Doug Kingsmore Stadium
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Doug Kingsmore Stadium, the home of Tiger baseball since 1970, has seen many changes and improvements over the years, but it has not lost its aesthetic beauty and unique feel on the west side of the Clemson University campus.

Former Clemson baseball star and Board of Trustees Emeritus Doug Kingsmore gave the Clemson athletic department a $1 million gift towards renovation of Clemson’s baseball stadium, formerly known as Tiger Field.  And during the 2002 and 2003 offseasons, Doug Kingsmore Stadium underwent radical renovations.  Over $5 million was spent to make the facility among the best in the nation.

Kingsmore played for the Tiger varsity squad for three seasons (1952-54).  An All-ACC and All-District III outfielder in 1954, Kingsmore became the first Tiger in history to hit 10 home runs in a season.  He did that in 1954 while playing just 24 games.  He led the ACC in home runs and runs (25) that year, and he led the Tigers in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.742), and RBIs (27).

Kingsmore played three years of professional baseball in the Baltimore Oriole organization before beginning a successful business career.  He served three terms on the Clemson University Board of Trustees and became Trustee Emeritus when his elected term expired in 2002.

In 2009, the Tigers finished its home season with a 31-9 record and hosted the Clemson Regional thanks in part to the tremendous home-field advantage that Doug Kingsmore Stadium provides.  A record 30,073 fans were in attendance for the seven games of the Clemson Regional, as the Tigers won three games during the past two days to capture the regional championship.

Clemson was #7 in the country and #1 in the ACC in average attendance (4,727) in 2009.  It marked Clemson’s 16th straight top-20 national finish in attendance and eighth season in a row in the top 10.

This outstanding fan support from the Clemson community and the Upstate of South Carolina has contributed to the Tigers’ outstanding home-field record.  Clemson has played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for 40 years and has a winning percentage of 81 percent.  This includes a 316-79 mark in ACC regular-season games, an 80-percent mark.

The Tigers have won at least 69 percent of their home games in 23 of the last 24 seasons.  Clemson is 463-114 (.802) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium during Jack Leggett’s 16 years as head coach at Clemson.

The stadium attendance record was set on March 7, 2004 when 6,480 fans saw #5 South Carolina defeat the Tigers 8-7 in 10 innings.

Nine times during the 1994 season, an opposing top-20 team tasted defeat at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, and four times a team ranked in the top three in the country lost to the Tigers.  Seven wins against top-20 teams, including three wins over a top-10 Florida State squad, were recorded at home in 1996.

In 2000, the Tigers were 8-3 against top-25 foes at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.  After Clemson won three games against #2 Florida State, Seminole Head Coach Mike Martin voiced his opinion on how tough it is to play at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

“If you had told me in 1992 that we were going to go to a place where we’d be 2-13 over the next eight years, I would have gone to the administration and suggested we join another conference,” Martin told the Tallahassee Democrat.  “Clemson is a very tough place to play...the toughest place to play of any place I’ve ever competed in all my years of college baseball.  The good news is it’s 727 days before we have to go back to Clemson.”

In 2006, the Tigers sported a 17-2 record against top-25 ranked foes in the friendly confines of Doug Kingsmore Stadium, including series sweeps of top-10 South Carolina (2), #12 N.C. State (3), #13 Florida State (3), and #22 Wake Forest (3).

Doug Kingsmore Stadium has seen steady improvement since its first season in 1970 and is now one of the top facilities in the country.  Just ask people at Baseball America, who released a coaches’ ranking that named it one of the nation’s best facilities in 2003.  And that ranking was done before any of the recent renovations were finished.  Evidence of its rating among facilities across the nation has been demonstrated in recent years, when Doug Kingsmore Stadium was named as a site for a 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2009 NCAA Regional.

The renovations to Doug Kingsmore Stadium began in the summer of 2002, which has kept Clemson’s ballpark among the country’s best.  The stadium has a brick façade that surrounds every entrance.  A green roof that covers much more of the stands and a press box that is twice as large adds to the comfort of fans attending the game and the media covering it.  The press box, which is accessible by elevator, includes four large booths for broadcasting and a separate media center that accommodates 13 writers.

There is also a patio area outside the press box that is above the existing stands along the first and third-base lines.  It is used for receptions and other events throughout the year.

