Formerly an open-air stadium in Philadelphia
John F. Kennedy Stadium
, formerly
Philadelphia Municipal Stadium
and
Sesquicentennial Stadium
, was an open-air stadium in
Philadelphia
that stood from 1926 to 1992. The
South Philadelphia
stadium was on the east side of the far southern end of
Broad Street
at a location now part of the
South Philadelphia Sports Complex
. Designed by the architectural firm of Simon & Simon
[1]
in a classic 1920s style with a horseshoe seating design that surrounded a track and football field, at its peak the facility seated in excess of 102,000 people. Bleachers were later added at the open (North) end. The shape of the stadium resembles the horseshoe configuration of
Harvard Stadium
built in 1903.
Each section of the main portion of the stadium contained its own entrance, which displayed the letters of each section above the entrance, in a nod to ancient Roman stadia. Section designators were divided at the south end of the stadium (the bottom of the "U" shape) between West and East, starting with Sections WA and EA and proceeding north. The north bleachers started with Section NA.
It was built of concrete, stone, and brick on a 13.5-acre (55,000 m
2
) tract.
[2]
Opening and names
[
edit
]
Leaders of Philadelphia's sports organizations gathered at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in March 1920 and announced their intention to build a 200,000 seat sports stadium to attract national and international sporting events. The city immediately submitted its candidacy to host the
1924 Summer Olympics
. At the time, the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field was the city's largest ballpark with a capacity of 30,000 seats; the Philadelphia Athletics'
Shibe Park
sat 23,000, and the Phillies'
National League Park
sat 18,000. The initial meeting in 1920 favored building the stadium as a memorial to the nation's war dead and placing it in
Fairmount Park
at its entrance to the
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
.
[3]
The stadium was built as part of the
1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition
. Originally known as Sesquicentennial Stadium when it opened April 15, 1926, the structure was renamed Philadelphia Municipal Stadium
[4]
after the Exposition's closing ceremonies. In 1964, it was renamed John F. Kennedy Stadium in memory of the
35th President of the United States
who had been
assassinated
the year before.
The stadium's first tenants (in
1926
) were the
Philadelphia Quakers
of the
first American Football League
, whose Saturday afternoon home games were a popular mainstay of the Exposition. The Quakers won the league championship but the league folded after one year.
[
citation needed
]
The
Frankford Yellow Jackets
also played here intermittently until the team's demise in 1931. Two years later, the
National Football League
awarded another team to the city, the
Philadelphia Eagles
. The Eagles had a four-season stint as tenants of the stadium before moving to Shibe Park for the 1940 season, although the team did play at Municipal in 1941. The Eagles also used the stadium for practices in the 1970s and 1980s, even locating their first practice bubble
[
discuss
]
there before moving it to the
Veterans Stadium
parking lot following the stadium's condemnation.
[
citation needed
]
The stadium became known chiefly as the "neutral" venue for a total of 41 annual
Army?Navy Games
played there between 1936 and 1979. The streak was briefly broken during
World War II
, when travel restrictions forced three games to be held on campus and one game to be played in
Baltimore
. From 1960 to 1970 the stadium served as
Navy's
home field when they played
Notre Dame
. It also hosted the Notre Dame-Army game in 1957, marking the only time the Cadets have hosted the Fighting Irish outside of New York or New Jersey.
[5]
The
Pennsylvania Railroad
and its successors,
Penn Central
and
Conrail
, offered game-day service to all Army-Navy games, using a sprawling temporary station constructed each year on the railroad's nearby Greenwich freight yard. The service, with 40-odd trains serving as many as 30,000 attendees, was the single largest concentrated passenger rail movement in the country.
[6]
[7]
A.F. "Bud" Dudley, a former
Villanova University
athletic-director, created the
Liberty Bowl
in Philadelphia in 1959. The game was played at Municipal Stadium and was the only cold-weather bowl game of its time. It was plagued by poor attendance; the
1963
game between
Mississippi State
and
NC State
drew less than 10,000 fans and absorbed a loss in excess of $40,000. The Liberty Bowl's best game was its first in 1959, when 38,000 fans watched
Penn State
beat
Alabama
7?0. However, even that crowd was swallowed up in the environment.
Atlantic City
convinced Dudley to move his game from Philadelphia to Atlantic City's
Convention Hall
for
1964
. 6,059 fans saw
Utah
rout
West Virginia
in the first indoor bowl game. Dudley moved the game to
Memphis
in 1965 where it has been played since.
