Franklin Field

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Franklin Field
nickname =


location = S. 33rd and Spruce Sts.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
broke_ground = 1895
opened = 1895 (field)
1922 (stands)
closed =
demolished =
owner = University of Pennsylvania
operator = University of Pennsylvania
surface = SprinTurf (field)
Rekortan (track)
construction_cost = $100,000 (1895)
architect = Frank Miles Day, Charles Klauder
former_names =
tenants = Penn Quakers
(Football & Track and Field, since 1895)
Philadelphia Eagles (1958-1970)
Temple Owls football (1990s-2002)
Philadelphia Atoms (NASL) (1976)
seating_capacity = 52,593

Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field (and formerly for soccer). It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation exercises, weather permitting. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the eastern edge of Penn's campus, across the Schuylkill River from Center City.

History

Franklin Field opened in 1895 at a cost of $100,000 for the first running of the Penn Relays. Deemed by the NCAA as the oldest stadium still operating for football, it was the site of the nation's first scoreboard in 1895. The current stadium structure was built in the 1920s after the original wooden bleachers were torn down. The lower tier was erected in 1922 and the second tier was added in 1925, when it became the second and largest two-tiered stadium in the United States. In the university's football heyday -- when Penn led the nation in attendance -- the 65,000-seat stadium was expanded each fall with temporary stands to seat 78,000. Today, Franklin Field (named after Penn's founder, Ben) seats 52,593.

Penn Relays

Franklin Field has hosted the annual Penn Relays, the largest track-and-field meet in the U.S., for over 100 years. The Relays were featured in the April 29, 1961, premiere of ABC's "Wide World of Sports". The Army-Navy football game series was held here for many of the years between 1899 and 1935 before moving to the larger Municipal Stadium in South Philadelphia.Fact|date=September 2007

Politics

The stadium was the site of the speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in which he accepted the 1936 Democratic Party's nomination for a second term as president. [cite news | first=M. Charles| last=Bakst| coauthors= | title=At conventions, JFK and FDR also spoke outdoors| date=2008-08-21| publisher=Providence Journal | url =http://www.projo.com/news/politics/content/BAKST_COLUMN_21_08-21-08_G3B0CE8_v10.3f6a81e.html?npc| work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-08-28 | language = ] It is estimated that a crowd of 100,000 at Franklin Field sat through intermittent rain to hear FDR's speech. [cite news | first=Jeff| last=Gammage| coauthors= | title=Before Obama, there was FDR at Franklin Field| date=2008-08-29| publisher=Philadelphia Inquirer | url =http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/elections/20080829_Before_Obama__there_was_FDR_at_Franklin_Field.html| work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-08-29 | language = ]

Eagles

Franklin Field was also the home of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1958 through 1970. The Eagles hosted the 1960 NFL Championship Game here, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 17-13, in Packers' coach Vince Lombardi's only career playoff loss. Also on August 23, 1958, the first Canadian Football League game played on American soil between two Canadian teams was played at Franklin Field, as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders, 13-7. [http://iqfb.com/canadian-football-league/ottawa-rough-riders/]

Several infamous incidents occurred at the stadium while the Eagles played there. During the halftime show of a December 15, 1968, game against the Minnesota Vikings, some fans booed a young man in a Santa Claus costume who was taken from the stands as the scheduled Santa was snowed in in Wildwood, New Jersey, and pelted him with snowballs. This incident is often referred to by sportscasters in denigrating Philadelphia sports fans as so mean they booed Santa Claus.

On November 23, 1970, announcer Howard Cosell was apparently drunk during a nationally televised broadcast of the Eagles-New York Giants "Monday Night Football" game. After throwing up on color commentator Don Meredith's cowboy boots shortly before halftime, Cosell left the stadium and took a taxi back to New York City. Meredith and play-by-play announcer Keith Jackson made little mention of his departure during the second half. Later, denying drunkenness, Cosell claimed that he had been dizzy from running laps around Franklin Field's track before the game with track star Tommie Smith. Four weeks later, the Eagles played their last game at Franklin Field, defeating the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-20.Fact|date=September 2007

Lacrosse

The stadium hosted the Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1973 and 1992 and the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship in May 2007. [http://www.drawphiladelphia.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=2700&ATCLID=743954&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=2700&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT=]

USFL

Franklin Field was also host to a United States Football League divisional semi-final game on June 30, 1984, between the host Philadelphia Stars and the visiting New Jersey Generals. The Stars defeated the Generals 28-7 behind two touchdowns from RB Kelvin Bryant. A crowd of 19,038 took in the game on a warm, overcast afternoon.Fact|date=September 2007

The Stars were forced to play the game at Franklin Field because the Philadelphia Phillies had a game scheduled at Veterans Stadium that weekend. The game featured many NFL stars in Generals RB Herschel Walker, QB Brian Sipe, LB Jim LeClair, SS Gary Barbaro, and G Dave Lapham. The Stars featured Bryant, QB Chuck Fusina, LB Sam Mills, and P Sean Landeta. The game was also broadcast nationally on ABC Sports.

Other Events

Drum Corps International held its annual Drum and Bugle Corps World Championships at the stadium in 1975 and 1976.

In 1997, the first-ever public concert was held at Franklin Field and featured the Irish band U2 during the first leg of their Pop Mart Tour on June 8.Fact|date=September 2007

From the 1990s until 2002, to accommodate the Eagles and the Phillies, whose regular seasons overlapped by a month, Temple University scheduled several of its August and September home football games at Franklin Field, while playing the rest of those seasons at Veterans Stadium. The stadium had also hosted the Owls several times on a sporadic basis for many years, usually when their home field, Temple Stadium, was too small to handle the expected crowds.

In 2004, Franklin Field was home to the first rugby league match between the United States and Australia. The United States led the World Cup-holders Australia for much of the game, but eventually lost 36-24.Fact|date=September 2007

In Popular Culture

The 2000 M. Night Shyamalan-directed movie "Unbreakable" prominently features Franklin Field as one of the main locations in the film. The film's main character, played by Bruce Willis, plays a security guard at the stadium.

In the 2006 movie "Invincible", Franklin Field served as a stand-in for the demolished Veterans Stadium, images of which were digitally superimposed on some of the football action sequences.

References

External links

* [http://www.pennathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1700&KEY=&ATCLID=66184 Official site of Franklin Field]
* [http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/documents/02pennfbv.asp Summary at Ivy League official site]
* [http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display.cfm/82889 Architectural photos of Franklin Field]
* [http://www.hagley.org/library/exhibits/dallinexhibit/events/franklinfield.html Aerial view of Franklin Field, October 28, 1928, Penn State at University of Pennsylvania football game]
*ESPN Photos: [http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/gallery/gallery?id=3016261&
] , [http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/gallery/gallery?id=3016261&
]

succession box
title = Home of the
Philadelphia Eagles
years = 1958 – 1970
before = Shibe Park
after = Veterans Stadiumsuccession box
title = Host of the
Drum Corps International
World Championship
years = 1975 – 1976
before = Schoellkopf Field
after = Mile High Stadium succession box
title = Home of the
NCAA Lacrosse Final Four
years = 1983
before = Byrd Stadium
after = Rutgers Stadium I