MUScoop
MUScoop => Hangin' at the Al => Topic started by: Ahoya06 on September 20, 2007, 08:13:44 PM
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Does anyone know too much about the old Marquette Stadium? All I know was that is seated about 15,000, and was taken down in 1978. I've forgotten the exact location, though wasn't it somewhere around 35th Street?
A web search turns up nothing, only a couple of hard to see photos from the archives web site, and references to MU and the Packers (for one year) playing there. I'm definitely curious!
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It was south of the 35th street viaduct, and a little west of 35th street, down in the valley.
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Marquette High School played football there until it was torn down. It was old, but a nice stadium for high school football. Most high schools had a field with bleachers vs an actual stadium. While you got to it from 35th St. it probably was closer to 37th St. Basically 37th & Michigan.
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Here's a link to a couple pictures:
http://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/projects/Pathfinder/MUStadium.html (http://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/projects/Pathfinder/MUStadium.html)
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Yeah, those were the photos I saw. It's amazing how little information there is out there on the place. You would think a 15,000 seat stadium that stood in Milwaukee for years would be a little more talked about in the endless archive that is cyberspace.
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ahoya - you might consider adding all the stuff you find about the stadium to the wiki so others can find it more quickly and then you'd be really really cool 8)
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It was not in the Valley but between Wisconsin and I-94 off of 35th street. just to show my age when I worked a summer for MU buildings and grounds we had to do some maintnenace out there, I think most of the seating had already been removed and it was mostly temporary bleachers. Did MUHS play there for a period of time.
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Please jot down your research here, Ahoya.
http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/facilities/marquette_stadium
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MU soccer practiced there until the mid 90s when Marquette High School purchased the land. They have since built a soccer field/track at the site. There is no stadium remaining.
Originally the lights from the stadium still stood and were used by the soccer teams in the late fall to get practice in.
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Have you tried checking an old program?
It might contain the venue and seating capacity.
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Duly noted about the Wiki. ;)
I'll put my research hat on over the next few days, and see what I can come up with.
Gonna be out of town for the weekend for the ND game, but I'll happily work on it when I get back.
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MU soccer practiced there until the mid 90s when Marquette High School purchased the land. They have since built a soccer field/track at the site. There is no stadium remaining.
Originally the lights from the stadium still stood and were used by the soccer teams in the late fall to get practice in.
If I'm not mistaken, the foundation from the stadium was still ther in the mid 90's. I also think that it was the site of Marquette's track and the location of Marquette track meets where the great Ralph Metcalfe competed for Marquette. In my humble opinion Ralph Metcalfe is perhaps Marquette's greatest athlete.
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Info below from Journal Sentinel Website:
http://www2.jsonline.com/sports/century/oct99/century103199.asp?format=print
Compiled and written by Cliff Christl
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: Oct. 29, 1999
EVENT TO REMEMBER
VENUE OF DREAMS Marquette Stadium
Some of the greatest track stars of the day, including Jesse Owens, competed in a variety of prestigious meets held at Marquette Stadium in the 1930s. In addition to the annual Central Intercollegiate meet, the stadium was the site of the 47th and 50th annual Amateur Athletic Union meets in 1934 and '37, and the U.S. Olympic decathlon trials in 1936. In the '34 AAU meet, Bill Bothron set a world record and edged Glenn Cunningham in one of the classic 1,500-meter races of all-time. Jack Torrance and Glenn Hardin also set world records in the shot put and 400-meter hurdles. Owens won the broad jump and finished second to Ralph Metcalfe in the 100. In '37, Cunningham, the silver medalist in the '36 Olympics, won the 1,500, which was again the feature event. In the decathlon trials, Glenn Morris finished ahead of Robert Clark and Jack Parker. The three subsequently swept the gold, silver and bronze medals in the Olympics. In the 1935 Central Intercollegiate meet, Owens won three events: the 100, 220 and broad jump. The 1930s also were the salad days of Marquette football. The stadium, located at W. Clybourn and 36th Sts., seated 24,000.
THE HEADLINER Ralph Metcalfe
Metcalfe may have been a victim of circumstances in his quest for Olympic gold, but he ranked as one of the world's premier sprinters in the first half of the 20th century. A native of Atlanta, Ga., Metcalfe ran for Marquette University. After winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1932, Metcalfe settled for silver and bronze medals at the Olympic Games. Eddie Tolan, his U.S. teammate, won the gold in both events. In the 100, Tolan and Metcalfe finished in a dead heat and it took the judges several hours to declare a winner. In the 200, it was discovered after the race that Metcalfe had started three or four feet behind the other runners. Offered a re-run by Olympic officials, he declined rather than jeopardize his country's sweep in the event. In the '36 Olympics, Metcalfe won the silver again in the 100, finishing behind Jesse Owens. Metcalfe also won his only gold that year in the 400-meter relay. During his years at Marquette, from 1932-'34, Metcalfe won the 100 and 220 three straight years in both the NCAA and AAU meets. In 1975, Metcalfe was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.
