Please submit your memory of old Tulane Stadium below
38 Responses to “Share your Story”
Daniel P. Hurley
My most memorable event at Tulane Stadium took place on September 27,1947 when Tulane played Alabama.It was the opening game of the season and my Freshman Year at Tulane. the Green Wave came into the game ranked among the Top Ten Div.I Colleges with the best win/loss record for the previous 22 consecutive years.Tulane defeated Alabama [21-20]in a close and hard fought contest.This national ranking was extended over the next three years.
This event and the overall college experience at Tulane which included its Athletics Program began my involvement in and support of those activities which has spanned more than six decades.Needless to say, a return to the new on-campus stadium will rekindle old memories,provide new experiences, and represent a true “Homecoming”.I will be joined by my wife,Joycelyn, who I met while we were both freshmen in college and has shared in this journey,as well as other family members that include five fellow Tulanians.
The old stadium! How well I remember…going to every Tulane game in my early years from our home on State St. Then.. the first Sugar Bowl …in the end zone with my father. I still remember Monk Simons’s kickoff return of over 100 yards from the end zone to beat Temple.
Build this new stadium soon! And then I’ll come…and start this all over again.
Any mention of the stadium or the sugar bowl always brings back one poignant memory. In circa 1950, maybe 1951, Tulane took on Notre Dame. As a student at that time, I was privileged to be part of the riotous cheering and calling as the Green Wave doused Notre Dame at every turn. The cheering quieted down when Notre Dame won over the Greenies with a last minute touchback. What a game!
I played my first organized football game in Tulane Stadium in 1975. My “team” of 9 year olds was coached by Raul Rodriguez, who played for Tulane under Coach Gibson. The old astroturf was torn and buckled, but it was an awesome and memorable day for a young kid with dreams of the big time. And of course, our team won the game! I later got to play real college football for Tulane under Coach Brown with the great Terrence Jones, Marc Zeno, Lonnie Marts, Richard Harvey and Jerome McIntosh. We had great teams, but poor student support. The Superdome was a fantastic place to play for us, but lacked (and still lacks) a connection with the student body. I fully support the new stadium. It will energize the campus and bring a sense of fun back to the game for both athletes and fans. I will be there with my two sons, cheering the team on at the home opener and many many games thereafter.
We proudly walked inside the stadium wearing a red cheerleader uniform. My first Bayou Classic (Southern vs. Grambling) was held at the stadium in 1974 (or ’75). I remember the crowd, the excitement, and the popular dance at the time, “The Bump”.
I have so many memories of the Tulane Stadium that there is not room for all of them. I started Tulane in the fall of 1957. Our freshman team anchored by All American, Tommy Mason, was undefeated in three games. We beat Alabama, LSU and Florida. I didn’t have a great football career, but I played in two freshman games in Tulane Stadium against LSU and Florida in 1957, both of which we won and two Spring Games in 1958 and 1959. For me, that was the thrill of my lifetime. The friends I made in Tulane Sports are still in my heart. They treated me like I was one of the stars of the team. At Tulane, we ate in the student center except during the season, and we even had non athletes as room mates or suite mates. For several years, I lived in Zemurray Hall. I would sit in my room until the kick off at Tulane stadium and then walk across Freret Street and buy a ticket from a scalper for $1.00. I went to the Sugar Bowl six years in a row while in Undergraduate and Law School and many more after graduating including the Notre Dame vs Alabama game in a blinding rain and the early Super Bowl in the 1970s. There was a homecoming tradition in Law School that the seniors in Law School stood on the field in their derby hats and canes and held our canes up in an arch for the Tulane players to run out on to the field. I still have the derby and cane I used at the 1962 Homecoming game. I plan to wear them for my 50 year Law Reunion at the 2013 Homecoming Reunion. When Tulane Stadium was torn down they cut up the wooden seats and made Tulane clocks out of them. It is still in my office. I was really sad to see it go, and I am very proud to know that we will have a new campus Tulane Stadium. I’ll be the first one in the stands. Varse, Varse, Tee Yay, Helluva Hullabaloo
“Don’t you know it seems to go, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone!”
