The first Michigan Football Stadium
Since people liked the post I did on the first home of Michigan Basketball--Waterman Gymnasium--a couple weeks ago, I figure I'd continue doing these posts.
Now the first playing field of Michigan Football was a place called the Washtenaw County Fairgrounds. The first home game in Michigan history was on May 12, 1883 against the Detroit Independents. A 40-5 Michigan win. The game was part of a Field Day schedule of events at the Fairgrounds that included a 10-mile walk, wrestling and a "hop-skip and jump contest".
But the first dedicated stadium with stands didn't come until the 1890s when the people saw the early Michigan teams in the 1880s roll through opponents. Demand was high for an actual stadium.
The Board of Regents authorized construction of the new field in May 1891 for a cost of $4,000 which is $110,000 in 2017.
The stadium was simply named "The Athletic Field" and had a grandstand capacity of 400.
The first game at the Athletic Field was on October 7, 1893 against the Detroit Athletic Club, a game Michigan won, 6-0.
The stadium was renamed Regents Field the following summer.
The grandstand burned down in 1895 and had to be replaced. When it was, the capacity was doubled to 800.
As the Wolverines continued to get better, the demand for tickets called for an increase of capacity. The capacity was upped to 6,800 just one year after the new grandstand was built with construction of bleachers to the left of the grandstand.
When Michigan won the 1898 Western Conference Championship, it also increased demand for seats. But few could imagine the demand that would come just three years later.
The capacity was raised to a then-massive 15,000 in 1900. The following year, Fielding H. Yost boarded a train to Ann Arbor and declared Michigan would not lose a single game in 1901.
And they did not for four straight years. Yost's teams never lost a game at Regents Field. The biggest destructions in program history happened at Regents Field.
119-0 over Michigan State in 1902 where Albert Herrnstein scored 7 rushing TDs. 130-0 over West Virginia in 1904. Pictured below, the 86-0 win over Ohio State in 1902-
In 1902, Detroit businessman Dexter M. Ferry donated a huge chunk of land North of Regents Field.
Regents Field was renamed Ferry Field in 1902. Not to be confused with the Ferry Field that Yost's dynasty would build in 1906 on said-donated land when the success of the program outgrew tiny Regents Field.
The final game at Regents Field (Ferry Field I) was on November 25, 1905 against Oberlin. Michigan survived, 75-0.
From 1893-1905, Michigan Football teams amassed records of
- 87-2-3 (.962) Overall
- 16-2-0 (.889) Western Conference
- 44-0 under Fielding Yost from 1901-1905, outscoring opponents 2821-42
Regents Field had a Baseball field, as well. The Baseball team played there from 1893 until the first house of Michigan Football was demolished in 1923.
The land Regents Field once sat is where this building now sits-
March 30th, 2017 at 10:14 PM ^
You forgot to mention that the first score in the first game was made by the famous Horace Prettyman!
He of the fabulous moustache!
... and steely gaze.
March 30th, 2017 at 10:17 PM ^
Cool.
March 30th, 2017 at 10:22 PM ^
March 30th, 2017 at 10:41 PM ^
Alabama wishes it could be the Michigan of the late 1800's and early 1900's
Yeah, Michigan didn't get beaten 2 years in a row by the "Ole Miss" of 1901 /1902.
March 30th, 2017 at 11:13 PM ^
"The following year, Fielding H. Yost boarded a train to Ann Arbor and declared Michigan would not lose a single game in 1901."
No doubt the term shan't was used at some point. Good bit of M history!
March 30th, 2017 at 11:14 PM ^
I used to be skeptical of WD but now I just embrace who he is and what he brings to the blog.
March 30th, 2017 at 11:35 PM ^
Stuff like this is worth the occasional "OMG UNIFORMZZZ" post every now and then. I can appreciate someone who loves Michigan as much as he does.
WD can be, um, out there. And kind of preachy for a 21 year old.
But I've always said two things about him:
1) MGoBlog should hire him. For actual money.
