Marshall University Alumni Association

Dot Hicks Field officially open March 15

All-American League women visit event

The new Dot Hicks Field has now become a reality with the 2008 home opener on Saturday, March 15.

The Marshall University softball team unveiled the new Dot Hicks Field when it played host to nationally-ranked C-USA rival Houston on March 15.

Pregame ceremonies included honoring seven donors whose generous contributions toward the naming of offices and rooms in the clubhouse have made this project a reality. Dr. Dorothy Hicks, Bart and Doris Andrews, Dr. Jose and Amy Ricard, John and Donna Underwood, Steve Williams in honor of his mother Clare Taylor Williams, Leonard Scott and Access PR were presented with an autographed softball signed by the team.

The inaugural first pitches were thrown by Marshall President Dr. Stephen J. Kopp, Judy Ketchum and Dr. Dorothy Hicks. Judy Ketchum is the wife of a past chair of the Marshall University Board of Governors, Menis Ketchum, who was unable to attend due to a prior commitment. Hicks, for whom the field was named, has been an instrumental figure in women’s athletics at Marshall. Each of the three received an honorary MU softball jersey.

The state-of-the-art facility features a seating capacity of 325, which includes three rows of prime chair back seats located directly behind home plate. The chair back seats require a donation of $100 per year with a 10-year commitment. The rest of the grandstand allows for general admission seating.

The more than $2.5 million softball complex includes concessions, rest rooms, press box, warm-up areas, batting cages and a field turf playing surface. Construction of the new clubhouse is underway and will completed at the end of the season.

From left: Maybelle Blair, Terry Donahue and Jane Moffet, all former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League members, sign autographs for an audience Thursday.

From left: Maybelle Blair, Terry Donahue and Jane Moffet, all former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League members, sign autographs at the 2nd annual Women's Studies Student Conference on March 13. Media credit: Demeley Smith, The Parthenon

The Herd also welcomed three former baseball players Maybelle Blair, Terry Donahue and Jane Moffet, who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league, operating from 1943 to 1954, gave more than 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball.

The three female pioneers led the fans during the fifth inning stretch with a singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Maybelle Blair was a catcher for the Peoria Redwings in 1948. She played professional softball with the Chicago Cardinals before joining the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She played second base, was the pitcher and outfielder with the World Champion New Orleans Jax.

Terry Donahue was a catcher and utility player for the Peoria Redwings from 1948 to 1949. She averaged at least one RBI for every hit she recorded in both seasons. Donahue was inducted into the Saskatchen Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.

Jane Moffett was a catcher, played first base and utility outfield for the Kalamazoo Lassies from 1949 to 1952. She is also a member of the East Stroudsburg University Hall of Fame. Moffett also played for the Battles Creek Belles in 1952 and toured with the Springfield Sallies for two years before joining the All-American Girls Baseball League.

For more about Marshall softball, please go to the Herd Zone softball page.

Thanks to Conor Laffey and Demeley Smith for segments of this story.