Left Field Lounge

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The Left Field Lounge is the area beyond the outfield fence in Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium at Mississippi State University. It has been named the "#1 place to watch college baseball", and among the "100 things you gotta do before you graduate" by Sports Illustrated.[1]

The author John Grisham, alumnus of Mississippi State and fan of MSU college baseball wrote an introduction about his time at MSU and in the Left Field Lounge in his book Inside Dudy Noble: A Celebration of Mississippi State Baseball, he.[2]

The Left Field Lounge started in the 1960s with fans driving cars and trucks into the area to watch a game. Russ Rogers, a Starkville native, was the first to drive a pickup in to the left field and set up shop. In the late 1960s, fans started bringing grills, tables, and ice chests full of drinks for a full tailgate party experience. At that time, fans would drive in before the game to set up their tailgates, and then take it all down after the game and drive back out. As the area became more popular, a line would form to get in before the game, the area would fill up, and some would be turned away. In a 2003 article by a Mississippi State alumnus:[3] In the early 1970s one truck driven to the Left Field Lounge would not start and was unable to leave after the game was over, so the owners just left the truck there. For the next game, the truck was still there, creating what was essentially a reserved spot. Other fans picked up on this idea and brought in trucks and grills with the intention of leaving them there. Some trucks that were no longer functional were towed into a spot. To allow more fans to share a space, home-built seats and bleachers were built in the beds of some of the trucks. Later, motorhomes and flatbed trailers were brought in with more elaborate and sturdy bleachers. Eventually, the university established rules for the spots in Left Field Lounge. Spaces were rented for the season, and after all of the spaces were filled, those not receiving a space were placed on a waiting list. The trucks/trailers/motorhomes had been on wheels, brought in by a certain day before the season started, and removed after the season ended.[citation needed]

NCAA Record Attendance[]

SEC weekend games typically draw the largest crowds, giving rise to large weekend gatherings. Mississippi State holds the NCAA record for the largest single-game on-campus baseball attendance at 15,586 and the largest SEC crowd for a 3-game weekend series at 29,915.[citation needed] In 2007 versus the Clemson Tigers, MSU had the NCAA's top two all-time highest attended Super Regional games with 12,620 and 13,715 fans.[citation needed]

Mississippi State has all of the top 11 on-campus crowds in the history of college baseball. Overall, DNF-PDS has held 15 crowds over 12,000 and 31 crowds over 10,000.[citation needed]

Top Baseball Crowds at DNF-PDS[]

Rank Attendance Opponent Date Record Broken
1 15,586 Mississippi April 12, 2014 NCAA On-Campus Record
2 15,078 Texas A&M April 16, 2016 #2 NCAA On-Campus Record
3 14,991 Florida April 22, 1989 #3 NCAA On-Campus Record
4 14,562 Auburn April 20, 2013 #4 NCAA On-Campus Record
5 14,556 Louisiana State April 16, 1988 #5 NCAA On-Campus Record
6 13,761 Arkansas April 25, 1992 #6 NCAA On-Campus Record
7 13,715 Clemson June 9, 2007 #7 NCAA On-Campus Record
NCAA Super Regional Single-Game Record
8 13,617 Georgia April 8, 2006 #8 NCAA On-Campus Record
9 13,324 Mississippi April 11, 2014 #9 NCAA On-Campus Record
10 13,123 Mississippi April 15, 2000 #10 NCAA On-Campus Record
11 12,708 Auburn April 24, 1993 #11 NCAA On-Campus Record
12 12,620 Clemson June 8, 2007 #12 NCAA On-Campus Record
#2 NCAA Super Regional Single-Game Record
13 12,360 Georgia April 6, 2002 #14 NCAA On-Campus Record
14 11,763 Auburn April 12, 2003 #17 NCAA On-Campus Record
15 11,496 Florida State May 27, 1990 #20 NCAA On-Campus Record
NCAA Regional Single-Game Record
16 11,201 Florida April 9, 2011 #23 NCAA On-Campus Record
17 11,174 Florida April 13, 1991 #24 NCAA On-Campus Record
18 11,127 South Alabama May 26, 2000 #26 NCAA On-Campus Record
19 11,124 South Alabama June 1, 2013
20 11,102 Central Arkansas May 31, 2013
21 11,089 Tennessee April 17, 2010
22 10,958 Auburn April 9, 2005
23 10,832 Notre Dame May 28, 2000
24 10,688 Washington May 25, 1997
25 10,617 Florida April 17, 2004
26 10,588 North Carolina May 28, 1989
27 10,555 Kentucky April 18, 2009
28 10,382 Florida April 25, 1987
29 10,324 Kentucky March 31, 2007
30 10,284 Middle TN St. May 30, 2003
31 10,226 Central Arkansas June 2, 2013
32 10,050 Alabama April 10, 1999
33 9,784 Notre Dame May 27, 2000
34 9,593 Vanderbilt April 21, 1990
35 9,424 Georgia March 29, 2008
36 9,264 Louisiana State March 24, 2001
37 9,243 Louisiana State May 15, 1993

References[]

  1. ^ "100 things you gotta do before you graduate". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  2. ^ "Inside Dudy Noble: A Celebration of Mississippi State Baseball". Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  3. ^ "Out in left field". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2008-11-30.

External links[]

Coordinates: 33°27′50″N 88°47′39″W / 33.463758°N 88.794054°W / 33.463758; -88.794054

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