[8]
The stadium hosted Philadelphia's City Title high school football championship game in 1939 and 1978.
St. Joe's Prep
defeated
Northeast
, 27-6, in 1939.
Frankford
beat
Archbishop Wood
, 27-7, in heavy rain in 1978.
[9]
On September 16, 1950, the
Cleveland Browns
, playing their first season in the NFL after dominating the defunct
All-America Football Conference
(winning all four league titles), played their first NFL game against the two-time defending NFL Champion
Philadelphia Eagles
as a prelude to what would eventually in time become the
NFL Kickoff Game
. Philadelphia was the center of the professional football universe at the time; not only did the city host the defending NFL champions, but the league offices were also in town, headed up by NFL commissioner (and Philadelphia native)
Bert Bell
. To accommodate the anticipated ticket demand, the game was moved from
Shibe Park
; this proved to be a wise decision, as the contest drew a then NFL-record 71,237 ? virtually doubling the Eagles' prior attendance record of 38,230. Many thought Bell had scheduled this game of defending league champions to teach the upstarts from the AAFC a lesson. Instead, the Browns shredded the Eagles' vaunted defense in a 35-10 rout and went on to win the NFL Championship that first year in the league.
In 1958, some 15,000 fans attended a
CFL
game between the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
and the
Ottawa Rough Riders
with proceeds from ticket sales going to local charities. (Hamilton won, 24-18, in what remains the only regular-season CFL game played between two Canadian teams outside of Canada.)
The stadium was home to the
Philadelphia Bell
of the
World Football League
in 1974. The Bell seemed to give the WFL instant credibility when it announced a crowd of 55,534 for the home opener, and 64,719 for the second home game. However, when the Bell paid city taxes on the attendance figures two weeks later, it emerged that the gates had been wildly inflated. The team sold block tickets to area businesses at a discount, and the tax revenue was not reported. In turn, many of these businesses gave away the tickets for free. The actual paid attendance for the home opener was only 13,855, while the paid attendance for the second game was only 6,200?and many of
those
tickets were sold well below face value. The "Papergate" scandal made the Bell and the WFL look foolish, and proved to be a humiliation from which neither recovered. The team played at
Franklin Field
in 1975; the league folded late into that season.
Other sports
[
edit
]
On September 23, 1926, an announced crowd of 120,557 packed the then-new Stadium during a rainstorm to witness
Gene Tunney
capture the world heavyweight boxing title from
Jack Dempsey
. Undefeated
Rocky Marciano
knocked out
Jersey Joe Walcott
at the stadium on September 23, 1952 to win boxing's heavyweight championship.
On June 26, 1957, a 150-lap
NASCAR convertible
race was held at the Stadium, which was won by
Bob Welborn
in a
1957 Chevrolet
.
[10]
JFK Stadium hosted
Team America's
soccer match against
England
on May 31, 1976, as part of the
1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament
. In the game, England defeated Team America, 3-1, in front of a small crowd of 16,239. England and
Italy
had failed to qualify for the
1976 European Championship final tournament
and so they joined
Brazil
and Team America, composed of international stars playing in the
North American Soccer League
, in the four team competition. Because Team America was composed of international players and was not the
American national team
,
the Football Association
does not regard England's match against Team America as an official international match.
[11]
JFK Stadium was one of fifteen United States stadia (and along with
Franklin Field
, also in Philadelphia) inspected by a five-member
FIFA
committee in April 1988 in the evaluation of the United States as a possible host of the
1994 FIFA World Cup
.
[12]
By the time the World Cup was held in 1994, JFK Stadium had already been demolished two years earlier.
Other events
[
edit
]
The
Philadelphia Flyers
won their second
Stanley Cup
on May 27,
1975
. The next day they celebrated with a parade down
Broad Street
that ended at the stadium. Five years later, the
Philadelphia Phillies
won their first
World Series
on October 21 of that year. The following day, the team paraded the exact route.
In 1981, The Rolling Stones announced their World Tour via a press conference at JFK.
[13]
Through 1989, the
Broad Street Run
course ended with a lap around the track at the stadium.
