A native of Salem, VA and graduate of Salem High School, Murray Cook has played a role in baseball field design and development around the globe. He began his career in field management in his hometown at Billy Sample Field in the early 1970’s. While attending NC Wesleyan, where he pitched for the Bishops over two seasons, Cook’s ambitious nature brought him back to field management rising to become Major League Baseball’s official field consultant in 1991, a position he still holds to this day. In this position, Cook has overseen development of Major League level fields in over 60 countries and has managed multiple ballpark projects and international MLB events including the London Series (UK) at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium, the MLB Field of Dreams Field in Iowa, the MLB Fort Bragg Game in North Carolina, and the recent renovations at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL. He managed the Sydney Olympics baseball facilities and was Deputy Competition Manager for the Athens Olympics and baseball field operations manager for the Beijing Olympics. His latest project will see a Major League Baseball game played at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2025. Previous honors include being named the 1991 Sportsturf Man of the Year, Sportsturf Professional Field of the Year (West Palm Beach Municipal, 1993) and “MLB at Fort Bragg” was named the 2016 Ballpark of the Year by USA Today. He is currently President of Brightview Sports and is a past President of the National Sportsfield Managers Association. He was inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 and in 2021, Salem City Council officially proclaimed September 27th as “Murray Cook Day” in his hometown.
