Gene Hooks Stadium was a

baseball stadium A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

. It was the primary home field of the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball The Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball team represents Wake Forest University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). They won the 1955 College World Series. They are coached by Tom Walte ...

program from 1981 through 2008.

History

The stadium was in use by March 1981, under its original name of Layton Field, and was dedicated on April 18, 1981. On April 23, 1988, it was renamed after former

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

Gene Hooks G. Eugene Hooks (born May 15, 1928) was the athletic director at Wake Forest University from 1964 to 1992. Playing career Hooks was a third baseman for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball team from 1947 to 1950. Hooks earned first-team All-Ameri ...

. Wake Forest's final game at the stadium was a 9–4 win over the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

on May 11, 2008. The ballpark was part of a complex sitting north of Faculty Drive (home plate / first base side) and a short distance east of Wingate Road (third base side). There were trees beyond right field, and a small practice golf course beyond left and center field. The ballpark sat less than a mile and almost directly west of

BB&T Field Truist Field at Wake Forest is a football stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The stadium is just west of Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park, home of the Wake Forest baseball team. It is primarily used for American football, and ...

and

Ernie Shore Field David F. Couch Ballpark is a collegiate and former minor-league baseball park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The full-time home of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball team, starting in 2009, it was also previously home of the Winston-Salem ...

.Campus Map
at universityparent.com, URL accessed November 15, 2009
Archived
November 15, 2009 For the 2009 season, the team moved back on a full-time basis to their previous home, Ernie Shore Field, which was then renamed Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park,
at cstv.com, URL accessed November 15, 2009
Archived
November 15, 2009 and later renamed David F. Couch Ballpark. Gene Hooks Stadium was subsequently demolished to make way for expansion of the golf practice course.''Winston-Salem Journal''
at journalnow.com, URL accessed June 21, 2010. The walkway forming the boundary of the southwest portion of the practice course roughly outlines the outer edge of the site of the ballpark's grandstand.

References

{{Triad sports venues College baseball venues in the United States Baseball venues in North Carolina Sports venues in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball Sports venues completed in 1981 1981 establishments in North Carolina 2008 disestablishments in North Carolina