Manning Bowl, a WPA project, opened on November 24, 1937 for the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between English and Classical. The stadium was not yet completed and was known only as Municipal Stadium. English defeated Classical 13-6 and Henry Pazik (father of future Major League pitcher Mike Pazik) scored the first touchdown in the stadium's history on a 33-yard pass play from Joe McNulty.
The stadium was completed on June 21, 1938 and named for mayor J. Fred Manning. The first football game held in the completed stadium was a night game between Peabody High School and Classical with Peabody winning 27-7.
In 1948, the city of Lynn became the first to televise high school football, in an arrangement with WNAC-TV in Boston.
The Harry Agganis All-Star Football Classic was played at Manning Bowl from 1956–1959 and again from 1965-2003.
The final game played at Manning Bowl was on November 25, 2004 and was the annual Thanksgiving Day game between English and Classical. English won the game 28-8. The final touchdown in Manning Bowl history was scored by Mike Orfanos on a 2-yard run.[3]
Notable high school athletes who played at the Manning Bowl
On September 18, 1945, the Boston Yanks defeated the defending National Football League champion New York Giants 14-3 in an exhibition game at the Manning Bowl. The game was only attended by 8,500 due to poor weather.[4] The Yanks returned to the Manning Bowl the following season for "Boley Dancewicz Night", which honored Yanks quarterback and Lynn native Frank "Boley" Dancewicz. The Yanks defeated the Long Island Indians of the American Football League 27-0 in front of 10,000 spectators. At halftime, Dancewicz was presented with a radio, watch, and a pen and pencil by Mayor Albert Cole.[5][6]
The semi-pro Bay State Titans played their only season here. Defensive Tackle Eric Swann would be selected with the 6th overall pick in the 1991 NFL draft.
College football
On September 26, 1953, the Manning Bowl was leased out for a college football contest that was nationally televised on NBC. 10,000 spectators and an estimated 80 million television viewers watched Holy Cross defeat Dartmouth 28–7.[8]
In 1984, the city of Lynn began hosting concerts at the Manning Bowl as a way to fund repairs to the Manning Bowl and Fraser Field.[11] The Beach Boys performed at the stadium on September 23, 1984.[12]Mötley Crüe drew 15,000 fans during an August 3, 1985 concert that also saw Accept and Y&T as opening acts.[13] The concert was moved to Lynn after the Kingston, New Hampshire board of selectmen decided that the town couldn't handle a concert of this size.[14] Shortly after the Mötley Crüe concert, the city approved three more concerts; The Kinks, Aerosmith, and Waylon Jennings.[15] The Kinks performed at the stadium on September 8, 1985 and drew 7,000 people.[16]Aerosmith performed at the stadium during their Done with Mirrors Tour on September 14, 1985. The concert drew 25,000 fans and saw 12 arrests and a traffic jam that tied up the city for several hours.[17] On September 25, 1985, the Lynn city council unanimously voted to bar rock concerts from the Manning Bowl due to complaints from residents who lived near the Manning Bowl.[11]
Other events
The first official event held at the Manning Bowl was a citywide dance held on a specially made dance area in the end zone. This area was also used to show night time movies during the 1930s and '40s.
