Sixty years ago. Elvis Presley and I Love Lucy dominated pop culture, a gallon of gas cost thirty-one cents and Dwight Eisenhower was just sworn into his second term as President. On a summer night in June, a new ballpark was dedicated in New Orleans.

Built at a cost of $60,000, the new Kirsch-Rooney Stadium grandstand and field were formally dedicated on June 19, 1957 in front of a crowd of city, state, and local baseball dignitaries. The New Orleans Police Department band provided the entertainment and performed the Star Spangled Banner, American Legion Post 125 presented the colors, and the Mayor of New Orleans, deLesseps S. Morrison, threw out the first pitch. The field lights were turned on and the rest is New Orleans baseball history.

Sixty seasons later, Kirsch-Rooney Stadium has grown on to become the Home of New Orleans baseball. Chances are that if you've donned a uniform in southeast Louisiana over the past six decades, you've crossed the lines for a game. Three generations of players, coaches, and fans have filled the dugouts and grandstand and come together to enjoy the national pastime. A pastime, ironically, that wouldn't be possible without the sacrifices represented by the Stadium's namesakes, two World War II casualties who paid the ultimate price in defense of their country.

Cyril Kirsch and Robert Rooney both attended Jesuit High School. Following graduation, Cyril accepted an offer to join the Auburn University football program. Rooney attended Loyola University for a year before earning an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Like the rest of the country, both men's lives changed forever with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the country's entry into World War II.

Cyril Kirsch left Auburn to join the Army, while Bob Rooney enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. On April 21, 1945, while leading in platoon on Okinawa, an island in the Pacific, Kirsch discovered a Japanese trap and forced his men to fall back. After walking ahead to investigate, he was spotted by a Japanese sniper, hit, and died a day later…one month after his twenty third birthday.

Bob Rooney joined the Air Force and enjoyed a stellar career, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross after he guided a disabled bomber plane to a safe landing, flying the engine across the English Channel with only one useful arm due to injuries. On March 21, 1945, Bob Rooney took off on his 65^th and final scheduled mission of his tour with the Air Force. While returning to base after a successful bombing mission over Nazi Germany, Rooney and another flight leader were momentarily blinded by the setting sun and collided mid-air. Rooney remained with the aircraft to allow another crew member to escape before the crash. Rooney, like Kirsch, died at 23. For heroic efforts, Rooney was awarded the Air Medal with oak leave clusters. Both Cyril Kirsch and Robert Rooney were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. Both men are interred in Greenwood Cemetery, less than a mile from the Stadium that bears their names.

With an ironic World War II tie, the Stadium would be built on land that once served as a plywood storage yard for Higgins Industries, the company responsible for manufacturing "the boat that won the war."

Following the dedication. Kirsch-Rooney Stadium quickly became a busy place, filled year round with baseball games and even some occasional football games, which were played across the outfield.
 
The diamond has hosted two Major League Baseball exhibition series, one between the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds on April 6-7, 1967 and another between the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles on April 1, 1974. In the first series between the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds, future managers Dusty Baker and Dave Johnson each hit homers out of the park. Pete Rose also played in the series for the Reds. In the Braves/Orioles game, Hank Aaron hit a homer over the left field wall and received a standing ovation. Aaron's home run would come only three days prior to his tying Babe Ruth's lifetime homerun record at 714 home runs at the Braves' home opener against the Cincinnati Reds.
 
In March, 1959 while in New Orleans for a public appearance for the New Orleans Pelicans, Joe DiMaggio visited Kirsch-Rooney while the Pelicans were taking batting practice. After removing his suit jacket, DiMaggio stepped up to the plate and hit a home run (see photo on left side of the webpage). It turned out that 1959 would be the Pelicans' final season. Other Baseball Greats who have graced the diamond at Kirsch-Rooney are Tony Perez, Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Don Baylor, Rusty Staub, Ron Washington, Will Clark, Tommy Lasorda, and most recently, Corey Dickerson and Johnny Giovatella.  
 
For the past four decades, the Stadium has been home to Delgado Community College's nationally-ranked baseball program. It also serves as the home of the majority of New Orleans' top high school and prep baseball teams. During the summer months, Kirsch-Rooney is still home to its two original tenants, the New Orleans Boosters' summer program and league as well as First District American Legion Baseball. Today, the Stadium hosts nearly 350 games during its regular season, which spans from Fall through Summer.
 