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Looks like the NCAA Track and Field Championships were held (at least two times, 1944 and 1945) at Marquette Stadium.
1945
June 9 - Navy wins the 24th NCAA Track & Field Championships, held for the second straight year at Marquette Stadium.
Info from JSOnlinc.com
http://www2.jsonline.com/sports/century/oct99/timeline110599.asp
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Does anyone know too much about the old Marquette Stadium? All I know was that is seated about 15,000, and was taken down in 1978. I've forgotten the exact location, though wasn't it somewhere around 35th Street?
A web search turns up nothing, only a couple of hard to see photos from the archives web site, and references to MU and the Packers (for one year) playing there. I'm definitely curious!
We used it for the CUSA Soccer championships in 1996 or 97 I believe. It had snowed so damn much the day before the final that we couldn't clear Valley Fields and ruin the property, so St. Louis and I think S. Florida (can't remember) played at the stadium. Took about 50 volunteers with shovels to clear the field of heavy snow. What a nightmare.
We used to play intramurals down there for football.
The Dry Heaves....still immortalized as champions down there. ;D
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According to university records in the early 1970's the university began to believe that the stadium "might have outlived its usefulness or that the funds tied up in it could be put to more productive use elsewhere." At first the university thought it would be better to sell the property. In 1971 Dunn and Stringer Realty Incorporated showed a great deal of interest in purchasing the property, but that sale did not go through. Instead the university decided to raze the stadium. In 1974 Modern Wrecking Company, Inc. of Elm Grove, Wisconsin was the low bid to raze and remove the debris of Marquette Stadium for a grand total of $58,000. While examining the records I also discovered that the city was becoming very annoyed with the continued maintenance of the property. The city of Milwaukee always seemed to find some violation and subsequently Marquette was forced to make improvements. That is how the stadium ended, but there is so much more history to this building that is overlooked or forgotten. It’s sad that Marquette had to remove such an iconic part of its history, but records indicate that the university’s hand was pretty much forced. Marquette Stadium became a money pit towards the end of its lifespan and subsequently the university made the decision to spend that money on other areas.
**If someone wants to put this in the wiki feel free to, or if you want a more encyclopedic version of what is written above please let me know.
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I have a couple of tidbits. First, I had the good fortune of playing football in that stadium for Marquette High in the '71, '72 and '73 seasons. It was old but it was quite intimidating for our opponents. It was our stadium (even though owned by MU) and it echoed with the steel cleats as we went in and out of the stadium. Many good memories and big wins. MUHS had track meets there, too. Near the end, fans literally pulled slivers out of their asses from the benches. Neither MU or MUHS had the money to provide the upkeep.
Mike Ditka played there in the '59 or '60 season when MU played Pitt. I was there but was too young to recall the game. My father was a big Ditka fan and relayed over the years that Ditka had an incredible game. I think he caught a touchdown pass and had a big punt block that won the game for Pitt.
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I was at that game. Ditka made an incredible touchdown run late in the game when it looked like MU was going to get its first big time win in some time. The loss sent the team into the doldrums, and by the time they recovered it was too late to save the season. IMO had we won that game we would have had a successful season and stll be playing football today.
I was a good stadium, no bad seats and easy to get to at the time. I also saw the NCAA meet there in the 40's and have some good memories of that.
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According to university records in the early 1970's the university began to believe that the stadium "might have outlived its usefulness or that the funds tied up in it could be put to more productive use elsewhere." At first the university thought it would be better to sell the property. In 1971 Dunn and Stringer Realty Incorporated showed a great deal of interest in purchasing the property, but that sale did not go through. Instead the university decided to raze the stadium. In 1974 Modern Wrecking Company, Inc. of Elm Grove, Wisconsin was the low bid to raze and remove the debris of Marquette Stadium for a grand total of $58,000. While examining the records I also discovered that the city was becoming very annoyed with the continued maintenance of the property. The city of Milwaukee always seemed to find some violation and subsequently Marquette was forced to make improvements. That is how the stadium ended, but there is so much more history to this building that is overlooked or forgotten. It’s sad that Marquette had to remove such an iconic part of its history, but records indicate that the university’s hand was pretty much forced. Marquette Stadium became a money pit towards the end of its lifespan and subsequently the university made the decision to spend that money on other areas.
