Crump Stadium
Encyclopedia
Crump Stadium was a sports stadium in Memphis, Tennessee
, built in 1934 and largely demolished in 2006. It was built as a WPA
project with a capacity of 7,500. In 1939 it was enlarged to hold 25,000 spectators. In 1948 and 1949 it staged the NCAA
football
Delta Bowl
; in 1950 the college football
game between the University of Arkansas
and the University of Texas at Austin
was held there. Memphis State University
(now University of Memphis) home football games were played there until the completion of Memphis Memorial Stadium
(now Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) in the mid-1960s. The stadium was named for the late Memphis political boss E. H. Crump
. It is now home to Central High School
.
and owner of the Clarence Saunders Tigers, a semi-professional football team. After success against other established teams, it was thought that Memphis would join the fledgling National Football League
, but the Great Depression
wiped out Saunders, and Memphis missed out on professional football for the first time. In early 1932, plans for a large concrete stadium with a capacity of 25,000 persons was presented to the Mid-South Fair Association with the promise that if it were built, efforts would be made to land "big-time events of the tennis
world". On July 17, 1932, the Memphis Park Commission gave tentative approval for a 25,000-seat stadium to be created at the Fairgrounds. Funds for the stadium were to be raised from the public through a "Buy a Barrel of Cement" project. However, that project was shelved in favor of a new field at Central High School
. On August 20, 1932, plans for a new stadium for the City of Memphis were drawn up and approved by the city managers. Funding for this Depression-era project was achieved when, on December 16, 1933, a 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) athletic field was approved by state and federal Civil Works Authority and construction was completed in 1934. The stadium's original configuration was 7,000 seat capacity on wood bleachers 15 rows high with space for another 4,000 on temporary seating. The stadium was under the control of the City Board of Education, but was available to all levels of teams, from high school to professional
On February 27, 1934, the school board voted to name the new stadium for congressman and former mayor
E. H. Crump. Mr. Crump accepted the honor saying he was "pleased" but felt such honors were best served posthumously. The next day, final approval of $35,000 was granted by the Civil Works Authority and work on the project began. By August 1934, the scope of the project had been increased to include a cinder running track and lighting consisting of six 80' towers each holding eight 1000-watt lamps, enabling night football to be played. From the outset, day-night double headers were the norm at the stadium. Despite this type scheduling, the first year of operation ran a deficit, with maintenance and operating costs running from $2,100 to $2,200 and gate receipts and concessions totaling only $951.
After a 1936 game between Mississippi and Tennessee drew a record crowd of 11,000, the city decided that it should aggressively market itself as "neutral ground" to the regional teams and promote bringing big games to Memphis. The decision was made to remove the wooden bleachers on the south side of the field, replace them with concrete 46 rows high and increase capacity to 15,000. Control of the facility was transferred to the Park Commission on August 25, 1936, and $100,000 was allocated for the project. A news release from the WPA stated "California has its "Rose Bowl
", Louisiana has its "Sugar Bowl
" and now Memphis...is to have its "Cotton Bowl
." The WPA provided $90,050 and the City of Memphis chipped in another $44,305. City engineer Will Fowler was placed in charge of the project and stated at the time that he envisioned further expansion by creating a bowl which would seat 30,000. Fowler would play an aggressive role in frequent upgrades to the facility over time. 1936 also saw the first intercollegiate football game featuring a Memphis team, Southwestern (now Rhodes College
), which at the time was acknowledged to be on the threshold of the "big time". There were 40 games played at Crump Stadium that season
At the same time Crump Stadium was being expanded, it was decided to create a new field at the fairgrounds. Funds were acquired from the WPA for this new lighted field which Mayor Watkins Overton
said would help take pressure off Crump Stadium by giving events with smaller attendance a new venue. The wood bleachers from the south side of Crump Stadium were relocated to the fairgrounds and installed. That field was located in the area now paved as parking between Libertyland
and the Mid-South Coliseum
. State Teachers College
and Southwestern
shared this field beginning in 1937 with high school and junior high teams. Both State Teachers and Southwestern had been playing at Hodges Field. In 1937, Southwestern moved five games to Crump Stadium, and State Teachers played two. Both squads played three games at the new fairgrounds facility. The first game played in Crump Stadium by State Teachers was against Tennessee Tech in November 1937. The Teachers would spend the next 27 years at Crump Stadium.
