By Hub City Times staff

MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield Tigers beat D.C. Everest 49-14 in Oct. 5 high school football competition, but the victory was bittersweet as the Marshfield Police Department commemorated what will likely be the final home football game for the Marshfield Tigers at Beell Stadium.

In a half-time ceremony, the department recognized fallen officers – particularly Fred Beell, for whom the stadium is named.

As the Marshfield School District begins $11 million worth of athletic facility improvements over the next several years, Marshfield Tigers football competition will shift from Beell Stadium to a new multi-sports complex near the high school.

A photo of the Beell Stadium opening in Sept. 26, 1941. Hub City Times staff photo

Officer Josh Larsen, led the half-time ceremony, during the Oct. 5 game.

“Tonight we say goodbye to the very field which I am standing on,” he said. “We celebrate(the) memories and accomplishments that it has provided to many of us. We also recognize and give thanks to the man with whom this stadium was named after, and the sacrifice that he made.”

Larsen chronicled the Beell family’s immigration to Marshfield, WI, from Germany and Fred’s service to his country.

“Fred joined the United States Army and served in the Spanish-American War,” he said. “After his discharge from the Army, Fred became a professional wrestler in the late 1890s.”

Fred quit wrestling in 1919 and became a police officer in Marshfield, when he was 45.

Beell was killed in the line of duty Aug. 5, 1933, while responding to a burglary call at the Marshfield Brewery. Beell was the only Marshfield officer to be claimed in the line of duty.

On Nov. 12, 1941, the Marshfield stadium was given his name.

“Your Marshfield Tigers have played hundreds of games on this very field and have held countless other athletic events,” Larsen stated. “This field has been the site of boys becoming men; it’s where bones have been broken, blood has been shed, tears have fallen, and smiles have graced each game. It is safe to say that this field has served its purpose and provided us with great memories where we have all shared the glory of victory and the sorrows of defeat.”

The plan for the district’s improved facilities is calling for a 4,000-seat, multi-use sports complex next to the high school for football, track and field, and soccer. The plan also calls for a soccer and practice football field, and JV baseball field on the vacant lot adjacent to the Tiny Tiger Center, west of the high school.

Beell Stadium’s use will be reallocated for other district sports.