1920s Memorial Stadiums

Why were there so many stadiums after World War I that were called "Memorial Stadium?" We want to know so we solicited the help of a history and museum expert Jeremy Swick, "The Average Historian" to help us out with the answer to these questions and more cool gridiron history.

Jeremy Swick, AKA the Average Historian is a pretty interesting dude. With a Masters Degree in history Jeremy went on to work as a museum historian and curator at some pretty prestigious museums including two of our favorites the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton amongst others.

The Average Historian himself joins us in this edition of the podcast to chat about the birth of early college football stadiums in the 1920s, primarily the Memorial Stadiums in the 1920s. The three that were the focus of his collegiate thesis were Indiana's Memorial Stadium,  University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium and of course the University of Minnesota's football venue of the roaring twenties Memorial Stadium. 

All three venues shared the word "memorial" but these were not necessarily commemorating war heroes or famous donors of the school. No in this era the memorials were to the graduating classes of the respective school's that chipped in and funded portiona of the stadiums or monuments around it to make the sporting arena a special experince for future generations of fans and students to enjoy.

In these sports arenas greats like Bronko Nagurski of the Golden Gophers, Red Grange of the Fighting Illini and Chuck Bennett of the Hoosiers. These legends put butts in the stands and rose attendance to the point where the seating capacities were sometimes increased to accomodate larger crowds.

The banner photo is of Memorial Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas, on the day of a college football game at Kansas State College of Agriculture in 1924. From Kansas State University