Kirsch-Rooney has hosted dozens of championship events including the 1974 NCAA Division II World Series, the 1984 American Legion World Series games, two Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships, multiple American Legion Southeast Regional playoffs, and the 2002, 2004, 2011, 2014, and 2016 American Legion State Tournaments. In 2011, Delgado made conference history by hosting both the Region XXIII Tournament and the NJCAA South Central District Championship, within one week of each other. In May 2016, Delgado hosted and captured the South Central District Championship, earning its third consecutive trip to the Junior College World Series. This summer, the stadium will host its second American Legion Mid-South Regional, bringing together state champions from seven states to compete for a berth in the American Legion World Series.
 
In 2003, Kirsch-Rooney Stadium's diamond was named for long-time Delgado coach, Louis "Rags" Scheuermann, who served as first supervisor of the stadium for forty years in addition to coaching the Dolphins. Since his death in 1997, the Scheuermann family has continued the family tradition of managing the facility. The family has been a constant throughout the stadium's six decades of operation, present since opening day in 1957.

In August 2005 Kirsch-Rooney and its surrounding neighborhood were submerged by five to six feet of water for two weeks after Hurricane Katrina caused a breech in the nearby 17th Street Canal. The Stadium lost its field lights, outfield fence, scoreboard, batting cages, parts of its roof, and the entire lower level of the grandstand. Extreme efforts were made by Delgado Community College and Kirsch-Rooney reopened on February 12, 2006 to the surprise of many. Kirsch-Rooney became the first completely flooded stadium in the New Orleans Metropolitan area to make a full recovery from the storm, becoming a beacon of hope during a period of despair. The sound of cheers echoed through an unpopulated, rebuilding neighborhood and came as a welcome distraction to local fans and neighbors alike. Some adjustments had to be made, however, including the loss of the field lights , which prompted the first all day game season in the Stadium's history. A series of major upgrades and the dedication of the stadium's staff have brought the ballpark back to a fully-functional facility. On April 25, 2009, a new state of the art field lighting system was officially dedicated in front of members of the Kirsch, Rooney, and Scheuermann families in addition to members of the New Orleans baseball community.
 
As part of its commitment to the city of New Orleans, Delgado Community College has provided the upkeep of the field and grandstand for many years through an agreement with the New Orleans Recreation Department. In April 2008, Delgado and N.O.R.D. renewed their pact through a cooperative endeavor agreement, which granted Delgado Community College "operational control" of the facility for the foreseeable future.
 
Numerous improvements over the past ten years have transformed the park into a modern-day facility while still maintaining its history and fan-friendly atmosphere. Some of these many improvements include a new field lighting system, a state of the art scoreboard and full-color message center, new grandstand seating and bleachers, a new backstop and net to improve spectator sight lines, a renovated grandstand façade, new ceramic paint throughout the facility. In 2016, a new batting cage pavilion and bullpen areas were unveiled. Last fall, the entire playing surface was upgraded including a completely new outfield surface ahead of the anniversary season.

Annual field maintenance keeps "Rags" Scheuermann Field one of the top surfaces around, despite its near-constant use as the oldest continually active diamond in the area.
 
Through the years, the facility has seen its share of change but has continued to evolve and change with the times, all while serving the simple purpose it was originally built for…hosting baseball games. While other similar facilities have come and gone, Kirsch-Rooney has been a constant in the lives of local players and their fans, even serving as a model for newly constructed facilities.

It's been home to millions of memories, from walk off wins to championships, first dates to marriage proposals, final outs and happy tears. Amateurs have become professionals, sophomores have become seniors. Players have become brothers and lifelong friends, fans have become family…all because of baseball.
 
The stadium's legacy continues to live on with new teams of players, coaches and umpires, and entertained spectators, old and new. The ballpark's rich history has not only been shaped by the thousands of games played inside its gates, but by the thousands of people that have walked through them.

Kirsch-Rooney Stadium is a home built on an evolving tradition…a tradition that continues with each and every pitch. It's New Orleans' own sandlot, its own field of dreams. It's been one constant through all the years…they built it and the people are still coming.

Happy diamond anniversary, Kirsch-Rooney. Here's to many more.

Click here to view a photo gallery of Kirsch-Rooney through the years...