Alex Box Memories

• Published: May 11, 2008 - Page: 9C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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MIKE NEAL
(1991-93; team captain ’93)
Cherry Hill, N.J.
Alex Box stadium holds many special memories for me. As a player from 1991-93, I was privileged to play on some great teams and to play in some great games. I still remember vividly playing Mississippi State in ’92 for the conference championship.

Realizing the importance of the game and the need to motivate and energize the ballclub, (assistant) coach Smoke Laval broke out several dozen brand new baseballs for batting practice on the field. He told us to try to hit a home run on every swing to send a message to Mississippi State, who was watching us take batting practice, that “No one beats us today.”

The players accepted that challenge, and beyond the left-field bleachers sat a huge hot air balloon for a promotion during the game. Each of us took turns trying to hit the side of the balloon. As we launched home run after home run, the State players stood on the front step of the dugout with their mouths wide open watching the unbelievable batting practice display. With the music playing and thousands of fans cheering for every home run that was hit into the side of the balloon, The Box created an invigorating and intimating atmosphere. By game time, the crowd was getting so large that they started seating people on the field, up and down the foul lines, so that the fans were literally right on top of us during the game. It was an amazing spectacle to be a part of and we ultimately won our third straight SEC championship that day.

Even though games like the State series were special, my most cherished memories of The Box occurred years before. I recall walking through the home plate corridor with my dad in 1985 and seeing the inside of Alex Box Stadium for the very first time. I was amazed at the beautiful ballpark; to me The Box looked like a big-league ballpark and the infield grass looked liked carpet in comparison to the pasture-like fields I played on in Hammond. I remember looking up into the stands and being in awe of the huge grandstand and all the people there to watch the Tigers play.

The following year I visited The Box again for a second time with my dad for the South Regional tournament and saw the Tigers beat Tulane to go to the College World Series. At this tournament, I experienced the magical big-game atmosphere of The Box, which forever changed my life. It was at this game where I fell in love with baseball, I fell in love with LSU, and I made the decision to pursue baseball passionately in the hopes of one day walking out on the field at Alex Box Stadium as a starter for the LSU Tigers.

OSCAR RICHARD (AGE 86)
Baton Rouge
I was a freshman at LSU in 1938. It was a memorable time at the Ole War Skule, culminating in the beginning of World War II. I went to Harding Field on the morning of June 1, 1942 and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. That night I went to commencement at Tiger Stadium.

But what I remember most vividly about those years was the baseball stadium, which had just been built and was named “Leche Stadium,” after the governor of Louisiana, Richard W. Leche. Leche was a friend of Bill Terry, the playing manager of the New York Giants. He persuaded Terry to have the Giants come to LSU for spring training in 1938 and ’39. I remember spending some free time visiting the ballpark to see luminaries such as Carl Hubbell and Mel Ott. I also saw LSU play against the Giants’ rookies and old timers. I remember mostly seeing LSU’s legendary Ken Kavanaugh hit a towering homer into Nicholson Drive.

Some time in 1939, the Louisiana Scandals erupted, sending several state officials, including the governor and LSU President James Monroe Smith to prison. One aftermatch of the skullduggery was removing the names of the guilty from buildings. Leche’s name was removed from the Law building as well as the baseball stadium and Smith Hall became Pleasant Hall.

The baseball stadium was named in honor of Alex Box, a top-ranked student and all-around athlete who was killed in North Africa during the early days of the war and shortly after receiving the Distinguished Service Cross.

Editor’s note: Research into The Advocate’s 1938-’39 archives did not reveal Alex Box Stadium once being known as Leche Stadium. However, references were found in articles from the New York Times, one from March 1938 and another from April, 1938. Also, in the 2007 book “Baseball in Baton Rouge” by Michael Bielawa, a caption under a photo states the stadium was christened “Governor Richard W. Leche Stadium.”

GERRY ROBICHAUX
Bossier City
The story on the memories of The Box was as enjoyable reading as I have ever found in The Advocate. And I have been a reader of your paper for 61 years.

I remember an “ecumenical” battery that pitched for the Red Sticks when they played there (pitcher Nino Bresquso and catcher Roger Isringhaus; I hope the spelling is close).

I remember playing first base for Mr. Rinaudo’s Industrial Sheet Metal American Legion team and trying to keep from swallowing my tongue batting against Blondie and Blackie Millett. And in the only night game I ever played in having a fly ball go higher than the lights and virtually disappearing, only to fall into my glove as I signalled I had lost the ball in the dark.