**If someone wants to put this in the wiki feel free to, or if you want a more encyclopedic version of what is written above please let me know.
Awesome info. Thanks. I hope someone puts all of this on the Wiki since the Wiki entry comes up on Google and it'd be good to consolidate all of this. There is a rich history to Marquette Stadium, and Marquette Football and Track & Field, that should not only not be forgotten - but should be embraced.
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I have a couple of tidbits. First, I had the good fortune of playing football in that stadium for Marquette High in the '71, '72 and '73 seasons. It was old but it was quite intimidating for our opponents. It was our stadium (even though owned by MU) and it echoed with the steel cleats as we went in and out of the stadium. Many good memories and big wins. MUHS had track meets there, too. Near the end, fans literally pulled slivers out of their asses from the benches. Neither MU or MUHS had the money to provide the upkeep.
Mike Ditka played there in the '59 or '60 season when MU played Pitt. I was there but was too young to recall the game. My father was a big Ditka fan and relayed over the years that Ditka had an incredible game. I think he caught a touchdown pass and had a big punt block that won the game for Pitt.
I seem to remember hearing that it was the 1960 season and that win by Pitt, punctuated by Ditka's TD, was the "nail in the coffin" for Marquette football.
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Does anyone know too much about the old Marquette Stadium? All I know was that is seated about 15,000, and was taken down in 1978. I've forgotten the exact location, though wasn't it somewhere around 35th Street?
A web search turns up nothing, only a couple of hard to see photos from the archives web site, and references to MU and the Packers (for one year) playing there. I'm definitely curious!
Found a few more interesting tidbits about Marquette Stadium for you guys
-After Marquette Football ceased playing there a plethora of outside organizations and institutions began utilizing the stadium including Marquette High School Football, Northern Michigan College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Southern Illinois University, Pius XI High School, various intramural clubs of Marquette including the soccer and track clubs, as well as professional football teams like the San Francisco 49ers, and the Los Angeles Rams (used it as a practice facility.)
-The stadium was located approximately 23 blocks West of campus. The main stadium area contained 9.1 acres completely fenced in. The East and West stands each held approximately 10,000 people for a grand total of 20,000 total capacity. The stadium had a regulation college football field, and a ¼ mile cinder running track. Underneath the west stands there were 16, 374 square feet of space containing a boiler room, locker rooms, shower facilities, first aid station, and storage rooms. Adjacent to the main stadium were two practice fields, one with lights.
There’s more stuff here too, but I’ll have to add it all another day.
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.. Constant reminder .. the wiki is slowly becoming a rich source. The football page is pretty solid:
http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/men_s_football/start
If we could get just a few more guys, like you above, to share your stuff, it would really be outstanding. If you need any help, please shoot me a private message, and I'll do what I can to help you share your info on the wiki.
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.. Constant reminder .. the wiki is slowly becoming a rich source. The football page is pretty solid:
http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/men_s_football/start
If we could get just a few more guys, like you above, to share your stuff, it would really be outstanding. If you need any help, please shoot me a private message, and I'll do what I can to help you share your info on the wiki.
Can anyone who is an MUScoop member enter info on the Wiki? If so, I'd add this stuff regarding Marquette Stadium.
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Can anyone who is an MUScoop member enter info on the Wiki? If so, I'd add this stuff regarding Marquette Stadium.
yes
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Can anyone who is an MUScoop member enter info on the Wiki? If so, I'd add this stuff regarding Marquette Stadium.
You bet. On the login page, just use your MUScoop username and password. If you click the box to "Remember Me", you won't have to login again for a long time.
http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php?id=start&do=login
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Can anyone who is an MUScoop member enter info on the Wiki? If so, I'd add this stuff regarding Marquette Stadium.
yes
I just updated the wiki to include all the information I found earlier today--I'll be adding some more stuff on Monday when I get a chance.
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I remember going to MU football games there when I was in grade school, and playing there-Marquette High, and MU intramurals. Lots of great memories- the local drug store, on 35th street, was called 'stadium view pharmacy'.
