1.
Don Shula
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He was previously the head coach of the Baltimore Colts, with whom he won the 1968 NFL Championship. Shula was drafted out of John Carroll University in the 1951 NFL Draft, and he played professionally as a back for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated and he had only two losing seasons in his 36-year career of coaching in the NFL. Shula led his teams to six Super Bowls, a record broken by Bill Belichick. In his first Super Bowl, the Colts set the record for the longest period to be shut out, at his next Super Bowl, the Dolphins set the Super Bowl record for the lowest points scored by any team, with one field goal. The following year, he coached a season and broke the record of longest shutout. The Dolphins repeated as Super Bowl champions the following season, as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24–7 and he currently holds the NFL record for most career wins as a head coach, with 347. Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997, Shula was born in Grand River, Ohio, a small town along the Lake Erie shore in the northeastern part of the state. His parents, Dan and Mary, were of Hungarian origin, Shulas father Dan worked for $9 a week at a rose nursery and saved up to buy the small house where Shula spent his early childhood. The house was next door to a store in Grand River owned by Marys parents. Shula played football in his neighborhood as a child, but his parents forbade it after he got a gash on his face when he was 11. Shula attended elementary school at St. Marys, a private Catholic school in Painesville, his mother was a devout Catholic and he later attended Thomas W. Harvey in Painesville and played on its football team starting in 1945. Shula forged his parents signatures to sign up, within weeks of joining Harveys football team, Shula was a starting left halfback in the schools single-wing offense. He handled a portion of the teams rushing and passing duties. It was the first time in 18 years that Harvey had a seven-win season, the team would have won a league title had it not lost an early game to Willoughby. Shula also ran track at Harvey and was an 11-time letterman in his three years there, as Shula prepared to graduate from high school in 1947, many men whose football careers were delayed by service in World War II were returning and competing for athletic scholarships. As a result, Shula was unable to get a scholarship and that summer, however, he had a chance meeting at a gas station with former Painesville football coach Howard Bauchman, who suggested he ask about a scholarship at John Carroll University. Shula got a scholarship at the private Jesuit school in University Heights
2.
Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)
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Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an oversized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue, 36th Street, and Ednor Road. The rebuilt multi-sport stadium, when reconstruction was completed in the summer of 1954, the stadium was also known as The Old Gray Lady of 33rd Street, and also as The Worlds Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum. C. Canadian Football League, 1994–1995 Baltimore Ravens, National Football League, 1996–1997 Baltimore City College vs Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Thanksgiving Day 1954–1999, Calvert Hall College vs Loyola Blakefield Thanksgiving Day 1957–1999, known as Calvert Hall vs. Loyola, the Turkey Bowl. Army vs Navy United States Military Academy, vs. United States Naval Academy, Memorial Stadium started out in life as Municipal Stadium, also known as Baltimore Stadium, and as Venable Stadium. Designed by Pleasants Pennington and Albert W. Lewis, it was built in 1922 over a period at the urging of the Mayor. It was also known for a time as Babe Ruth Stadium, after the then-recently deceased Hall of Famer and Baltimore native. Seating 31,000 at the time, the new stadium consisted of a single, horseshoe-shaped deck, with the end facing north. A roofless upper deck was added later in 1953–1954 when the St, during the 90-minute parade, the new Birds signed autographs, handed out pictures and threw styrofoam balls to crowd as the throngs marched down several major city streets ending on East 33rd Street. Inside, more than 46,000 watched the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 3–1, to win their home opener, both the new Orioles and the Colts had some great successes over the next few decades, winning several championships. Among the Colts greats were quarterback Johnny Unitas, wide receiver Raymond Berry, over the next few decades, both teams became among the winningest and competitive franchises in their sports, sending a number of players to their respective Halls of Fame. On May 2,1964, an accident involving a stadium escalator caused the death of a teenaged girl. That day, the Orioles held Safety Patrol Day to honor schoolchildren who served in their schools safety patrols, in which helped their fellow students travel to. For the event,20,000 schoolchildren from around the state of Maryland were given admission to the Orioles game against the Cleveland Indians. The moving steps cut and mutilated the children until a stadium usher, 65-year-old Melville Gibson, finally reached the escalators emergency shut-off switch and turned the escalator off. Previously, the switch had been moved to a wall across from the escalator in order to prevent pranksters from turning it off while people were on it. A 14-year-old girl, Annette S. Costantini, was killed in the accident,46 other children were injured, some seriously. The gate at the top of the escalator — called a people channeler — had apparently been left there after a previous event, the gates purpose was to control the flow of people getting onto the escalator. Children heading for the deck then got onto the escalator
3.