Concerts
[
edit
]
JFK Stadium was known for hosting some of the largest and most prominent rock music acts of the late 20th century, including (but by no means limited to):
1960s
[
edit
]
1970s
[
edit
]
1980s
[
edit
]
- September 25 and 26, 1981
:
The Rolling Stones
opened their
1981 U.S. Tour
in support of their new album
Tattoo You
with two shows at JFK Stadium, in front of 90,000 fans each night. Opening acts included Journey and
George Thorogood & the Destroyerss
.
Mick Jagger
met the press at JFK Stadium on August 26, 1981, to announce the tour. Apparently in honor of the old stadium's football heritage and the
Philadelphia Eagles
' recent NFC championship, Jagger performed in something resembling a pair of football trousers and knee pads and a Philadelphia Eagles jersey that became part of his stage wardrobe for the rest of the tour. The Rolling Stones pre-opened the tour with a warm-up show at the Sir Morgan's Cove club in
Worcester, Massachusetts
, on September 14, 1981.
- September 25, 1982
:
The Who
performed at the stadium early in what was then labeled their
Farewell Tour
, which also supported their album
It's Hard
. Opening acts were
Santana
,
The Clash
, and
The Hooters
. Total attendance was 91,451, one of the largest ticketed single-show, non-festival stadium concerts ever held in the U.S., according to
Billboard
.
[17]
- September 1984
:
The Jacksons
performed at the stadium for four sold-out shows during their
Victory Tour
with 200,000 in attendance, one of the largest audiences of the tour.
- July 13, 1985
:
Live Aid
, a dual-venue concert at JFK stadium in Philadelphia (attended by 89,484 people) and
Wembley Stadium
in London (attended by 72,000 people). Musical acts that appeared at JFK included
Madonna
,
Simple Minds
,
The Beach Boys
,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
,
REO Speedwagon
,
The Hooters
,
Bryan Adams
,
Eric Clapton
,
The Cars
,
Black Sabbath
,
Run-DMC
,
Judas Priest
, the surviving members of
Led Zeppelin
,
Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
,
Tina Turner
,
Bob Dylan
,
Mick Jagger
,
Keith Richards
, and
Ronnie Wood
, of
The Rolling Stones
, and dual appearances by
Phil Collins
, who performed first at Wembley, traveled by helicopter to
Heathrow Airport
, flew to Philadelphia via
Concorde
, and performed at JFK.
- July 10, 1987
:
Bob Dylan
and
The Grateful Dead
performed in front of 70,000-plus on a day when it was 90 °F in the shade and fans near the stage were sprayed with water.
- September 19, 1987
:
Pink Floyd
performed at the stadium in front of a crowd of over 120,000, which included general admission on the field, and the show was still not sold out to full capacity.
[
citation needed
]
- September 25, 1987
:
U2
performed at the stadium during their
Joshua Tree Tour
in front of a crowd of 86,145.
- July 7, 1989
: The stadium's last concert was
Grateful Dead
with
Bruce Hornsby
& The Range as the opening act. Fans at the show recall concrete crumbling and the stadium's bathrooms in poor shape. The Dead closed the show with "
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
", which proved to be the last live song played at the last official performance in the stadium.
[18]
Twenty-one years later, in 2010, the recording of this concert was released on a CD/DVD combination, titled
Crimson White & Indigo
.
- August 28 and 29, 1989
: In preparation for opening their 1989
Steel Wheels Tour
at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia on August 31, 1989,
The Rolling Stones
set up their stage inside JFK Stadium for two full dress-rehearsal performances on August 28 and 29, 1989. A few dozen fans were allowed to enter the stadium to attend these rehearsals.
[
citation needed
]
Closing and demolition
[
edit
]
Six days after the Grateful Dead's 1989 show,
Mayor Wilson Goode
condemned the stadium due to multiple findings by city inspectors that the stadium was structurally unsafe as well as a potential fire hazard. Just hours before the concert, city inspectors had discovered piles of combustible materials, numerous electrical problems, and crumbling and/or falling concrete. By this time, some 20,000 people were already in the stadium, with another 20,000 in line waiting to enter. The Grateful Dead were only allowed to perform due to strict no-smoking regulations that had been enacted some time before.
[19]
While renovation and repairs of the stadium were discussed, this was quickly rejected due to the exceedingly high costs, and it was demolished on September 23, 1992.
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
The 1993 Philadelphia stop for the
Lollapalooza
music festival was held at the JFK Stadium site on
July 18, 1993
. The site was an open field, as construction had not yet begun on the then still tentatively named "Spectrum II" (
Wells Fargo Center
). This was the show at which
Rage Against the Machine
stood on stage without playing in protest of the
Parents Music Resource Center
.