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As I recall the MU Stadium seated 24,000 fans (including bleachers set up behind each end zone)-----anyway I was a regular attendee at MU football games starting in about 1945 (climbing over the wood fence)-----I remember when Bear Bryant brought in his Univ Kentucky team to play MU---also remember that MU/Pitt game vividly I believe in 1960. MU was beating #6 Pitt 13-7 with two minutes to go when a drive stalled around mid field. We went back to punt and who came roaring in from his DE position to block it----non other than Mike Ditka----he also recovered the ball and went into score. They beat us 14-13----that killed MU football as the program was dropped right after the 1960 season. It was recovering from a disasterous period in the mid/late 1950s when we won only one game in 3 seasons0000the Coach was an ex ND coach under Frank Leahy (Johnny Druze)-----Druze ran a boot camp in Spring and literally half the team quit (wouldn't even let them wear face masks as he and his coaches were just brutal on the players)-----Druze was one of Fordham's legendary "7 blocks of granite"-----also included as one of those "blocks" at Forham was Vince Lombardi------Speaking of Lombardi, he had applied for the MU job back in the early 1950s and was turned down-----they ended up giving the job to a Green Bay HS coach (Green Bay West I believe) by the name of Frosty Ferzacca------Ferzacca for Lombardi-----hmmmmmm!
I worked there cutting grass and maintenance during the summers when I was at MU for the minimum wage which was then $1.00/hour. Also spent many hours out there practicing with the track team (was my second home in the spring & summer).
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Thanks for the notes Murf.
As always, good stuff.
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The "Ditka game" had to be in '59 as I was there and graduated and gone in '60.
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Could be as a lot of water has gone under thedamn since.
Several more MU Stadium stories----in 1952 after his famous "old soldiers never die, they just fade away" speech to Congress (I believe in 1952) Gen Douglas McArthur (the great World War II general, who had just been fired by Harry Truman for insisting on taking the fight to the Communist Chinese on their homeland during the Korean War-----came back home-----he was raised in Milwaukee and went to the old West Division HS on 20th & Wells or so. He was honored at MU stadium in front of a full house (20,000 +) and was given an honorary degree by Fr O'Donnell the then President of MU.
Also the Stadium was the host facility for many years to the annual Marquette "M" Club picnic on the 3rd Saturday in June-----up until about 1977 or 78 (two lamb and two pig were roasted on the spit). Was a great time (a real blast)----had about 150 letter winners come back each year. Started about 11:00 AM and went to about 11:00 pm! After that the picnic was move to the campus and was held in the grassy square just south of the old student union for about 10 years. Since about 1990, the annual picnic has been held in Mequon, but IMO it's not the same!
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My memories (which are hazy--and maybe not quite 100% accurate)....
MU Men's Soccer played there in the 80's...they were actually ranked in the Top 20 then led by Hayden Knight who played pro. Club Football played there as well and broke their 10+ year winless streak in a rain storm when someone fell on a fumble in the endzone. This led to an all-university party (any excuse). I vaguely remember a portion of the west side permanent stands still up freshman year ('77)--that were then torn down soon after.
The FB team used to have a half barrel on the sidelines instead of Gatorade (this was the team Oliver Lee, who was a hs qb in Florida, was on for a couple of days until Hank found out and pointed to the 5'6" lineman and told him this is the guy you are counting to protect you and your $1mm NBA contract). I had friends at Stanford who told me they used to read the MU club FB scores at halftime. We used to lose to schools like Pillsbury Bible College by 63-0. It became a running joke--and I guess that Palo Alto went berserk too when we actually won that rain game--or so the story goes.
I remember our team winning the all MU IM flag football championship there. The Miller factory could be seen when facing the north endzone--we called it Six Pack Jesus instead of Touchdown Jesus at ND. IM football was a great excuse to hit some new bars with the other team after. Rugby played some games there too, if I remember.
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I worked there cutting grass and maintenance during the summers when I was at MU for the minimum wage which was then $1.00/hour. Also spent many hours out there practicing with the track team (was my second home in the spring & summer).
Murf, were you on track as well as basketball when you were at MU?
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Yes, shot put, discus, and javelin.
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chip off the old block, huh, Murff?
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Among the few memories I still have of late 50's MU football are of the weird placekicks of Jessie Lee in which he used the same long runups as in his kickoffs.
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From memory----some of the guys who went onto the NFL from that last couple of years of MU football were Pete Hall (3rd team QB behind Y A Tittle----NYG)-----Frank Mestnick FB------Carl Kassulke an all pro DB for the Vikings-----Dave Kopay a very good TE for Seattle (I believe) (might have been a pro bowler)-----George Andre, an all pro DE for the Dallas Cowboys, Tom Braatz (don't remember with whom----but later became Packer GM prior to Ron Wolf)----also Bob Harlan, class of 1958, current Packer President for the last 19 years-----Lisle Blackbourn was the coach in 1960----and former coach/GM of the GB Packers and who is generally credited with drafting the nucleus of those great Lombardi teams!
