Ground Breaking for New Baseball Facility Underway
June 23, 1998
CORVALLIS, Ore. - With the downward swing of a backhoe through a dugout roof and a chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," Oregon State University broke ground for Goss Stadium at Coleman Field on Monday afternoon. The ceremony launched the official start of construction for a new stadium on one of the nation's oldest baseball fields.
Goss Stadium is a $2 million project, paid for entirely through private donations. It is the first privately-funded capital improvement in school history for which all the money was raised prior to groundbreaking.
The stadium adds the first permanent seating to Coleman Field, where the Beavers have played their home games since starting baseball as a varsity sport in 1907. The diamond is the oldest in the Pacific-10 Conference and among the oldest in the country, though no official national list is available.
"This is a great day, and it's been a long time coming," OSU head baseball coach Pat Casey said. "A lot of people have been here since 1907, and they're a big part of this ... Goss Stadium will be made of concrete and brick and steel, but it's been built with people - (former coaches) Ralph Coleman, Gene Tanselli, Jack Riley and all the people who have played here over the years. They'll be here forever."
Goss Stadium will seat 1,473, including 606 chair seats. It will also include a press box, a lobby/concession area, restrooms, storage areas, ticket booths, locker rooms and dugouts. The stadium will be named for the family of John and Eline Goss, whose sizable donation was the key to construction.
John Goss was an Oregon State track and field letterman in the 1930s. The naming of the stadium is also a memorial to his older brother, James Goss, an Oregon State graduate.
"He contributed more to this college than I ever will," John Goss said. "He was a great Oregon Stater - his whole heart was in it."
John and Eline Goss have made additional contributions to OSU that will lead to endowed scholarships for Beaver student/athletes and other top academic students, including graduates of Portland's Grant High School and members of the Theta Beta Pi fraternity.
"I don't know what to say, except that I always wanted to be a ballplayer," John Goss told the crowd gathered in the old Coleman Field bleachers. "When I was in the eighth grade in grammar school, I was on a good team. I was playing center field and didn't warm up. I threw the ball from center field to home plate, and with it went my arm. That ended my history as a baseball player."
While at Oregon State, Goss watched many a game at Coleman Field. "This field brings back a lot of memories," Goss said. "I rembember the day Oregon State was playing for the Northwest (Northern Division) championship, and we had Wes Schulmerich at bat. It was tied, there were two out in the bottom of the ninth, had had two balls and two strikes, and he hit the ball so hard it knocked the cover off it. It landed in the boiler room (beyond center field)."
Goss went to the third-base side of the field where a backhoe was waiting in front of the Oregon State dugout. On Goss' signal, the operator brought the scoop down through the roof and began leveling the dugout. The ceremonies closed with Goss leading the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
Oregon State has an all-time record of 847-352-1 at Coleman Field. This spring, the Beavers set a school record for home victories by going 20-4 on their way to a 35-14-1 record.
"This was a special year, and we're very proud of our baseball program," OSU athletic director Mitch Barnhart said. "This program has seen tremendous growth under Pat Casey."
Casey played at Coleman Field while an all-league outfielder at the University of Portland from 1978-80. In his four seasons at OSU, the Beavers are 130-66-4 (.660) and they are 64-16 at home (.800).
"I can't express how it feels to coach here following Ralph Coleman, Gene Tanselli and Jack Riley," Casey said. "It's a thrill for me to be coaching here and taking the next step in putting this project together. This will take Oregon State baseball to the next level."
