Yale Bowl

History

Ground was broken on the stadium in August 1913. Fill excavated from the field area was used to build up a berm around the perimeter to create an elliptical bowl. The facade was designed to partially echo the campus's Neo-Gothic design, and, as with some central campus buildings, acid was applied to imitate the effects of aging.

It was the first bowl-shaped stadium in the country, and inspired the design of such stadiums as the Rose Bowl, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and Michigan Stadium. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987 for its role in football history.

The Yale Bowl's designer, Charles A. Ferry, for unknown reasons chose not to include locker rooms (or restrooms). Players dress in the Smilow Field Center and walk 200 yd to the field. When the NFL's Giants played at the stadium (1973, 1974), the pro players disliked the arrangement, but Yale players reportedly enjoy the walk. Fans cheer for the team as it marches to the stadium while the Yale Band plays, a tradition known as the "Bulldog Walk."

The Bowl's first game, on November 21, 1914, drew more than 68,000 spectators, who watched the Bulldogs lose 36–0 to rival Harvard.

In 1958, a new scoreboard was installed; its distinctive clock was arranged vertically instead of horizontally.

During the 1970s, the Bowl hosted several concerts. In 1971, Yes performed on July 24 and the Grateful Dead on July 31, a recording of which was released as Road Trips Volume 1 Number 3. But neighborhood opposition to the concerts brought them to an end after a June 14, 1980, show featuring the Eagles, Heart, and The Little River Band. A picture from the show was published with the vinyl edition of the Eagles double live album, issued later that year, though no recordings from the event are included on the discs. A Paul McCartney concert was scheduled for June 1990, but cancelled amid neighbors' opposition; the show was moved to Chicago.

The stadium has hosted many soccer matches over the years; it served as home field for the Connecticut Bicentennials of the North American Soccer League during the 1976 and 1977 seasons. Yale Bowl was mulled as a possible playing site when the United States hosted the World Cup in 1994, but lost out to Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts and Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

In 1991, the Bowl's vicinity saw the addition of the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center, home to the annual ATP/WTA event (the Pilot Pen tournament), across Yale Avenue from the stadium.

On October 5, 2001, the closing ceremony of the Yale Tercentennial was held at the Yale Bowl. Guests included Tom Wolfe '57, William F. Buckley '50, Sesame Streets Big Bird, Paul Simon '96 Hon, and Garry Trudeau '70.

By the 21st century, many of the outside retaining walls and portal entries were deteriorating. In the spring and summer of 2006, the bowl received a partial renovation, including a new scoreboard. The work was completed just in time for the first home game of the Yale football team's season on September 16.

The annual game between Yale and its rival Harvard, known locally as The Game, is held at the Yale Bowl every other year. In 2023, its attendance was over 51,000.

Sports

Football

NFL

The New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) won just one of the dozen home games they played in New Haven in the 1973 and 1974 seasons. (With the exception of the games played with replacement teams during the 1987 NFL strike and the COVID-19-disrupted 2020 season, the attendance at the final game at the Yale Bowl is the smallest at a Giants' home game since 1955.) The team also played preseason games in the stadium, including the first-ever game against future rival and stadium share partner, the defending Super Bowl champion New York Jets, a Sunday afternoon sellout in mid-August 1969.

Soccer

International

NASL (1976–1977)

The Connecticut Bicentennials of the NASL played two seasons at the Yale Bowl, mostly in front of dismal crowds. Even their highest-ever home attendance, against the New York Cosmos in 1977, drew only 17,302 fans, leaving the stadium more than three-quarters empty. However, the Bi's could only draw a total of 57,438—less than the Bowl's capacity for a single game—in their other 21 home games combined, an average of only 2,735 per contest. After the 1977 season, the club relocated to become the Oakland Stompers.

Gallery

File:Yale-Harvard-Game.jpg|Yale v Harvard game, 2001 File:YaleBowl1.jpg|Grandstand, 2008 File:Yale Bowl scoreboard.jpg|Yale Bowl scoreboard, behind north end zone, 2019 File:Yale_Bowl_main_entrance.jpg|Main entrance, located on west side, 2019 File:Yale Bowl with New Haven skyline.jpg|Aerial view, looking at the New Haven skyline File:Aerial Image Yale Bowl.jpg|Aerial view, looking south toward Long Island Sound, 2021

References

References

1. {{NRISref. 2007a
2. James H. Charleton. (December 1985). ["National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Yale Bowl"]({{NHLS url). National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url.
3. Amore, Dom. (November 13, 2014). "Yale Bowl starts big, and 100 years later, it remains special". Hartford Courant.
4. Schonbrun, Zach. (2014-11-02). "At Yale Bowl, 100 Years of Tradition, Pride and No Locker Rooms". The New York Times.
5. (November 21, 1914). "Greatest football crowd ever, sees big match". The Day.
6. (November 22, 1914). "Yale victim of bad breaks or score might have been closer". Spokesman-Review.
7. "Hartford Courant: Yale Bowl Loses World Cup Bid".
8. "Facebook".
9. Wallace, William M.. (August 18, 1969). "Jets Beat Giants, 37–14; Namath Completes 14 of 16 Passes, 3 for Scores; BATTLE RETURNS PUNT FOR 86 YARDS 70,874 Fans See Jet Rookie Score in Yale Bowl – Mathis Tallies Two Touchdowns". The New York Times.
10. (August 18, 1969). "Joe, Jets handle Giants". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
11. (August 18, 1969). "Namath king of New York". Pittsburgh Press.