TURNERS FALLS — Friday’s official dedication of the Gary Mullins Softball Field was decades in the making.

The longtime Turners Falls High School softball coach was honored in a ceremony at the field that will now bear his name in front of a crowd of more than 100 well-wishers.

Mullins, who has won a Massachusetts record 10 state titles with the softball program during his 43-year tenure, said the support from family, friends and former players at Friday’s ceremony was particularly meaningful.

“It’s truly overwhelming to think about all of you who came out to support me,” he told the crowd.

Mullins, who began coaching the varsity program at Turners Falls High School in 1980, mentioned all of his former assistant coaches by name — many of whom were in the crowd supporting him. There were also speakers representing different decades of his coaching career, including 1984 graduate Kelly Tompkins Markol and 1990 alum Deb Partridge.

“Mr. M has a way of getting potential out of each and every player he coaches,” Tompkins Markol said.

Partridge said she agreed to take on catching during her high school career at Mullins’ behest, and while the program came up just short of what would have been his first state title in 1990, she said “I think we gave him a taste of what was yet to come.”

What came next was a coaching career that featured more than 700 victories, 22 Western Mass. titles and 10 state crowns. Mullins is a member of the Massachusetts Softball Coaches Hall of Fame, and he’s fostered a program that has long been a benchmark of athletic excellence.

“This softball coaching job has grown to something very special in my life,” said Mullins, who sat beside daughter Kristin and grandson Bodhi during the ceremony.

Athletic Director Adam Graves opened Friday’s ceremony, which also featured a recorded message from 2016 graduate Mackenzie Phillips as well as remarks from 2021 alum Taylor Murphy.

Mullins thanked Graves and others during his remarks, including longtime supporter George Bush for helping get the field dedication off the ground. Graves said the push began about seven years ago, but the Gill-Montague Regional School District School Committee had a policy in place that prevented fields from being named after living persons. That policy changed last year, and thanks to the efforts of assistant coaches Jason Salls and Jason Liimatinen, among others, the wheels were quickly set in motion to dedicate the field in honor of Mullins.

“We jumped at the opportunity,” Graves recalled after the policy changed. “We wanted to highlight the impact [Mullins] has had on those he has coached.”

The field will eventually feature a 3-foot high granite monument that will be placed in front of the softball field’s announcing booth.

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