The oldest still in use baseball park in Arkansas, Lamar Porter Field, is the subject of major renovation and fundraising plans this summer.
The field, located in the heart of Stifft Station in Little Rock, is celebrating it's 77th year of use with its most famous player Brooks Robinson next month. Robinson spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977.
Holt McConnell, a member of the Lamar Porter Revitalization Committee, recalled the legacy of the Hall of Famer.
"Brooks Robinson grew up in the Woodruff community, in Stifft Station. He played America Legion baseball for the Little Rock Doughboys at Lamar Porter Field," said McConnel. "Most baseball people would say that he's the greatest 3rd baseman that has ever lived. Brooks loves his home town and is making a special trip to do what he can to preserve the field for another seventy five years."
McConnell hopes the fundraiser will keep Lamar Porter from the fate of what was until recently Arkansas's oldest ballpark, Ray Winder Field.
"We would love to have so many people there to show their support for this old ball field; to show the people in general, in the entire community, how much this field has been important to this area. We certainly don't want it to go the way of Ray Winder Field," McConnell said.
The complex currently serves Billy Mitchell Boys and Girls Club in addition to being called home field by several high school baseball programs.