[24]
The
Wells Fargo Center
now stands on the site. The Center is part of the
Sports Complex
that also includes
Lincoln Financial Field
and
Citizens Bank Park
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
*
City Architect; Department of City Architecture; Philadelphia Information Locator System
- ^
"JFK Stadium: End Zone Near".
Philadelphia Inquirer
. February 5, 1992. p. B2.
- ^
"Booming a stadium in Fairmount Park".
Philadelphia Inquirer
. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. March 13, 1920. p. 12.
- ^
E.L Austin and Odell Hauser.
The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition (Chapter XXX "MUNICIPAL STADIUM") pp 419-423; Philadelphia, PA (1929)
.
- ^
"Winsipedia - Army Black Knights vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish football series history games list"
.
Winsipedia
. Retrieved
November 29,
2022
.
- ^
Cupper, Dan (1992).
Crossroads of Commerce: The Pennsylvania Railroad Calendar Art of Grif Teller
. Stackpole Books. p. 138.
ISBN
9780811729031
– via Google Books.
- ^
Froio, Michael (December 11, 2015).
"To The Game: A Pennsylvania Railroad Tradition"
. Retrieved
August 24,
2016
.
- ^
Antonick, John (June 22, 2005).
"Unique Game"
.
West Virginia Mountaineers
. MSNsportsNET.com. Archived from
the original
on May 26, 2011
. Retrieved
April 26,
2009
.
- ^
"FB City Title Recaps"
.
tedsillary.com
. Ted Sillary
. Retrieved
April 23,
2009
.
- ^
"1957 NASCAR convertible race"
.
Racing-Reference
. Retrieved
March 28,
2012
.
- ^
"England 's Minor Tournaments and Cups; U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament, U.S.A., 1976"
.
England Football Online
. Peter Young, Alan Brook, Josh Benn, Chris Goodwin, and Glen Isherwood
. Retrieved
April 24,
2009
.
- ^
Vecsey, George (April 10, 1988).
"Sports of The Time; Americans Prepare for Lights, Cameras and Soccer"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
April 24,
2009
.
- ^
JFK STADIUM ROLLING STONES PRESS CONFERENCE
- ^
"The Last Concert"
at Judy Garland Discography
- ^
"Led Zeppelin"
.
Page 20 All Shows
. Retrieved
July 26,
2009
.
- ^
Rockwell, Joan (June 13, 1977).
"Frampton Back, Plays to 91,000; Philadelphia Show Is First Concert in 7 Months Million-Dollar Gross"
.
The New York Times
. p. 36
. Retrieved
July 10,
2009
.
- ^
"The best-attended US tours of allptime"
.
Vanity Edge
. Archived from
the original
on March 17, 2012
. Retrieved
August 3,
2011
.
- ^
"John F. Kennedy Stadium; July 07, 1989; Philadelphia, PA US"
.
Dead.net
. Retrieved
April 29,
2009
.
- ^
"City Closes JFK Stadium"
.
Philadelphia Inquirer
. July 14, 1989. Archived from
the original
on February 16, 2013.
- ^
"Goodbye To JFK Stadium As Demolition Firm Is Hired".
Philadelphia Inquirer
. March 10, 1992.
- ^
"Wreckers, 1, JFK Stadium, 0".
Philadelphia Inquirer
. April 21, 1992.
- ^
"JFK Stadium Philadelphia Final Days 1993"
(Video)
.
YouTube
.
Archived
from the original on December 21, 2021
. Retrieved
September 10,
2017
.
- ^
Bernstein, Ralph (March 22, 1992).
"Wrecking Ball To Leave Only Memories Of JFK Stadium"
.
The Seattle Times
. Retrieved
September 10,
2017
.
- ^
"Lollapalooza 1993 - John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia, PA"
.
Jane's Addiction
.org. February 18, 2007
. Retrieved
September 17,
2008
.
[
dead link
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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(
possible
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|
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Post-War and
Pre-Merger era:
1941
?
1969
|
- Alumni Stadium
(Boston Patriots)
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(Houston Oilers)
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(Atlanta Falcons)
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(Baltimore Colts)
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(St. Louis Cardinals)
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(Chicago Cardinals, Card-Pitt)
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