New dressing rooms were constructed under the south stands in 1938. To reach the dressing rooms, teams had to go down steps leading to a tunnel underneath the cinder track and box seats to a second set of stairs which led back up to the entrance passage of the building where the teams turned left or right respectively. 1939 saw more expansion and renovation as the north side wooden bleachers were demolished and concrete stands were erected. The new north stands held just under 10,000 people and cost $186,000. The north stands were 42 rows high as opposed to the south stands which were 46 rows high. In 1940 a 600-seat section was added in the southwest corner along with a new separate entrance and toilet facilities
for black
s, allowing those citizens access to the stadium for the first time. Capacity was increased to just over 25,000 and the city was able to attract marquee match-ups from throughout the region. Match-ups between Tennessee, Mississippi, Mississippi State and Arkansas were frequent with even a Texas-Arkansas game played at Crump Stadium.
Crump Stadium would remain in essentially that configuration until 1960, when the City Commission recommended expanding the stadium again. This met with much controversy and opposition from the school board, which needed the land the stadium sat on for expansion of Central High School and to meet open space requirements. In November 1962, the City Commission approved spending of $1.4 million to increase capacity to over 45,000 and a contract was awarded. But less than a year later, the project was halted in favor of a new stadium at the fairgrounds. After Memphis Memorial Stadium was built, control of the facility was transferred back to the Memphis City Schools
.
amenities. The outer brick wall, original gates and entrances were retained and the name remains "Crump Stadium." High school sporting competitions resumed in the fall of 2007.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, built in 1934 and largely demolished in 2006. It was built as a WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
project with a capacity of 7,500. In 1939 it was enlarged to hold 25,000 spectators. In 1948 and 1949 it staged the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
Delta Bowl
Delta Bowl
The Delta Bowl was a college football bowl game played at Crump Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The game was played in 1948 and 1949. Bowl officials signed the University of Tulsa to appear in the 1949 game prior to the start of the season with the expectation that the team would perform well;...
; in 1950 the college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game between the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
and the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
was held there. Memphis State University
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
(now University of Memphis) home football games were played there until the completion of Memphis Memorial Stadium
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is a football stadium, located at the Mid-South Fairgrounds, in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The stadium is the site of the annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and is the home field of the University of Memphis Tigers football team...
(now Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) in the mid-1960s. The stadium was named for the late Memphis political boss E. H. Crump
E. H. Crump
Edward Hull "Boss" Crump was an American politician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was mayor from 1910 through 1915, and again briefly in 1940; in the intervening years he effectively appointed the mayors.-Career:...
. It is now home to Central High School
Central High School (Memphis, Tennessee)
Central High School is a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee. Since it was founded in the early 1900s and is considered the first high school in Memphis; Central is often called "THE" High School. It is a part of the Memphis City Schools Optional School system where it is recognized as a...
.
History
The need for a large stadium in Memphis was first proposed by Clarence Saunders, founder of Piggly WigglyPiggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire....
and owner of the Clarence Saunders Tigers, a semi-professional football team. After success against other established teams, it was thought that Memphis would join the fledgling National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, but the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
wiped out Saunders, and Memphis missed out on professional football for the first time. In early 1932, plans for a large concrete stadium with a capacity of 25,000 persons was presented to the Mid-South Fair Association with the promise that if it were built, efforts would be made to land "big-time events of the tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
world". On July 17, 1932, the Memphis Park Commission gave tentative approval for a 25,000-seat stadium to be created at the Fairgrounds. Funds for the stadium were to be raised from the public through a "Buy a Barrel of Cement" project. However, that project was shelved in favor of a new field at Central High School
Central High School (Memphis, Tennessee)
Central High School is a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee. Since it was founded in the early 1900s and is considered the first high school in Memphis; Central is often called "THE" High School. It is a part of the Memphis City Schools Optional School system where it is recognized as a...
. On August 20, 1932, plans for a new stadium for the City of Memphis were drawn up and approved by the city managers. Funding for this Depression-era project was achieved when, on December 16, 1933, a 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) athletic field was approved by state and federal Civil Works Authority and construction was completed in 1934. The stadium's original configuration was 7,000 seat capacity on wood bleachers 15 rows high with space for another 4,000 on temporary seating. The stadium was under the control of the City Board of Education, but was available to all levels of teams, from high school to professional
On February 27, 1934, the school board voted to name the new stadium for congressman and former mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
E. H. Crump. Mr. Crump accepted the honor saying he was "pleased" but felt such honors were best served posthumously. The next day, final approval of $35,000 was granted by the Civil Works Authority and work on the project began. By August 1934, the scope of the project had been increased to include a cinder running track and lighting consisting of six 80' towers each holding eight 1000-watt lamps, enabling night football to be played. From the outset, day-night double headers were the norm at the stadium. Despite this type scheduling, the first year of operation ran a deficit, with maintenance and operating costs running from $2,100 to $2,200 and gate receipts and concessions totaling only $951.
