Field Hall

Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College (PAMC) purchased the land upon which Field Hall rests—Park Place Addition, Block 4, Lots 13-17—for $1,000 on October 26, 1949, from Richard D. Hall. Two years later, Field Hall opened as the men’s new dormitory. On Homecoming on October 27, 1951, Dr. M. A. Nash, the Chancellor of the Board of Regents for Higher Education, offered the dedication address. The dormitory impressed students and visitors alike and was described as a “nicely furnished home for the men students.” In October 2003, an overheated space heater started a fire in a second floor room; however, no one received any injuries.

Field Hall’s name honors Leon B. Field, who in 1923, graduated as one of the first PAMC junior college graduates. While he pursued his bachelor’s degree, his fellow students elected him “Most Popular Boy” on campus in 1926. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history with a minor in industrial arts in 1931. From 1930 until 1935, Mr. Field coached the college football team and basketball team and served as athletic director. While he held this position, he maintained a “no cursing” rule for his players. He frequently refereed college basketball games in the 1940’s and always returned his salary earned for refereeing PAMC games to the college athletic fund. Field was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1947 through 1950 and became a Democratic Oklahoma State Senator from Texhoma, Oklahoma, (District 1) and served in that capacity from 1957 until his resignation in 1979. While a politician, Field actively sought monies to help finance improvements on campus and in Goodwell, including funding for the Oscar Williams Field House and $30,000 for the No Man’s Land Museum.