Two ticket booths, concession stands with an adjoining picnic area, and enlarged restrooms make the facility easily accessible and fan-friendly.  Reserved seats have also been added to the grandstand.  A grand stairway leading from the McFadden Building parking lot to the main entrance is an added feature from a convenience and aesthetic aspect.

The players also realize improvements, as four batting cages were constructed beyond the right-field fence.  The dugouts were almost doubled in length and width.  And the players have a spacious locker room and lounge.

Prior to the 2005 season, PawVision, the replay screen that was used in the football stadium, was moved to Doug Kingsmore Stadium.  Prior to the 2008 season, new lights were installed, then before the 2009 season, a practice facility with field turf was constructed behind the batting cages.  Additional chairback seats were also added behind the right-field fence.

Prior to the 2010 campaign, the Thomas F. Chapman Grandstand was constructed behind the left-field fence, adding approximately 1,000 seats.  Chapman, who was a two-time All-ACC pitcher at Clemson from 1963-65, gave $2 million to the University, $1 million of which went to the grandstand.

Click on the GALLERY link to view pictures of the Thomas F. Chapman Grandstand: GALLERY

Doug Kingsmore Stadium is equipped with a “Super-Sopper,” which cuts down on rainouts.  Clemson is one of a few schools in the nation with this machine that removes water from the field.

The stadium is located in the middle of Clemson’s athletic facilities.  It is across the street from Littlejohn Coliseum, home of Tiger basketball, and Memorial Stadium, home of Clemson football.  It is located directly behind Jervey Athletic Center, home of the athletic administrative offices.

Doug Kingsmore Stadium has 4,500 permanent seats, but it is capable of holding 6,217 fans thanks to a hill area down the left-field line that is popular with the Clemson student-body.

In 2001, the ballpark shrank its dimensions.  The fences are now 320 feet down the left-field line, 370 feet in left-center, 400 feet to straight-away center, 375 feet in the right-center alley, and 330 feet down the right-field line.

The park also features a unique terrace in the outfield area adjacent to the fence, similar to the old Crosley Field in Cincinnati, OH, which ironically was torn down the year Doug Kingsmore Stadium was built.  Bill Wilhelm, Clemson’s longtime coach who was the skipper when the field was constructed, liked the look and practicality of a field with grass all the way around the outfield instead of gravel.

Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, who played at Georgia Tech in the 1990s, said Doug Kingsmore Stadium was his favorite venue to play at.  “They had rowdy fans.  And the fans are right on the action.  They were closer to the on-deck circle than we were.”

Doug Kingsmore

Former Clemson baseball star and Board of Trustees Emeritus Doug Kingsmore gave the Clemson athletic department a $1 million gift towards renovation of Clemson’s baseball stadium, formerly known as Tiger Field.

And during the 2002 and 2003 offseasons, Doug Kingsmore Stadium underwent radical renovations.  Over $5 million was spent to make the facility among the best in the nation.

Kingsmore played for the Tiger varsity squad for three seasons (1952-54).  An All-ACC and All-District III outfielder in 1954, Kingsmore became the first Tiger in history to hit 10 home runs in a season.  He did that in 1954 while playing in just 24 games.  He led the ACC in home runs and runs (25) that year, and he led the Tigers in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.742), and RBIs (27).

Kingsmore played three years of professional baseball in the Baltimore Oriole organization before beginning a successful business career.  He served three terms on the Clemson University Board of Trustees and became Trustee Emeritus when his elected term expired in 2002.

Thomas F. Chapman

Thomas F. Chapman gave Clemson University $2 million to form a leadership program in the College of Business and Behavioral Science and to expand and enhance Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

One-million dollars of the gift will support the Thomas F. Chapman Leadership Scholars Program and $1 million has been used to build the Thomas F. Chapman Grandstand, adding 1,000 seats to Clemson’s baseball stadium.

Chapman graduated from Clemson with an economics degree in 1965.  
While at Clemson, he was a two-time All-ACC pitcher, including a first- team selection in 1965 when he led the ACC in strikeouts (100).  In his three years in a Tiger uniform, he had a combined 12-7 record and
3.12 ERA.

Upon graduation, Chapman became the first Tiger to be selected in the MLB draft when he was taken by the Phillies in 1965.  He played pro baseball until 1968, when he was called to active military service.