Dick Howser

Richard Dalton Howser (May 14, 1936 – June 17, 1987) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, coach and manager. He is best known as the manager of the Kansas City Royals during the 1980s, and for guiding them to the franchise's first World Series title in 1985.

Playing career

A native of Miami, Florida, Howser grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, graduated from Palm Beach High School and attended college at Florida State University. He was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. At Florida State, he received honors twice as an All-American shortstop and set a school record with a batting average of .422 in 1956. Signed by the Kansas City Athletics, he hit .280, stole 37 bases, scored 108 runs, and led American League shortstops in putouts and errors in his rookie season. For this he was selected to the 1961 All-Star team, and was named The Sporting News rookie of the year.

As his stats declined in the following two years, his only other season as a regular was with the Cleveland Indians in 1964. His major league career spanned eight seasons with three (3) clubs - Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees.

Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium

Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium is a baseball venue located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, located adjacent to Doak Campbell Stadium on the campus of Florida State University. It is the home field of the Florida State Seminoles baseball team of the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference. It opened in 1983 and was renovated in 2004. The two-year, $12 million renovation project expanded the seating capacity to 6,700.

History

In 1988, the stadium portion of the venue was named after Florida State's first baseball All-American, Dick Howser, also a former head baseball coach of the program. In 2005, the field itself was dedicated to current Florida State head coach Mike Martin.

The stadium has played host to 32 NCAA Regional Tournaments since opening in 1983.

Attendance

The stadium annually ranks among the top 10 nationally in attendance and set records in 2003 for total and average attendance.

In 2013, the Seminoles ranked 8th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 4,594 per home game.