ACCESSING THE ARCHIVES groundskeeper was honored twice for his work at two different facilities and at two different levels of baseball . Steve Horne , the Barons ’ director of field operations during the awardwinning 1997 season , was head groundskeeper / stadium-manager at the University of Mississippi when Swayze Field was selected College
Baseball Diamond of the Year in 1992 . Mike Andresen , athletic turf manager at Iowa State University , wrote the May cover article on striping , lining and logos . “ In striping and lining , accuracy is essential ,” he wrote . “ Games are won or lost by inches , and many of those inches are marked by what you ’ ve painted , and how precisely you ’ ve painted it . After accuracy , your second priority is speed , because crew time is precious .”
The June 1998 issue covered the “ Municipal Baseball Diamond of the Year ,” and it also introduced the first-ever SportsTurf Editorial Advisory Board . That inaugural board consisted of STMA President Steve Guise , President-Elect Rich Moffitt , Education Committee Chair Mary Owen , Past-President Mike Schiller , STMA Executive Director Steve Trusty , and Communications Committee Co-Chair
Victoria Wallace .
Jim Puhalla , co-author of “ Sports Fields — A Manual for Design , Construction and Maintenance ” wrote the July cover story on “ Preparing Fields for Football and Soccer Season .”
“ If you haven ’ t already been inspecting your fields regularly , a detailed inspection is a good first step for fall sports preparation ,” he wrote . “ It must be said that effective preparation for fall sports should begin at the conclusion of the previous year ’ s season . Steps that can be taken now will have some effect on the health of the turfgrass culture , but substantially upgrading a football or soccer field takes months to achieve .”
The August 1998 issue highlighted Abby McNeal , who won College Soccer Field of the Year for
Pleasant View Sports Complex . “ We focus on excellence , on providing safe , highly playable fields by doing the best with what we have and putting in that extra effort each day ,” said McNeal .
Puhalla was back with the September cover story , this time on “ Surveying Basics .” “ When starting to survey a field , establish a benchmark so that all of your elevation measurements will be consistent ,” he wrote . “ This fixed reference point can be anything from a catch basin lid to a curb , or any other stationary structure . Once a benchmark has been established , the surveying instrument can be moved to another location , and it can be removed and reset on another day .” Field repairs were the focus in
October 1998 , “ After damage occurs , the job of providing a safe , playable surface intensifies . All too often , there is a very short window of opportunity in which to accomplish this task . Sports turf managers need to evaluate the situation , consider all available options , and select the solution that ’ s most effective , least disruptive , and within the budget .”
The Chicago Bears ’ Halas Hall practice facility was detailed in the November issue . The $ 20-million , year-round facility in Lake Forest , Illinois , was a 200,000 square foot , 2-1 / 2-field facility with a 100,000-square-foot building overlooking the field . The article went on to detail the maintenance efforts of Bears Head Groundskeeper Ken Mrock .
SportsTurf magazine wrapped up 1998 with its annual Product Source Book . SFM
All content for this section is pulled from the SportsTurf / SportsField Management archives , an ongoing cooperative project of EPG Media , SFMA and the Michigan State University Libraries . Public access to the archive from 1985 to the present ( less two months ) is available at https :// sturf . lib . msu . edu / index . html .
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