Bill would name Alcorn State baseball facilities for former coaches McGowan and Foster

The legendary Willie E."Rat" McGowan, Sr. (#25 in photo) will be honored with the naming of the Alcorn State University baseball stadium.

JACKSON, MS — Alcorn State University could honor its sports history by naming its baseball stadium and the field inside the stadium after two former coaches. A bill that passed the Mississippi House 116-0 on Tuesday would name the park as the Willie E. "Rat" McGowan Sr. Baseball Stadium. McGowan retired in 2009 after coaching Alcorn State baseball for 40 years. The field inside the stadium would be named for the late William "Bill" Foster, the school's first baseball coach.

Foster was a left-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues in the 1920s and '30s and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The legendary "Rat" McGowan finished his Alcorn career with 720 wins and was inducted in the Alcorn State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998, for baseball and football. The bill moves to the Senate for more work.

Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum: Personal Profiles: William Foster
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MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2010 Regular Session

To: Public Property; Universities and Colleges

By: Representatives Holloway, Middleton, Clarke, Wooten, Arinder, DuVall, Espy, Gibbs, Harrison, Huddleston (30th), Johnson, Jones (82nd), Thomas, Scott, Clark

House Bill 730
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT THE ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY BASEBALL PARK ON THE CAMPUS OF ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY IN LORMAN, MISSISSIPPI, SHALL BE NAMED THE WILLIE E. "RAT" MCGOWAN, SR., BASEBALL STADIUM; TO PROVIDE THAT THE BASEBALL FIELD WITHIN THE WILLIE E. "RAT" MCGOWAN STADIUM SHALL BE NAMED THE WILLIAM "BILL" FOSTER BASEBALL FIELD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The Alcorn State University Baseball Park on the campus of Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, shall be named the Willie E. "Rat" McGowan, Sr., Baseball Stadium. The Department of Finance and Administration shall prepare a distinctive plaque to be placed in a prominent place within the Willie E. "Rat" McGowan, Sr., Baseball Stadium, which states the background, accomplishments and service to the university of Mr. McGowan.

SECTION 2. The baseball field within the Willie E. "Rat" McGowan, Sr., Baseball Stadium, as designated in Section 1 of this act, located on the campus of Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, shall be named the William "Bill" Foster Baseball Field. The Department of Finance and Administration shall prepare a distinctive plaque to be placed in a prominent place on the William "Bill" Foster Baseball Field, which states the background, accomplishments and service to the university of Mr. Foster.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.