By Rob Brennan

Alex Box closed it's regular season doors to LSU fans on Sunday.  It's been the home to Tiger Baseball for 70 years.  The Tigers have won five national titles and have played numerous NCAA regional and super-regional's in this facility.  The Tigers also have a winning percentage of over .787 at "The Box" and have led the country in attendance for the last 12 seasons.

These are the reason's why LSU fans and players will always remember "The Box."  But there is one reason that most fans are aware of, that I think is the most important.

Alex Box was a former outfielder for the 1942 LSU Tiger Baseball team.  He was good guy, originally from Laurel, Mississippi, and graduated with a petroleum engineering degree in the spring of 1942.

Box would meet his future wife, Earle, but would be called to fight for our country later that summer in 1942.  He made a deal with his girlfriend that she would get her education degree while he was off at war, and then they would marry when his World War II duty was over.

November 9, 1942, the day Alex Box became an american hero, and not many at the time knew it.  Box risked his life in helping destroy six enemy machine gun nests and an artillery emplacement in Algeria.  He earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second highest honor.

On February 19, 1943, Box continued to fight hard for his country at the age of 22.  During a fierce battle in Tunisia, Box's tank was destroyed by a German mine.  He was killed instantly.

May 28, 1943, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to name the Tigers Baseball Stadium after Alex Box.

That is the reason why we remember Alex Box, that is the reason we remember why we enjoy baseball day in and day out at LSU.  I wish I could meet Alex Box, and perhaps one day I will, and on that day I shall just speak two words, "Thank you."