65 Years Ago today-Paterson Field

 
      Ever wonder who Paterson Field in Montgomery is named for?  (Not the former Governor, he has two "p"s in his name.)
      That Patterson was Attorney General 1955 - 1959, and was a staunch segregationist Governor. (He is still living---97 years old!)

   




  65 years ago today, the baseball facility was named for the son of William Burns Paterson, William Paterson, Jr., former Auburn football star and chair of the Montgomery athletic board. 
     His father was celebrated for founding schools for African-American Students, and founding Rosemont Gardens in Montgomery (though there's no mention of him on the shop's website).
   

ASU Campus

       Paterson, Sr. helped create the "Lincoln Normal School" in 1867 in Marion. It eventually became Alabama State University in Montgomery. 
     The reference to "Tullibody" on the ASU campus refers to the town in Scotland where Paterson was born. 

     His son died of a heart attack the morning of October 18 1954 and the stadium, which had opened in 1949, was named in his honor the next day. *

    












P.S.
 

I worked next to Paterson Field for a decade---at Alabama Public Television. I would frequently find foul balls at, or under, my car. Eventually I used them as part of an art-installation piece in my home gallery.

"Foul Ball", circa 2010

(*Note that the headline spells the name incorrectly! One "t", not two.)