Really enjoyed the pics of Clyde Williams Stadium, having a stadium right in the middle of the neighborhood is very cool. I never got to see a game there but I remember driving past it many times in the back seat of my dad's car. Didn't Devaney complain about the condition of the field after the tie game in 1972?
Clyde Williams stadium
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Don't recall the condition of the field in '72 but do recall a sign that one student displayed in the end zone student section. "Johnny Rodgers has the Heisman, Rich Glover stole it for him." One of those had to be there to get it moments. The ISU student section was along the field and in the end zone corner. The NU fans were in the end zone. By the end of the game, the police were standing in the separating aisle, top to bottom, attempting to keep the peace. NU was headed to the Orange Bowl. The oranges from the NU section rained down on the field. Oranges from the ISU student section rained down on the NU fans. The good 'ol days of Clyde Williams.
I remember being at a game at Clyde Williams and a student had a sign that said
"Johnny Rodgers, How fast on grass?"
This was after he was picked up for possession and also refering to his abilities to run on our natural turf versus the arti-turf they had at Memorial Statdium in Lincoln.
"Johnny Rodgers, How fast on grass?"
This was after he was picked up for possession and also refering to his abilities to run on our natural turf versus the arti-turf they had at Memorial Statdium in Lincoln.
Just keep in mind that when JT was built there was nothing around it at all. There has been a lot of development around JT over the past 30 years and 30 years from now it could be almost as crowed. I like the location of JT because the University seems to keep expanding down that way and it is easy access.
Jack Trice was opened in 1975 at a cost of 7.6 million dollars, why didn't we have the for sight to spend a couple million more and finish both end zones? Now we spend 30 million for restrooms and upgrades. At least the AD Lou McCullough didn't put a running track inside the stadium aka Kansas. Don't get me wrong, I love our stadium, just wish they would have lower bowled it at the time.
The beauty of Clyde Williams was that it was accessible to so many via foot. A lot of what is now rental properties west of campus use to be all single family homes. The downside of games at Clyde was that unless you lived within walking distance it was tough to find parking and there was no such thing as tailgating like there is now.
There are actually drawings out there showing designs vastly different than the final product.
(1) That was all the money ISU could scrounge up at the time
(2) There were several outcries that the stadium would be too big
(3) Parts of the east side had to be redone because of massive settling during construction (guessing that wasn't free to fix)
I would LOVE to see them. Do you suppose they'd be in the Special Sections at Parks?
Maybe I'll swing by sometime this week and see.
Oh, and the stadium was 100% funded from donations. Absolutely zero outside assistance.
I remember those too. Some of the proposed stadiums were very dramatic, certainly having to cost more to build than the eventual stadium that we built.
7.6 million in 1975 dollars would be worth roughly 29.9 million today. How come Pollard hasn't started a "grass roots" type fund raiser for the south end zone? I'd chip a good chunk of change in if I knew my money was going towards specifically that cause.
Why don't you just donate the money to it? People give money to specific programs all the time. I know someone has given something like a million toward a new track.
Jack Trice is a very poor stadium design. First of all, you don't build a wind tunnel in our climate. Secondly, they made the lower decks with gradual inclines instead of steeper inclines. The result is a very open stadium with the fans a good distance from the field. The upper decks are very far away. Noise escapes and the atmosphere is not intimate. With steeper inclines the upper decks would be more on top of the field, it would create more noise and would be a much more intimidating place. Plus, they should have bowled it in.
Styles and designs change through time...the way that Cyclone Stadium was built was the going style back in the day when it was built. The steeper incline for that on top of the action feel was something that a lot of the new baseball parks really brought into play because very old baseball parks had that design. Having said that...some of the older FB stadiums...ND, Michigan, Rose Bowl...have very gradual inclines of their bowls.
As a student Clyde Williams Stadium was a neat place to watch games, but what I remeber most about the stadium was playing handball underneath the stadium. That's right, there were several handball courts underneath the stadium.
The courts took on the shape of the stadium. It wasn't a regular rectangular shape in that the ceiling was slanted, not flat. There were thermostats and light switches on the wall. This all caused unusual bounces and discussions as to who's point it was.
We played handball, not racquetball, because we couldn't afford racquets. It did hurt your hands, even with gloves, but you became used to it after a few weeks of pain.
The courts took on the shape of the stadium. It wasn't a regular rectangular shape in that the ceiling was slanted, not flat. There were thermostats and light switches on the wall. This all caused unusual bounces and discussions as to who's point it was.
We played handball, not racquetball, because we couldn't afford racquets. It did hurt your hands, even with gloves, but you became used to it after a few weeks of pain.
To 68clone: it is fun to reminisce about 'ol Clyde Williams and 'ol ISU. The stadium was small, the fans sat "on top of the field" and the students represented a significant share of the gate. The cheers, a few of which weren't politically correct, could be heard across the field and in the west stands where the parents sat. A great gate was 25,000 fans. I have one story that involved Clyde Williams Field and the gutter bomb hamburger joint that sat on the SE corner of Sheldon and Lincoln Way but that's for another time. Read these replies and other Cyclone Fanatic threads and thread after thread is about money. Read about the Big XII, now the Big X and money, NU goes to the Big Ten, money, MU wanted to go to the Big Ten, money, CU goes to the PAC 10, money, Orangebloods.com covers everything UT and money, TX wants a TV network, money, OU wants a TV network, money, the money isn't equally shared, money, Tommy Tuberville comments, money, and Jack Trice Field is not an ideal venue, money. The Big 8 was the undisputed center of the college football world. The classes of '68 - '72 and a few on each side represent the End of the Innocence. By the way, I sent my Cyclone Club donation on 6/28.
