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President's Letter |
If you started your studies at Ferris in 1957 or later, you’ve always attended home football games at Top Taggart Field. It wasn’t always so. Ferris’ first “official” field was nicknamed Stony Field (“where the players got more bruises from the gravel than from the opposing team”). “Stony Field” was probably the Reunion Grounds or Riverside Park, where Ferris football games were played until about 1940 or 1941. The Bulldogs next played at Masselink Field. The Ferris catalog for 1941-42 proclaims, “Masselink Field, the new $65,000 municipal athletic field, provides ample facilities for night football, a quarter mile cinder running track and a reinforced concrete stadium which accommodates 3,000 spectators....” Masselink Field was near the current Masselink Hall. For several years, Cardinal Field at the old Big Rapids High School (now Crossroads Academy) served as Ferris’ “second” field. A photo of the 1949 Homecoming game shows the field looking south, with Mitchell Creek in the foreground. The field is still in use to this day. Top Taggart Field was dedicated in October 1957, along with Science Hall, Trade and Industrial Center, Carlisle Hall, Vandercook Hall and Pearson Lecture Hall. The field is named in honor of Big Rapids native, Bulldog star halfback and benefactor W.C. “Top” Taggart. Taggart was Ferris’ first official varsity football coach, beginning with the 1912 season. He also served on the Ferris Board of Incorporators from 1931-50, including five years as its chairman. Ferris’ football field is still evolving. Presently, the facility is in the midst a multi-phase renovation and construction project. The initial phase, completed in August 1998, involved the installation of a new playing surface surrounded by a refurbished 400-meter, eight-lane track. A new electronic scoreboard was installed in June 2000. Phase two of the project was completed in August 2001 with the construction of the Wheeler Pavilion, named in honor of alumnus John Wheeler and his wife, Chris. The three-story building features a clubroom and media/game management level. Phase three would entail construction of locker rooms, a weight room and coaches’ offices. Funding for this tentative project would be raised through private donations. |
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