Eddie C. Moore Complex

Main entrance to Fields 8-9 at the Eddie C. Moore Complex, Feb-2023.

A view toward the press box, which serves both fields.

Fans watching NCAA softball on Field 8.

• Location: Drew Street at Hampton Road, Clearwater, Fla. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: Unknown (fields 8-9 developed about 2007)
• Home team: St. Petersburg College Titans, Suncoast Conference

The fields nearest McMullen Booth are the oldest, numbered 1-4. Fields 5-7 are west of those, and these photos are of Fields 8-9, at the corner of Hampton Road near Eisenhower Elementary School.

Fields 8-9 are also known as the Herb Dudley Training Complex. Dudley was widely acclaimed as the greatest men’s fastpitch softball pitcher in history, spending over 30 seasons with the Clearwater Bombers, who won multiple fastpitch titles while playing their home schedule at Jack Russell Stadium, then the Philadelphia Phillies’ spring training home. Dudley taught at Clearwater High School and, following his retirement from the game in 1981, spent many years training girls from throughout Pinellas County to be pitchers in the evolving game of women’s fastpitch softball. The plaque shown at right was installed at the fields upon his death in 2007.

In recent years, ESPN Events has staged a Division I softball event, the Clearwater Invitational, in February at the complex. Fields 8-9 are used, as well as Fields 1 and 3 about ¾ mile away. The complex hosts other events and tournaments as well as serving as home to the St. Petersburg College softball program and the 3-Score Club, a group of local softball enthusiasts whose ages range from their 60s up to their 80s.