CAPAHA FIELD KEEPS NAME, BUT MAY ADD HALL OF FAME

Monday night's meeting of the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Board included discussion that will likely lead to the erection of some kind of local hall of fame monument at the primary baseball field in Capaha Park.

The park board was responding to a letter from Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Bill Atchley to Cape Girardeau mayor Al Spradling III that proposed the city give serious consideration to changing the name of Capaha Field to `John "Doc" Yallaly Stadium.'

Yallaly, the longtime Cape Girardeau American Legion baseball manager, has announced his plans to retire from that post after his 40th season with the team this coming summer.

Park board chairman Jay Knudtson, while acknowledging Yallaly's considerable accomplishments and contributions, said it would be difficult to single out just one person to name a stadium after.

"We discussed it at our meeting and to a man everybody knows about Doc and what he's done," said Knudtson. "We recommended at this time that the name is not changed.

"But the Capaha Field Improvement Committee will look into erecting a hall of fame monument at Capaha Field to take notice and to give credit to some of these individuals like Doc, Jess Bolen, Joe Uhls and others who have made a tremendous impact on baseball in Cape Girardeau."

Bolen is the longtime manager of the Kohlfeld Capahas, Cape Girardeau's highly-successful semi-pro baseball team, while the late Uhls is a former legendary baseball coach at Southeast Missouri State.

"The park board to a man was overwhelmed by the contribution and time that Doc Yallaly has given to baseball in Cape Girardeau," Knudtson said. "But at the same time, the park board realizes that there have been several people who have given so much time in the past and there will be people like that in the future.

"At this time, it probably wouldn't be fair to change the name and give recognition to one individual. But what it's done is spur on the idea that so many people have given so much time and effort, so the Capaha Field Improvement Committee will look into some kind of really nice hall of fame."