September 25, 1907: Archbold Stadium Opens In Syracuse

September 25, 1907: Archbold Stadium opens on the campus of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. A crowd of 2,000 people files into the 30,000-seat stadium, and sees the Orangemen beat Hobart, 28-0.

Hobart College, 55 miles west of the City of Syracuse, merged in 1943 with William Smith College, an all-women's school. The combined "Hobart and William Smith Colleges" were among the schools that the NCAA placed in Division III in 1973. But, in 1907, they were considered to be a rival of Syracuse University.

Syracuse University was founded in 1870, and began playing football in 1889. They played home games at the home fields of the various baseball teams known as the Syracuse Stars, usually called Star Park, until opening "The Old Oval" on campus in 1895. Archbold Stadium replaced it in 1907, and it became Shaw Quad.

John Dustin Archbold (1848-1916) was one of America's earliest oil refiners, until his small oil company was bought out by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. Rockefeller let him rise in that company until he was basically running it, although Rockefeller ended up outliving Archbold by over 20 years.

Archbold had also become a trustee of Syracuse University. He donated $600,000 for the building of both the stadium and the adjacent gymnasium, which would also bear his name. The stadium was called "the greatest athletic arena in America."

In the 1950s, Archbold Stadium was expanded to 40,000 seats. Coached by Ben Schwartzwalder, the Orangemen reached the 1953 and 1959 Orange Bowl, and the 1957 Cotton Bowl, which was a classic, led by running back Jim Brown -- but they lost them all. In 1959, however, led by sophomore running back Ernie Davis, they won the National Championship, beating Texas in the 1960 Cotton Bowl. As a senior in 1961, Davis became the 1st black player to win the Heisman Trophy.

By the 1970s, stricter fire codes forced a reduction in capacity to 26,000. The University realized that they could not compete with schools with stadiums with far more seats and thus far more game-day revenue. On November 11, 1978, the final game was played at Archbold Stadium, and the Orangemen upset Navy, then ranked Number 18 in the nation, 20-17, in front of 26,429 fans.

The stadium was torn down, and, while its replacement was built on the site, 'Cuse played 5 "home games" in 1979. Given that they had a bit of a fan base in New York City -- boosted by the University being the Alma Mater of sportscasting legends Marty Glickman and Marv Albert, and of legend-to-be Bob Costas -- it made some sense to play at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands, where they beat West Virginia and lost to Penn State.

Given that Buffalo was the nearest NFL city to Syracuse, it made sense to play at the Buffalo Bills' home, then known as Rich Stadium, where they beat Washington State and the University of Miami. And, given that it's only 50 or so miles to the southwest, it made sense to play at Cornell University's Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, where they lost to Boston College. They managed to go 7-5 in that interregnum year.

They actually did less well in 1980, their 1st season at the stadium built on the Archbold site, the Carrier Dome. But they did win the opener, on September 20, winning 36-24 over Miami -- the one in Ohio, not the one in Florida, so it's not nearly as impressive.

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September 25, 1907 was a Wednesday. This was the only football game, college or pro, played on this day.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Highlanders lost to the Cleveland Naps, 3-1 at Hilltop Park in Upper Manhattan. Adrian "Addie" Joss allowed just 2 hits in winning his 27th game of the season, outpitching Walter "Rube" Manning. Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the 2nd baseman and manager for whom the future Indians and Guardians were then named, went 2-for-3. The Highlanders became the Yankees in 1913.

* The New York Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 14-1 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 1-for-3 with a walk, 4 stolen bases and an RBI. Fred Clarke, the Pirates' left fielder and manager, went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* The Brooklyn Superbas lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1 at Robison Field in St. Louis. The Superbas, named for their former manager, Ned Hanlon, and a popular circus troupe of the era, Hanlon's Superbas, became the Dodgers in 1911.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Americans, 4-3 in 10 innings at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. The Americans became the Red Sox the next season.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-0 at Columbia Park in Philadelphia. Eddie Plank pitched a 2-hit shutout. Simon Nicholls went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the A's.

* The Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-4 at American League Park in Washington.

* The Boston Doves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-5 at The Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. The Doves were named for their owner, George Dovey. In 1912, they became the Boston Braves.

* And a doubleheader was split at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. The Chicago Cubs won the opener, 5-0. Orval Overall pitched a 5-hit shutout. The Philadelphia Phillies won the nightcap, 6-0. George McQullian had allowed 5 hits over the 1st 6 innings, when the game was called due to darkness.