2) If you were starting a blog like this from scratch, you would kill for a user like WD.
You mean someone who can cut and paste from the Bentley Library page and then rearrange some of the sentences? He's fine as a fan, but to pay him money?
March 31st, 2017 at 10:03 AM ^
March 31st, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^
March 31st, 2017 at 11:55 AM ^
Gotta correct the SuperGuide - we played no such school as "Michigan State" in 1902, but rather, State Agricultural College.
March 31st, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
but this is actually a point of accuracy. You wouldn't even have to footnote you could do something like: State Agricultural College (MSU) and save style while still be accurate
"He's fine as a fan, but to pay him money?"
Well, we're not saying a LOT of money. Maybe enough for a Happy Meal.
(Just kidding, WD. I always enjoy learning this old stuff.)
March 30th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
March 30th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
March 30th, 2017 at 11:30 PM ^
It would've fit in nicely.
1901 team outscored opponents 550-0, but 1902 put up more points.
They gave up 12 points. People took it hard when those teams gave up points. Case scored 6 points in the second game and people treated it like we got upset.
1902 results-
- W 88-0 vs Albion
- W 48-6 vs Case
- W 119-0 vs Michigan State
- W 60-0 vs Indiana
- W 23-0 v.s. Notre Dame at Toledo
- W 86-0 vs Ohio State
- W 6-0 v.s. Wisconsin at Chicago
- W 107-0 vs Iowa
- W 21-0 at Chicago
- W 63-0 vs Oberlin
- W 23-6 vs Minnesota
Wisconsin sucks the life out of any sport in which they participate.
And we allowed five yards of passing offense, failing to record an interception.
March 30th, 2017 at 11:27 PM ^
March 30th, 2017 at 11:32 PM ^
Whoever negged the OP needs a steady drip of fish oil.
March 30th, 2017 at 11:33 PM ^
It's from MeanJoe07 which means it's a neg out of love. I take it as a compliment. I made him his avatar.
March 30th, 2017 at 11:47 PM ^
Cool. Last sentence in post was news to me. Legendary long-lasting trivia. Thanks again.
March 30th, 2017 at 11:57 PM ^
I was there. 86-0. Sweet.
Just freakin' say it then.
#MissYouHerm
March 31st, 2017 at 12:56 AM ^
I DEMAND CAPTIONS TO MY HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS
whip OSU again 86-0!
Harbaugh has a plan . . .
To beat OSU period.
Thanks, WD. Keep up the good work. Despite some vocal naysayers, I appreciate most of your posts.
The original Fairgrounds are basically where Burns Park is now, if I am not mistaken. I remember because I designed the upgraded service to the elementary school right there and that came up in a conversation on site. Very cool piece of the university's history as well as the city's history.
Thanks for sharing this.
I came here to add that the original game at the Fairgrounds was on the site of current Burns Park (and Burns Park Elementary). My wife grew up in the neighborhood and went to Burns Park, along with her siblings. I know that Ace grew up in the Burns Park neighborhood and I presume went to the school.
Thanks for posting this - it's probably worthy of a diary, but in any event it's great stuff and well-written. A good balance of detail and color.
I wonder what the early ticket stubs looked like
March 31st, 2017 at 10:00 AM ^
March 31st, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
They were very similar at first . . . until the advent of downs and distance. Then they went separate ways.
March 31st, 2017 at 10:10 AM ^
March 31st, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
pedantic but shouldn't MSU be State Agricultural College; ya know if we are going for historical accuracy and all?
March 31st, 2017 at 11:24 AM ^
Way to go WD.
Your devotion is wonderful.
March 31st, 2017 at 12:05 PM ^
I bet that 10 mile walk event at that field day was lit. Not even the hop, skip and jump contest could top that.
March 31st, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^
March 31st, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^
These posts should probably go in the User-Curated HOF as a mini-series or something called "A Brief History of Michigan Athletics with WD"
Thankx, WD! Just be yourself and that is good enough for this fellow Wolverine fan in this blog space.