Franklin Field
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Franklin Field is the home of the Penn Relays, and is the University of Pennsylvanias stadium for football, lacrosse and formerly for soccer, field hockey and baseball. It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including football and cricket. It is located in Philadelphia, at the edge of Penns campus. It was formerly the field of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. Franklin Field was built for $100,000 and dedicated on April 20,1895, deemed by the NCAA as the oldest stadium still operating for football, it was the site of the nations first scoreboard in 1895. Its location was given as 37th and Spruce. Permanent Franklin Field construction did not begin until after the turn of the century, weightman Hall gymnasium, the stadium, and permanent grandstands were designed by architect Frank Miles Day & Brother and were erected from 1903 to 1905 at a cost of $500,000. The field was 714 feet long and 443 feet wide, the site featured a ¼-mile track, a football field, and a baseball diamond. Beneath the stands were indoor tracks and indoor training facilities, plans called for a new train station called Union Station which would feature a Pennsylvania Railroad stop and a stop on a proposed elevated subway line connected to the Market–Frankford Line. Architecture firm Koronski & Cameron created a rendering but plans quickly collapsed, five years later, it was decided instead to expand Franklin Field. The current stadium structure was built in the 1920s, designed by Day & Klauder, after the wooden bleachers were torn down. The lower tier was erected in 1922, the old wood stands were razed immediately following the Penn Relays and the new concrete lower tier and seating for 50,000 were built. The second tier was added in 1925, again designed by Day & Klauder, the first football radio broadcast originated from Franklin Field in 1922. It was carried by Philadelphia station WIP and this claim is pre-empted by an earlier live radio broadcast emanating from Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, on October 8,1921, a full year before Franklin Fields claim to fame. Harold W. Arlin announced the live broadcast of the Pitt-West Virginia football game on October 8,1921, the first commercial football television broadcast in 1939 also came from Franklin Field. In the universitys football heyday — when Penn led the nation in attendance — the 65, today, Franklin Field, named after Penns founder, Benjamin Franklin, seats 52,958. Franklin Field switched from grass to AstroTurf in 1969 and it was the first National Football League stadium to use artificial turf. The stadiums fifth AstroTurf surface was installed in 1993, the current Sprinturf field replaced the AstroTurf in 2004
4.
Wrigley Field
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Wrigley Field /ˈrɪɡli/ is a baseball park located on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the citys two Major League Baseball franchises and it first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghmans Chicago Whales of the Federal League, which folded after the 1915 baseball season. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20,1916, chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. of the Wrigley Company acquired complete control of the Cubs in 1921. It was named Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926, before being renamed Wrigley Field in 1927, in the North side community area of Lakeview in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, Wrigley Field is on an irregular block bounded by Clark and Addison Streets and Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. Wrigley Field is nicknamed The Friendly Confines, a phrase popularized by Mr. Cub, Hall of Fame shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks. The oldest park in the National League, the current seating capacity is 41,268, it is the second-oldest in the majors after Fenway Park, between 1921 and 1970, it was also the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. The elevation of its field is 600 feet above sea level. Baseball executive Charles Weeghman hired his architect Zachary Taylor Davis to design the park, the original tenants, the Chicago Whales came in second in the Federal League rankings in 1914 and won the league championship in 1915. In late 1915, Weeghmans Federal League folded, the resourceful Weeghman formed a syndicate including the chewing gum manufacturer William Wrigley Jr. to buy the Chicago Cubs from Charles P. Taft for about $500,000. Weeghman immediately moved the Cubs from the dilapidated West Side Grounds to his two-year-old park, in 1918, Wrigley acquired the controlling interest in the club. In November 1926, he renamed the park Wrigley Field, in 1927, an upper deck was added, and in 1937, Bill Veeck, the son of the club president, planted ivy vines against the outfield walls. The Ricketts family has been pursuing a Wrigley Field renovation since buying the team. Their current plan, revealed during the annual Cubs Convention in January 2013, calls for a $575-million, the team could not come to terms with the rooftop owners who have a lease with the team until 2023 in exchange for paying 17% of the gross revenues. In May 2014 the Cubs announced they would pursue the original 2013 plan to modify the park, the 1060 Project – Phase One started Monday, September 29,2014. During the off-season, the bleachers in both outfields were expanded and the footprint was extended further onto both Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. A3,990 sq ft Jumbotron scoreboard was added to the left field bleachers and it is topped with a sign advertising Wintrust Financial, a Rosemont-based bank and a Cubs Legacy Partner, the W in Wintrust flashes after every Cubs win. A2,400 sq ft video scoreboard was added in the right field bleachers. After the close of the extended 2015 season, work began on Phase Two of the project, the previous clubhouse space was utilized to enlarge the dugout and add two underground batting cages, an auditorium, and more team office space
5.
