared his own memories and told Ripken he had grown up an Oriole fan because his father had been a Baltimore fan. He told Ripken that he only cried at the retirement of two men: Ripken and Indiana Pacer basketball star Reggie Miller.

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In spite of concerns, expressed by MLB executives, that the game is too slow and losing its appeal, Steve Salem, president and CEO of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, said baseball is a game in which even a little guy can thrive, especially in youth.

Unlike other sports, he said, the smallest kid can compete or even excel. And baseball is still doing well.

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This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie's historic baseball field gets face lift with more work to come