Brookland Stadium

Brookland Stadium
LocationWashington, D.C., U.S.
OwnerCatholic University
OperatorCatholic University
Capacity30,000[1]
SurfaceGrass
Opened1924[1]
Closed1985
Tenants
Catholic University
Washington Darts[2]

Brookland Stadium, or Killion Field, was the athletic field for the Catholic University Cardinals in Brookland, Washington, D.C. from 1924 to 1985. It was named after alumni Captain Edward Lucien Killion. It was located on the main campus of The Catholic University of America, next to Brookland Gymnasium (today's Edward M. Crough Center for Architectural Studies), in the area now occupied by the Columbus School of Law and the Law School Lawn.

Primarily used for college football, it was also a baseball and soccer stadium. It hosted the second leg of the 1970 NASL Final between the Rochester Lancers and the Washington Darts.

History

In the early 1920s, Rector Thomas Joseph Shahan was the biggest booster for the new stadium, saying he expected "the finished Bowl would be our chief financial asset".[3] On May 26, 1923, ground was broken. Engineering professor Louis Crook served as the stadium's planner.

On September 30, 1924, Boston College's student newspaper The Heights wrote:[1]

The completion of Catholic University's new Stadium, which will accommodate 30,000 people, signalizes the venture of the Brookland institution into a higher plane of college athletics than that school has heretofore known.

Catholic University plans to take its place in the athletic world among the foremost colleges of the East. Everything points to the ultimate admission of Catholic University into the Jesuit College circuit, composed of Georgetown, Boston College, Holy Cross and Fordham. Maybe not for a year or two, but it is highly probable that before many years roll by Catholic University will become a member of that select circle in which the rivalry is so intense and the competition of the highest order.

The new stadium is but the beginning of a new era for Catholic University in the sport world. New and stronger opponents will be taken on. Holy Cross will be met in football this season, and Notre Dame's appearance on the Brookland gridiron in 1925 is practically assured.

The stadium was dedicated on October 4, 1924, with a game against the Quantico Marines Devil Dogs,[4] with President Calvin Coolidge in attendance, to become the new home of the Catholic University Cardinals football team.

On October 29, 1983, Brookland Stadium hosted the last important football game with a victory of the Cardinals over the Georgetown Hoyas in the nation's capital own Holy War for the Steven Dean Memorial Trophy.

In 1983, ground was broken by Marion Barry, Mayor of the District of Columbia, and William J. Byron, President of Catholic University of America, for a new athletic facility, the Raymond A. DuFour Athletic Center, opened in 1985. It includes Cardinal Stadium, Brookland Stadium's replacement.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Catholic University Opens Stadium". The Heights. Vol. VI (1 ed.). September 30, 1924. Retrieved January 26, 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ Nauright, John (October 2013). "Darts Whips and Dips The Rollercoaster Ride of Professional Soccer in Washington D.C." acadamia.edu. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  3. ^ Malesky, Robert (2010). The Catholic University of America. The Campus History Series. Arcadia Publishing. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7385-8552-9.
  4. ^ "Will Help Dedicate Washington Stadium". The Tablet. Brooklyn. NCWC. October 4, 1924. p. 4. Retrieved February 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.