Liberty Athletics and the baseball program will hold a dedication for the naming of the Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium on Oct.19 at 10 a.m. at the stadium.
The ceremony is opened to the public with light refreshment being served after the dedication. Following the ceremony, members of the Liberty baseball team will provide tours of the stadium.
Fans are encouraged to park in the Game Day Orange Lot (Liberty Baseball Stadium and Liberty Athletic Center) for the ceremony.
The Campaign to Name the Field
In an effort to recognize the baseball program’s all-time winningest coach, Al Worthington, Liberty Athletics launched the Worthington Field naming campaign in February.
The Flames Club received lead gifts from two recognizable Liberty Baseball families. Former baseball standouts David and Jason Benham (1995-98) provided a lead gift to launch the campaign. While the twin Benham brothers did not play for Worthington, they wanted to contribute to the effort to honor him for his outstanding testimony and relentless mission to use baseball as a platform for evangelism. Liberty Athletics will commemorate the Benham’s gift with the naming of a yet-to-be-determined space in their honor at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
The Bream Family of Sid 81 & Michelle81, Dave 86 & Jill86, and Sheldon 93 & Shannon93 matched the Benhams with another gift to be recognized at a later date.
All generations of Liberty Baseball players were represented in the campaign. Additional honorary gifts, to be recognized at later dates included the Home Radio Booth, Coaches’ Reception Area, and lockers in the locker room, among other donations.
Al Worthington
In 1974, Worthington came to Lynchburg to start Liberty’s baseball program. His 13-year coaching stint enabled him to become the winningest coach in program history and finish with a 64.4 winning percentage (343-189-1). Following the first year of the program, Liberty never again had a losing record during the final dozen years under Worthington’s tutelage.
During his time at the head of the program, Worthington coached four All-Americans and nine players who went on to play professional baseball, including Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame inductees Sid Bream (2009), Renard Brown (2019), Lee Guetterman (2010), Pat Sipe (2015) and Randy Tomlin (2016).
About Liberty Baseball Stadium
Liberty played its baseball games at Worthington Stadium from 1979 until the program moved to Liberty Baseball Stadium for the 2013 season.
On May 3, 1986, Liberty University founder Dr. Jerry Falwell named Liberty’s baseball facility Worthington Stadium. Liberty would go on to win that day, 19-3, against Maryland, capping off Worthington’s stellar 13-year coaching career.
Since opening in 2013, the Liberty Baseball Stadium has been recognized as one of the top collegiate baseball stadiums in the country, including top-five rankings by Stadium Journey and NCAA.com.
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Chris Graham
