Hoy Field

Hoy Field was located just west of Schoellkopf Field and east of the Engineering Quad on the southern end of Cornell's central campus. The dimensions of the field from home plate to the outfield fence were 315 feet in left field, 405 feet in center field, and 325 feet in right field. Seating capacity was about 500. Predating the field itself was Bacon Cage, an indoor batting cage between Hoy Field and Schoellkopf Stadium. According to university historian Corey Earle, it was dedicated to George W. Bacon, an 1892 Cornell graduate who had helped lead efforts to build the university's athletic complex. Bacon Cage was also used as an indoor golf driving range. In 1985, it was demolished to make way for the Hoy Parking Garage. Hoy Field also had batting facilities dedicated in memory of Kerry Brooks, a 1990 graduate of Cornell and a former "Big Red" co-captain. ==History==

Percy Field Cornell's previous baseball field was Percy Field, which stood at the current location of Ithaca High School from the 1890s until 1922. The metal bleachers from Percy Field were preserved and moved to the new baseball field. Notable events On April 21, 1923, Columbia pitcher Lou Gehrig struck out ten Big Red players and hit a "legendary" home run, which may be the longest home run in Hoy Field history. The facility was given a $3.25 million renovation in 2006. The playing field was re-oriented so that home plate, which had faced south, would face southwest, and the grass surface was replaced with artificial turf, FieldTurf, which was hoped would reduce maintenance costs and increase the field's availability for practice time in the early spring. In 2012, the field hosted the 2012 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series, in which Cornell defeated Dartmouth two games to one. Replacement The 2008 Campus Master Plan called for the relocation of Hoy Field in anticipation of future construction. Groundbreaking on a new building for the Bowers CIS school was held in October 2022 in the space formerly occupied by Hoy Field. The building is expected to be completed in 2025. The new facility would retain Hoy Field's capacity while adding lighting as well as a support building which would include new locker rooms, batting cages, and a press box. The Town of Ithaca approved the plans and construction began in 2022. The new field is named after longtime donor Rich Booth, a 1982 graduate and former pitcher, who had earlier endowed Cornell's head baseball coaching position in memory of coach Ted Thoren. Booth Field was officially dedicated April 22, 2023 and the first game was played there the same day, against Princeton. ==See also==