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James R. Crane Stadium /
Robert N. Tompkins Field

With the completion in the spring of 1998 of the improvements at James R. Crane Stadium/Robert N. Tompkins Field, University of Central Missouri has an outstanding baseball facility to go with its already outstanding baseball program.

A $1.2 million construction project, funded primarily by Crane, added a locker room and coaches' offices for the Mules, an umpires' dressing room, new dugouts, permanent seats, a concession stand, a press box and lights to the already existing playing field.

On Jan. 21, 1998, the Board of Governors approved the naming of the facility, formerly known as Mules' Field, in honor of Crane and Tompkins. Official dedication ceremonies were held on May 2, 1998. the facility was showcased in the October 1998 issue of Athletics Administration magazine.

The first night game played under the new lights took place on March 25, 1998, with the Mules beating Benedictine 21-6. On the May 2 dedication day, the Mules swept a doubleheader from Truman State, 14-2 and 10-4, in the first round of the MIAA Playoffs. The 1998 MIAA Postseason Tournament and the NCAA Central Regional Tournament also were played here, with the Mules winning both events.

Tompkins, who died in July, 1996, at the age of 55, was the Mules' baseball coach from 1965 through 1980. He designed the facility prior to its original construction in 1975. As coach, he compiled a 248-164-1 record (.602 winning percentage). His teams won MIAA championships in 1966, 1971 and 1974, went to the NCAA tournament in 1971and 1974, and placed fourth at the 1974 NCAA Championship. He was voted MIAA coach of the year in 1974. Prior to becoming the Mules' head coach, Tompkins had been a three-year letterman for the Mules as a pitcher. His 1974 team was inducted into the University of Central Missouri Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.

Crane, who played for the Mules from 1973 through 1976, provided the lead gift for the additions to the facility. He is the founder, president and chief executive officer of his own company, Eagle Global Logistics, in Houston, Texas. A 1997 Central Missouri Hall of Fame inductee, Crane was a standout pitcher during his Mules' career under Tompkins. He had a four-year record of 21-8 with an earned run average of 2.42. He was an honorable mention All-America and first-team All-MIAA selection in 1974 and 1975. In the Mules' baseball record book, he ranks second in career strikeouts (215), fifth in career wins (21), fourth in career earned run average (2.42) and sixth in career innings pitched (216). He still holds the Mules' single-game strikeout record with 18. In his last game as a Mule, he pitched a 1-0 shutout vs. Lincoln on May 8, 1976, at this site. Crane is a graduate of Lutheran North High School in St. Louis.

This field has been the site of the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament in 1989, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007,as well as MIAA Tournaments in 1986, 1992, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007.  The field's major league dimensions are 330 feet down each foul line, 375 feet to left center and right center, and 400 feet to center field. While this site originally was under construction in 1975, the Mules played their home games at Warrensburg's Grover Park. Prior to that, the Mules played at a site where the Multipurpose Building and its surrounding parking lots are now located.  First game at this site: Mar. 22, 1976 vs. Kansas State (Mules won first game of doubleheader 2-1, Kansas State won second game 7-4.)

New chair back seats were added for the 2006 season

A new addition to the stadium site in 2004-2005 was the indoor weight training / workout facility.

Pictures from inside the facility »