Enterprise says goodbye to Bates Memorial Stadium

Enterprise football and Bates Memorial Stadium have been synonymous for more than half a century.

Now affectionately known as “The Hole” because of its unique setting and winning mystique, the stadium will have perhaps its final chapter Friday when the Wildcats play host to Jeff Davis.

Barring a state playoff game, the Wildcats are likely playing their final football game at their venerable home of the last 54 years off downtown Enterprise — a home to many memorable games,  great players, personal dates, good times and bad since 1956.

Named in memory of Enterprise’s principal in the 1930s, R.L. Bates, it is the only building or facility in the Enterprise School System named after an individual.

Enterprise High School, its campus devastated by a tornado from March 1, 2007, will relocate next year out by the Boll Weevil Circle. Athletic facilities, including a new stadium, will be at the new campus next fall.

Friday’s game — the 323rd Enterprise one at the venue that first hosted Wildcat football on Sept. 14, 1956 — is expected to be a night for the ages that might emotionally rival any game in the stadium’s storied and rich history.

“It will be a sentimental night,” said Enterprise superintendent Dr. Jim Reese, who has been part of the school almost every year since he was a youngster.

Related:

Former Enterprise Wildcats Carlos Robinson and Harrell Thompson, as well as former "Big Blue" band member Ricky Adams sit down on the old concrete steps to share their memories of times in "the hole," and the people who contributed to the rich history in R.L. Bates Memorial Stadium.

To view our multi-part video interview with them, please visit our video page or see them on our youtube channel at youtube.com/enterpriseledger.

“It will be a great night for all of the people who have played or been a part related to that stadium, from players, managers, coaches, band members, cheerleaders, stadium announcers to parents. A lot of people will reflect back on 54 years or just two years if that is all they were associated with.”

Enterprise officials plan to recognize every decade of individuals associated with the program from the 54 years during the game. Included will be the 1979 state championship team, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

The Wildcats also won a state title in 1982 and were named mythical state champions in 1960 during the Bates Memorial years.

“There is a lot of excitement going on,” current Wildcat head coach Kevin Collins said. “This like a second homecoming game as a lot of people will be back for this game.”

While it will be emotional that those with longtime ties to the stadium, Collins said he doesn’t expect it to hit current players until later in life.

He expects it to especially be big for current seniors.

“These seniors will be the only class that never had a feel for the old high school or the feel for the new high school,” Collins said. “Their association with that Enterprise High School is that stadium.”

For many in Wildcat country, Bates Memorial was a must-go-to Friday night social event when the lights were turned on.

“Back in the early days, the merchants would close and go to the games then reopen after the game if people needed anything,” Enterprise football historian Ricky Adams said.

In most cases, it was usually a night watching their beloved ‘Cats win. Enterprise teams have won 76.7 percent of its games at the stadium, one of the main reasons the stadium got is nickname.

“A lot of teams dreaded going to play at the ‘Hole’, not because it was in a hole, but because you usually got your ears knocked off,” said former Wildcat player Harrell Thompson, who also had three sons play for Enterprise and a daughter who was a Wildcat cheerleader.

Thompson was a senior offensive and defensive tackle when the Wildcats first played at the stadium, known in its first year at Enterprise Municipal Stadium before it was renamed after Bates a year later in 1957.

“It was a heck of a football game and the stadium was packed,” recalled Thompson of Enterprise’s 20-12 win over Carroll. “It was hard fought as they had some good people over there.

“If I remember right they brought in bleachers from Fort Rucker to put in the end zones. On both sides, there were no seats available.”

Capacity crowds were a norm at most Wildcat games, but one game to many tops all — the renewal game with rival Dothan in 1961. The two were longtime rivals until the series was discontinued in 1944.

“One of the top memories I have is when Enterprise and Dothan played in the 1961 season in the renewal game,” said Adams, 12 years old at the time.  “It is still the biggest crowd I have ever seen.

“I remember some friends and I going to churches and everyone where we could to find folding chairs or portable seats to set up in the stadium during the day. I left and came back at 4 p.m. to get in line to get in and the only place you could sit at 5:15 was on somebody’s lap.”

Dothan won that game, 26-17.

For those associated with Enterprise, Bates Memorial has a special place in their heart for various reasons.

“First of all, it is a beautiful setting,” said current Enterprise principal Rick Rainer, who has been a part of the school for 20 years. “I am little biased in that, but I really believe that.

“Now, the tornado changed some of it, knocking down some pine trees and the upper deck, but still at night with those banks, it is a pretty place to be.”

Reese said the stadium has a mystique that most stadiums don’t.

“There is an aura about the stadium,” Reese said.

Collins said personally he gets chill bumps when it comes to entering Bates before games.

“There is no feeling like coming down those steps (in the end zone) and seeing a packed stadium and hearing the roar that seems to be amplified for some reason in that stadium,” said Collins, who has coached at EHS for the 19 years, the last five as an head coach.

The opening game in 1956 and the 1961 Dothan renewal game are just some of the moments those in Enterprise remember fondly.

To many, a win over R.E. Lee and Fred Beasley in the playoffs in 1993 was special as was any win over rival Dothan. A 50-28 win in 2005 over Central, a team that had dominated Enterprise for awhile was memorable to some.

Other games were memorable for other reasons.

“The first game after the tornado has to take the cake for me,” Rainer said. “We didn’t even know if we were going to play, if the stadium was structural sound.

“To play after that tornado was the pinnacle of importance to a community like ours. There was some healing that night. To have that game was like a symbol of survival.”