April 20, 1895: Franklin Field Opens

April 20, 1895: Franklin Field opens, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and named for the University's founder, Benjamin Franklin. Its 1st event is the Pennsylvania Relay Carnival: The Penn Relays.

The Penn football team, the Quakers, played their 1st game there on October 1, 1895, beating Swarthmore, 40-0. This 1st Franklin Field featured the 1st scoreboard used in any college football stadium, on the wall of Weightman Hall, the gymnasium at the open northwest end of the horseshoe. A 2nd Franklin Field was built on the site, for the 1922 season. This was the nation's 1st double-decked college football stadium. The 1st game was a 14-0 win over Franklin & Marshall.

Although it's not the oldest continuously-used stadium in NCAA Division I -- the oldest part of Grant Field at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, home of Georgia Tech, dates to 1913 -- it is the oldest continuously used site in college football. And the Penn Relays have still been held there every year, except for 2020 and 2021, when COVID restrictions forced the University to call them off.

In 1927, The Palestra, Penn's basketball arena, was built next-door. In 1931, the Convention Hall of the Philadelphia Civic Center opened a block away, on the other side. (It was demolished in 2005, but The Palestra is still in use.) In 1936, following nomination for a 2nd term by the Democratic National Convention at the Civic Center, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his acceptance speech at Franklin Field.

The Philadelphia Eagles played home games there from 1958 to 1970, including the 1960 NFL Championship Game, in which they beat the Green Bay Packers, 17-13. This was the only World Championship won by the Eagles between the 1949 and 2017 seasons.

The Army-Navy Game was played at Franklin Field 18 times between 1899 and 1935, before moving to the larger Municipal Stadium in South Philadelphia in 1936. That stadium was renamed John F. Kennedy Stadium in 1964. Temple University played some home games there from 1978 to 2002.

Franklin Field was also used by the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League in 1975, and for Playoff games in the United States Football League by the 1984 Philadelphia Stars, due to the Phillies having scheduling priority at Veterans Stadium. In the North American Soccer League, the Philadelphia Atoms played home games at Franklin Field in 1976, and the Philadelphia Fury played 2 games there in 1979.

The natural grass field was replaced with AstroTurf in 1969, and that one was replaced by Sprinturf in 2004. Lights were added in 1972. Seating capacity has been listed as high as 67,000, with standees making some crowds over 80,000. Since a 2003 modernization, capacity has been listed as 52,958.

*

April 20, 1895 was a Saturday. At this point, America's only professional sports league was baseball's National League. These games were played:

* The New York Giants beat their rivals, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, 10-5 at the 1891-1911 edition of the Polo Grounds. The former Brooklyn Grays took that name in the 1887-88 off-season, when 6 players got married. They became the Dodgers in 1911, the year the Polo Grounds burned down and was replaced by the last and most famous stadium with that name.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 23-4 at Union Park in Baltimore.

* The Boston Beaneaters beat the Washington Senators, 12-4 at Boundary Field in Washington. The Beaneaters became the Braves in 1912.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Cleveland Spiders, 14-8 at League Park in Cincinnati.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Louisville Colonels, 16-9 at Eclipse Park in Louisville, Kentucky. After the 1899 season, the NL consolidated from 12 teams to 8. The Colonels were essentially absorbed by the Pirates, while the Orioles, the Senators and the Spiders were folded.

* And the Chicago Colts beat the St. Louis Browns, 11-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. In 1900, the Browns became the Cardinals. In 1903, the Colts became the Cubs. They are still arch-rivals.

And in English soccer, the FA Cup Final was held on this day, at the Crystal Palace stadium in South London. Birmingham team Aston Villa beat nearby team West Bromwich Albion, 1-0. Bob Chatt scored only 30 seconds into the match, a Final record that stood for 104 years.