Metropolitan Stadium
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Metropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Millers minor league team played at Met Stadium from 1956 to 1960. The Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings then played at the Met from 1961 to 1981, the North American Soccer League soccer team Minnesota Kicks also played there from 1976 to 1981. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America, after the rejection of numerous sites, a stadium committee appointed by Moore approved a 160-acre plot of farmland in Bloomington. The stadium would replace Nicollet Park as the home of the American Associations Minneapolis Millers, as the site in Bloomington was approximately equidistant from the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul, it was thought this would be the best location for a prospective Major League team. After a plan by architects Thorshov & Cerny won approval, groundbreaking was scheduled to begin on June 20,1955. The construction was almost delayed, however, when the owners of the property on which the stadium would be built on began a protest, one of these owners created a barricade of farm equipment along his property line that ran directly through where the stadiums infield would be. The dispute was settled in time for the groundbreaking to move forward as planned, many spectators and dignitaries attended the groundbreaking, including Minneapolis mayor Eric G. Hoyer and several members of the Minneapolis Millers. On February 7,1956, an accident occurred on the site when a portable heater used to cure concrete exploded in the stadiums basement. The Millers were then the top team of Stonehams New York Giants. Under major league rules of the time, the Giants owned the major league rights to the Minneapolis area, negotiations were also held with the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators. However, the Giants chose to follow the Brooklyn Dodgers to the west coast at the urging of Dodgers owner Walter OMalley, who owned the Millers crosstown rivals, the St. Paul Saints. San Francisco had long been home to the Pacific Coast Leagues San Francisco Seals, as part of the deal, the Millers parent team then became the Red Sox, who had no plans to move anywhere. The latter game brought 15,990 fans to the stadium, including Calvin Griffith, in October 1960, Calvin Griffith announced that his Washington Senators would move to Metropolitan Stadium and later became the Minnesota Twins. The Twins played their first home game on April 21,1961 with a loss to the new Washington Senators, the Millers and their perennial crosstown rival St. Paul Saints were then promptly folded by Major League Baseball. To ready the stadium for the Twins, a $9 million renovation increased the capacity from about 22,000 to over 30,000 by the completion of the Twins inaugural season. During the Twins first 10 seasons at the Met, they outdrew the average American League team each year, the National Football League was also interested in placing a team at the Met. Conversations were had with Violet Bidwill Wolfner, owner of the Chicago Cardinals, the Cardinals moved two of their regular season home games against the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants to Bloomington for the 1959 NFL season
6.
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
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Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D. C. located about two miles due east of the U. S. Capitol building. It is the current home of D. C, United of Major League Soccer and the AT&T Nations Football Classic. The U. S. mens national team has played 22 matches there from 1977 to 2013. The stadium opened 56 years ago as District of Columbia Stadium in October 1961, armory Board and the U. S. Department of the Interior. It is now owned and operated by Events DC, an organization affiliated with the city government under a long-term lease from the National Park Service. The previous venue for baseball and football in Washington was Griffith Stadium and it has hosted international soccer matches in the 1994 World Cup,1996 Summer Olympics, and 2003 Womens World Cup. It also hosted a college bowl game, the Military Bowl, before its move in 2013 to Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The stadium was renamed in January 1969 for U. S, Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated in Los Angeles the previous June. The announcement was made by Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall on January 18, RFK was one of the first major stadiums designed specifically as a multi-sport facility for both football and baseball. As a professional venue, RFK Stadium was home to the NFLs Redskins for 36 seasons. The teams return to prominence as a football power began the year that the original baseball Senators played their final season. The Redskins first game in D. C, Stadium was a 24–21 loss to the New York Giants on October 1,1961. The Beatles performed their last concert in Washington, D. C. on August 15,1966, the teams first win in the stadium was over its future archrival, the Dallas Cowboys, on December 17. This was the win in a 1–12–1 season, and it came on the final weekend of the regular season. The Redskins last win at RFK was a 37–10 victory over the Cowboys on December 22,1996, in its twelfth season, RFK saw its first pro football playoff game on Christmas Eve 1972, a 16–3 win over the Green Bay Packers. The stadium hosted the NFC Championship Game five times and the Redskins won them all, in the Super Bowls that followed, Washington won three of the five. The expansion Washington Senators of the American League played at RFK Stadium from 1962 through 1971 and they played their first season in 1961 at Griffith Stadium, now the site of the medical center for Howard University. In its ten seasons as the Senators home field, RFK Stadium was known as a hitters park
7.
