Roosevelt Stadium (Union City)
Encyclopedia
Roosevelt Stadium was a football
stadium that stood in Union City, New Jersey
. (It is not to be confused with the former baseball park of the same name
in neighboring Jersey City, New Jersey
.)
’s New Deal
. Construction began on the stadium in 1936, with 350 men. Built in the art deco
style, and modeled after the Colosseum
and arenas of ancient Greece
and Rome
, the ribbon-cutting ceremony that opened it was held on November 25, 1937.
The stadium was bounded on the east by Summit Avenue and on the west by Kerrigan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard (formerly Hudson
Boulevard) between 24th and 26th Streets. Roosevelt Stadium stood 15 rows deep, and initially housed 7,000 people, with subsequent renovations enlarging that capacity to 11,000 and ultimately 18,000. The stadium also featured a tool house, dressing rooms, and a cafeteria.
Primarily a football stadium, future National Football League
greats Lou Cordileone
and Frank Winters
played during their high school days at Roosevelt Stadium, as did College Football Hall of Famer Ed Franco
. However, Roosevelt also housed events in semi-pro baseball
, soccer, track
, boxing
, as well as numerous special events, from tractor
pulls, concerts, carnivals and Fourth of July fireworks
shows to an exhibition baseball game featuring Babe Ruth
and Lou Gehrig
.
On September 9, 1994 the city held a grand re-opening of the Stadium, after it had been renovated and modernized. These improvements included the addition of artificial sports turf to replace the outdated field that was often muddy or dusty.
football “Turkey Game,” held from 1919 - 2004 between long-time rivals Emerson High School’s Bulldogs and Union Hill High School’s Hillers. During a halftime ceremony held during the 1998 Turkey Game, Union City Mayor Raul Garcia
dedicated the field of the stadium to the Emerson High School Hall of Fame great Joseph "Pep" Novotny. Novotny had died less than a month prior, and the phrase "Joseph 'Pep' Novotny Field" was later added beneath the words "Roosevelt Stadium" on the Kennedy Boulevard side of the stadium.
On November 25, 2004, following a special breakfast for honored guests and alumni, Roosevelt Stadium held its last Turkey Game, attracting many of Roosevelt’s recent and past veterans, as well as prominent Union City residents such as mayor Brian P. Stack and then-United States
congressman Bob Menendez. The game began after a coin toss held by Mayor Stack that had the Hillers receiving the kickoff, and ended with Emerson victorious 21-0.
into one high school. On July 11, 2005, acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey
and Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack, along with other officials, broke ground in preparation for the new complex. The interior of the stadium was razed and demolished the following month, and the stadium's exterior walls were demolished subsequently.
In commemoration of Roosevelt Stadium, the students of Union Hill High School, under the direction of business teacher Peter Drozd, began a website dedicated to the history of the stadium and the Turkey Game.
In early March 2006, a large piece of the Hudson Brewery's original brick foundation was found intact, along with the base of a manhole still connected to an original sewer that opened underneath the brewery. The artifacts were removed, and officials monitored the excavation for future discoveries of other artifacts for historical preservation.
Union City High School and Athletic Complex opened for students on September 3, 2009.
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...
stadium that stood in Union City, New Jersey
Union City, New Jersey
Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...
. (It is not to be confused with the former baseball park of the same name
Roosevelt Stadium
Roosevelt Stadium was a baseball park at Droyer's Point in Jersey City, New Jersey. It opened in April 1937 and hosted high-minor league baseball, seven major league baseball games, plus championship boxing matches, top-name musical acts, important regional high school football and even soccer...
in neighboring Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
.)
History
Originally the site of the Hudson County Consumers Brewery Company, the property was purchased by what is now Union City for $456,000 USD, and turned it into a gated playground. Later, through the efforts of Director of Public Affairs Harry J. Thorout, the stadium’s construction was funded by the federal Works Progress Administration Project, which awarded the project $172,472 USD, as part of Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
’s New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. Construction began on the stadium in 1936, with 350 men. Built in the art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style, and modeled after the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
and arenas of ancient Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, the ribbon-cutting ceremony that opened it was held on November 25, 1937.