There are other NFL connections from that group, but a lot of water has gone over the damn since.
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A high school football game between Milwaukee Pulaski and Milwaukee Bay View drew a crowd of 19,500 at Marquette Stadium in 1949. The crowd is believed to be the largest ever to watch a high school football game in Wisconsin.
The Packers played an exhibition game against the Western Army All-Stars in 1942, during World War II, to raise money for the Army Emergency Relief Fund. The game was played at Marquette Stadium and raised $41,918 for the fund.
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Updated the Wiki with all the info that's come in in the past couple of days about the stadium. :)
http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/facilities/marquette_stadium
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Dave Kopay was a running back and played freshman football at Marquette, then tranferred to the University of Washington when the Marquette program was discontinued. He played at the University of Washington and in the NFL with the 49ers, Lions, Packers and a couple of other teams. He retired in 1974 before Seattle joined the NFL. He is best-known for being the first U.S. pro athlete to come out of the closet and admit he was gay. His middle name is Marquette.
Other players who from Marquette's final football years who played some pro bowl were Herb Roedel (Oakland Raiders) John Sisk (Bears) and Joe Young (Broncos).
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Other players who from Marquette's final football years who played some pro bowl were Herb Roedel (Oakland Raiders) John Sisk (Bears) and Joe Young (Broncos).
the best of that bunch was George Andrie, he of five all-pro seasons........a great Cowboy, made it to their Ring of Honor. I believe he was a junior when MU shut down football.
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Andrie was by far the best of the bunch. I have corrected my above post. Dave Kopay did play one year at Marquette before the program was cancelled.
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Dave Kopay was a running back and played freshman football at Marquette, then tranferred to the University of Washington when the Marquette program was discontinued. He played at the University of Washington and in the NFL with the 49ers, Lions, Packers and a couple of other teams. He retired in 1974 before Seattle joined the NFL. He is best-known for being the first U.S. pro athlete to come out of the closet and admit he was gay. His middle name is Marquette.
Other players who from Marquette's final football years who played some pro bowl were Herb Roedel (Oakland Raiders) John Sisk (Bears) and Joe Young (Broncos).
Interestingly Kopay was one of the few names mentioned that I recognized because of all the publicity he got for being the first major pro athlete to admit that he was gay. His name came up a lot in the John Ameichi story a few months back. Didn't know there was an MU connection. Interesting.
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Updated the Wiki with all the info that's come in in the past couple of days about the stadium. :)
http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/facilities/marquette_stadium
Cool - I'd have to nominate this as one of the greatest threads of all time too. Good info!
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It's very cool. Someone should forward this to the BoT with a wink and a nudge... ;)
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John Sisk (I knew him well) was called the "big train" at MU in the early 1930s----played in the same Chicago Bear backfield for years together with Bronco Nagurski and Red Grange. His son John played with the Bears briefly in the early 1960s-----were the first father/son combination in the history of the Bears.
John loved the Bears and each year he went to their annual alumni get together except one time when he had a conflict with an MU HOF dinner (he was already a member). John was very upset when MU dropped football in 1960.
John was an outstanding insurance salesman-----would make cold calls and sit outside the exec's office until the guy was ready to leave if necessary-----of course more often than not, if John Sisk called on you back then, you at least gave him some time and not wait too long!
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-After Marquette Football ceased playing there a plethora of outside organizations and institutions began utilizing the stadium including Marquette High School Football, Northern Michigan College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Southern Illinois University, Pius XI High School, various intramural clubs of Marquette including the soccer and track clubs, as well as professional football teams like the San Francisco 49ers, and the Los Angeles Rams (used it as a practice facility.)
I remember seeing a UW-M football game there when I was about 10- against Southern Illinois, I think.
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I was at that game with Pitt. Don't remember seeing Murph<G>. If we had won that game we'd still have a football team today.
Also Frosty Ferzacca was, I think, the coach at Northern Michigan b/4 he came to MU. He had a record winning streak there, but wasn't up to the "big time". Ron Drzwecki (sp?) starred for the Hilltopers in the early 50's and was a first round pick of the Bears. Played for a couple of years, mostly on punt and kickoff returns.
Also successfull Marquette High coach, John McGee was an assistant to Druze. My vague recollection is that they got into a fight. McGee ended up in Chicago, at Mt Carmel (I think), before moving to the west coast. Died recently.