Kezar Stadium
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Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. It also served as the home of the California Victory of the USL First Division before the club folded, in 1920, Jack Spaulding proposed an athletics stadium for San Francisco, seating 50,000. Many business leaders in The City backed him, as it would keep San Francisco level with other cities with large stadiums, after the City and County of San Francisco appropriated an additional $200,000, the stadium was built in a year. Dedication ceremonies were on May 2,1925, and featured a two-mile footrace between Ville Ritola and Paavo Nurmi of Finland, two of the runners of the era. The stadium had many uses in the 1930s, in addition to track and field competitions, Kezar Stadium hosted motorcycle racing, auto racing, rugby, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, boxing, cricket, and football. In September 1932, the Australian Cricket Team played a North California all-star team in the Australians 56-game tour of the U. S. and Canada. The stadium was home to several colleges such as Santa Clara, USF, St. Marys. In 1926 the Stadium also became the home of the East-West Shrine Game, the Bruce-Mahoney rivalry football game between St. Ignatius College Preparatory and Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep is held at the new stadium. The annual East-West Shrine Game of 1931 was replaced by a raucous Knights of Columbus game featuring the Savoldi All-Stars, prescott Sullivan, noted San Francisco Chronicle sportswriter, recounted the days events in his January 26th column. More than 30,000 customers put the Knights of Columbus’ grid finales over in a big way and saw “Jumping Joe” and his playmates cinch their victory with two spectacular fourth period touchdowns. These runs, end to end, constituted a very sizable days work for Jumping Joe, and the crowd showed its deep appreciation by mobbing him at the finish of the ball game. Savoldi managed to escape by throwing his headgear to the milling throng, more than 200 enthusiastic souvenir hunters joined in the fight, which continued to rage unabated outside the stadium after police had managed to chase the combatants from the big bowl. Numerous black eyes were exchanged before mounted police finally quelled the uprising, Stanford University played four of its home football games at Kezar, one in 1928 and three in 1942. Stanford was also part of the major college football double header in 1940. Kezar Stadium was the first home of the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, as well many NFL Hall of Famers, historical NFL games, and the first alley-oop. The 49ers played the final NFL game at Kezar in early 1971, losing the 1970 NFC Championship Game to the Dallas Cowboys, 17–10, the 49ers moved to the more modern and accessible Candlestick Park for the 1971 season, and played there through 2013. The Stingrayz were one of the Bay Areas women tackle football teams in the Womens Professional Football League, months after the 49ers departure, several scenes from the 1971 film Dirty Harry were filmed at and above the stadium
8.
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
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The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is an American sports stadium located in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The stadium serves as the home to the University of Southern California Trojans football team, the facility has a permanent seating capacity of 93,607 for USC football games, making it the largest football stadium in the Pac-12 Conference. For Rams games, capacity is at 80,000, giving it the fourth-largest capacity in the NFL, the stadium is located in Exposition Park and across the street from USC. From 1959 to 2016, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was located adjacent to the Coliseum, the Coliseum is the first stadium to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in 1932 and 1984 and has been proposed to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The stadium was the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball from 1958 to 1961 and was the host venue for games 3,4. It was the site of the First AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later called Super Bowl I, additionally, it has served as a home field for a number of other teams, including the Los Angeles Raiders of the NFL, and UCLA Bruins football. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on July 27,1984, under the lease the University has day-to-day management and operation responsibility for both the Coliseum and Sports Arena. The 98-year lease took effect on July 29,2013, and was signed by the parties on September 5,2013. The Coliseum is now primarily the home of the USC Trojans football team, Most of USCs regular home games, especially the alternating games with rivals UCLA and Notre Dame, attract a capacity crowd. The current official capacity of the Coliseum is 93,607, USCs women lacrosse and soccer teams use the Coliseum for selected games, usually involving major opponents and televised games. USC also rents the Coliseum to various events, including soccer games, musical concerts. The Olympic Cauldron was built for the stadiums two Olympic Games and it is still lit during the fourth quarter of USC football games, and other special occasions. It was lit to honor the fallen Israeli Athletes from the 1972 Munich Olympics Games and it was also lit for several days following the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. The torch was lit for over a following the September 11 attacks in 2001. In 2004, the cauldron was lit non-stop for seven days in tribute to president Ronald Reagan and it was lit again in April 2005 following the death of Pope John Paul II, who had celebrated Mass at the Coliseum during his visit to Los Angeles in 1987. At the Los Angeles Dodgers 50th anniversary game on March 29,2008, charity ceremony, while Neil Diamonds Heartlight was played and the majority of the attendees turned on their complimentary souvenir keychain flashlights. It was lit for the duration of Special Olympics World Games held in Los Angeles from July 25,2015 to August 2,2015, the cauldron was most recently lit for the returning Los Angeles Rams first home game on September 18,2016 against the Seattle Seahawks. The Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to L. A. veterans of World War I, the official ground breaking ceremony took place on December 21,1921 with work being completed in just over 16 months, on May 1,1923