The stadium was bounded on the east by Summit Avenue and on the west by Kerrigan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard (formerly Hudson
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northeast Passage to Cathay via a route above the Arctic Circle...
Boulevard) between 24th and 26th Streets. Roosevelt Stadium stood 15 rows deep, and initially housed 7,000 people, with subsequent renovations enlarging that capacity to 11,000 and ultimately 18,000. The stadium also featured a tool house, dressing rooms, and a cafeteria.
Primarily a football stadium, future 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...
greats Lou Cordileone
Lou Cordileone
Lou Anthony Cordileone is a former American football offensive lineman, primarily guard, who played nine seasons in the National Football League. He is more famous for being traded from the New York Giants to the San Francisco 49ers for quarterback Y. A. Tittle...
and Frank Winters
Frank Winters
Frank Mitchell Winters is a former American football center in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Green Bay Packers...
played during their high school days at Roosevelt Stadium, as did College Football Hall of Famer Ed Franco
Ed Franco
Edmondo Guido Armando Franco was a professional American football player. He earned fame as one of the legendary Seven Blocks of Granite and played professionally for the Boston Yanks...
. However, Roosevelt also housed events in semi-pro baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, soccer, track
Track 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...
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, as well as numerous special events, from tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
pulls, concerts, carnivals and Fourth of July fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
shows to an exhibition baseball game featuring Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
and Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
.
On September 9, 1994 the city held a grand re-opening of the Stadium, after it had been renovated and modernized. These improvements included the addition of artificial sports turf to replace the outdated field that was often muddy or dusty.
Turkey game
The stadium’s most noteworthy annual event was the ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
football “Turkey Game,” held from 1919 - 2004 between long-time rivals Emerson High School’s Bulldogs and Union Hill High School’s Hillers. During a halftime ceremony held during the 1998 Turkey Game, Union City Mayor Raul Garcia
Raúl García
Raúl García Escudero is a Spanish footballer who plays for CA Osasuna on loan from Atlético Madrid, as a central midfielder.-Club career:García played for hometown CA Osasuna during his first years as a professional...
dedicated the field of the stadium to the Emerson High School Hall of Fame great Joseph "Pep" Novotny. Novotny had died less than a month prior, and the phrase "Joseph 'Pep' Novotny Field" was later added beneath the words "Roosevelt Stadium" on the Kennedy Boulevard side of the stadium.
On November 25, 2004, following a special breakfast for honored guests and alumni, Roosevelt Stadium held its last Turkey Game, attracting many of Roosevelt’s recent and past veterans, as well as prominent Union City residents such as mayor Brian P. Stack and then-United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
congressman Bob Menendez. The game began after a coin toss held by Mayor Stack that had the Hillers receiving the kickoff, and ended with Emerson victorious 21-0.
Demolition
The stadium was closed to make way for a new $136 million Union City High School and Union City Athletic Complex, which unites both Emerson High School and Union Hill High SchoolUnion Hill High School
Union Hill Middle School is a public middle school in Union City, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Union City Board of Education, an Abbott District. The school was built in what was formerly Union Hill, New Jersey, which merged with West Hoboken in 1925 to form Union City...
into one high school. On July 11, 2005, acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey
Richard Codey
Richard James Codey is an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 53rd Governor of New Jersey from November 2004 to January 2006. He has served in the New Jersey Senate since 1981 and served as the President of the Senate from 2002 to January 2010. He represents the 27th Legislative...
and Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack, along with other officials, broke ground in preparation for the new complex. The interior of the stadium was razed and demolished the following month, and the stadium's exterior walls were demolished subsequently.
In commemoration of Roosevelt Stadium, the students of Union Hill High School, under the direction of business teacher Peter Drozd, began a website dedicated to the history of the stadium and the Turkey Game.
In early March 2006, a large piece of the Hudson Brewery's original brick foundation was found intact, along with the base of a manhole still connected to an original sewer that opened underneath the brewery. The artifacts were removed, and officials monitored the excavation for future discoveries of other artifacts for historical preservation.
Union City High School and Athletic Complex opened for students on September 3, 2009.