After a 1936 game between Mississippi and Tennessee drew a record crowd of 11,000, the city decided that it should aggressively market itself as "neutral ground" to the regional teams and promote bringing big games to Memphis. The decision was made to remove the wooden bleachers on the south side of the field, replace them with concrete 46 rows high and increase capacity to 15,000. Control of the facility was transferred to the Park Commission on August 25, 1936, and $100,000 was allocated for the project. A news release from the WPA stated "California has its "Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
", Louisiana has its "Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
" and now Memphis...is to have its "Cotton Bowl
Cotton Bowl (stadium)
The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
." The WPA provided $90,050 and the City of Memphis chipped in another $44,305. City engineer Will Fowler was placed in charge of the project and stated at the time that he envisioned further expansion by creating a bowl which would seat 30,000. Fowler would play an aggressive role in frequent upgrades to the facility over time. 1936 also saw the first intercollegiate football game featuring a Memphis team, Southwestern (now Rhodes College
Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's...
), which at the time was acknowledged to be on the threshold of the "big time". There were 40 games played at Crump Stadium that season
At the same time Crump Stadium was being expanded, it was decided to create a new field at the fairgrounds. Funds were acquired from the WPA for this new lighted field which Mayor Watkins Overton
Watkins Overton
Samuel Watkins Overton, Jr. , was an American politician and the longest serving mayor in the history of the City of Memphis.- Early life:...
said would help take pressure off Crump Stadium by giving events with smaller attendance a new venue. The wood bleachers from the south side of Crump Stadium were relocated to the fairgrounds and installed. That field was located in the area now paved as parking between Libertyland
Libertyland
Libertyland was Memphis, Tennessee's only amusement park. Opened on July 4, 1976, it was located at 940 Early Maxwell Blvd. It was structured under the nonprofit 5014 US tax code. It closed due to financial reasons in 2005.-History:...
and the Mid-South Coliseum
Mid-South Coliseum
The Mid-South Coliseum, also known as "The Entertainment Capital of the Mid-South", was a multi-purpose arena, that seated 10,085 people, in Memphis, Tennessee...
. State Teachers College
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
and Southwestern
Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's...
shared this field beginning in 1937 with high school and junior high teams. Both State Teachers and Southwestern had been playing at Hodges Field. In 1937, Southwestern moved five games to Crump Stadium, and State Teachers played two. Both squads played three games at the new fairgrounds facility. The first game played in Crump Stadium by State Teachers was against Tennessee Tech in November 1937. The Teachers would spend the next 27 years at Crump Stadium.
New dressing rooms were constructed under the south stands in 1938. To reach the dressing rooms, teams had to go down steps leading to a tunnel underneath the cinder track and box seats to a second set of stairs which led back up to the entrance passage of the building where the teams turned left or right respectively. 1939 saw more expansion and renovation as the north side wooden bleachers were demolished and concrete stands were erected. The new north stands held just under 10,000 people and cost $186,000. The north stands were 42 rows high as opposed to the south stands which were 46 rows high. In 1940 a 600-seat section was added in the southwest corner along with a new separate entrance and toilet facilities
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
for black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s, allowing those citizens access to the stadium for the first time. Capacity was increased to just over 25,000 and the city was able to attract marquee match-ups from throughout the region. Match-ups between Tennessee, Mississippi, Mississippi State and Arkansas were frequent with even a Texas-Arkansas game played at Crump Stadium.
Crump Stadium would remain in essentially that configuration until 1960, when the City Commission recommended expanding the stadium again. This met with much controversy and opposition from the school board, which needed the land the stadium sat on for expansion of Central High School and to meet open space requirements. In November 1962, the City Commission approved spending of $1.4 million to increase capacity to over 45,000 and a contract was awarded. But less than a year later, the project was halted in favor of a new stadium at the fairgrounds. After Memphis Memorial Stadium was built, control of the facility was transferred back to the Memphis City Schools
Memphis City Schools
Memphis City Schools is the school district operating public schools in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. Its headquarters are in the Francis E. Coe Administration Building...
.
Closing, demolition and refurbishment
The Memphis school district closed Crump Stadium to competition after the 2004 high school football season. In the summer of 2006 the stadium underwent demolition and was replaced with a stadium more appropriately sized for high school football complete with a new track and other track and fieldTrack and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
amenities. The outer brick wall, original gates and entrances were retained and the name remains "Crump Stadium." High school sporting competitions resumed in the fall of 2007.