In the early 70′s when I was being recruited to play football for Tulane, the impending completion of the “Superdome” was a major recruiting tool. For an 18 year old coming out of a then small town, Lafayette, LA in my case, the idea of playing, at least for a year or two, in a state of the art and truly futuristic domed stadium seemed almost a dream come true.
Of course the dome wasn’t completed before I graduated in 1975 and for that I will be forever grateful. The games we played in the old stadium while our fans avidly stomped on the steel, are forever etched in my memory.
The walks to the stadium on game day while students lined the sidewalks; the “work out the bumps and bruises” practices on Sunday, sometimes in front of thousands of early arriving Saints fans; and of course for all that where there, December 1st, 1973. “At kickoff time the crowd was there, 90,000 strong, some drunken “LSwho” fan said, this won’t take us long.”
Well, we all know the rest of the story that night “On Campus”. Thanks to Scott Cowen, Rick Dickson and all of the behind the scenes Tulane supporters who are making this “New Tulane Stadium”, happen.
As a freshman in 1967 I was told that a male and female student had decided to see if they could…well, you know…on the 50-yard line of the stadium the previous September. As they were climbing the wall to get out she fell and broke her leg. By Halloween she was in a walking cast and able to trick-or-treat on Audubon Blvd., where she cheerfully told a nice gentleman in one of the big houses how she got injured. The next day there was great concern in the administration–it turned out that the nice gent was President Longenecker and he had NO idea how to handle the situation.
Remember going to games at old stadium as a kid and boy scout, great memories looking forward to going again to new stadium with my youngest son hope to make some memories for and with him as I had growing up at the games, was a very positive experience and memories I will always remember. Biggest thrill Sugar Bowl Notre Dame Vs. Alabama Notre Dame won National Championship.Since I went to Redemptorist high in the Irish Channel naturally my favorite team was the Irish, great memory. Proud season ticket holder go green wave.
I grew up on Fern St. 7 blocks from the old stadium. I remember the days of attending the games and concerts and also parking cars in the neighborhood. This new stadium is not only a great addition for the university and the surrounding community, as well as the great city of New Orleans. Though I now live in Georgia, I still have ties to the community. And I will take the opportunity to attend events in this new venue.
I was forunate enough to see two LSU games at Tulane Stadium, including our first win in 25 years, played lacrosse, & drilled with the Navy ROTC in that magnificent structure. Having the stadium back on campus will rekindle some of the community spirit that helped make Tulane a truly great institution.
I am a 1974 Tulane graduate. During the years that I attended Tulane (1970-1974), the Wave had 3 winning seasons, 2 bowl game appearances, and 1 bowl championship (1970 Liberty Bowl). All of the football games that I witnessed were at the old stadium. The place was a grand old lady indeed.
Please construct this new stadium ON TIME. I am really looking forward to Tulane returning to the old campus to host college football again.
Also, additional PARKING on and near the campus must be created. Please promise that will also come along with the stadium construction. Tulane must not hope that the old neighborhoods near the campus will be enough to handle the football supporters.
ROLL GREEN WAVE!!!!
Antoine “Pete” Madere
Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Tulane College A&S/NROTC 1974
As a senior (student athlete) during the season of 1964 a storm had cancelled our game with Duke resulting in re-scheduling after the regular season (last game with LSU) had occurred. During the preceeding week I had a vision of setting a school field goal distance record and had advised my girlfriend of same.
It was a clear, windless evening, late in the game, and we were leading. It was third down with the ball on the 35 yard line. A pass failed and I heard coach(Tommy O’Boyle) yell field goal! Holder(Elmer Smith) and I raced onto the field. When he was about to set up on the 42 yard line for ball placement I told him to move back one yard further as I knew the school distance record was 52 yards.(The goal posts in 1964 were located at the back of the end zone).
As a conventional kicker(not soccer style) I lined up directly with the goal posts, the ball was snapped, placed, and the moment I hit it knew the record was broken. It sailed through the goal posts with coach John Symank) later sayng it would have been good from 65-70 yards.
I was given the game ball, and the following week received a call from a sports writer with the Times Picayune wanting to interview me and a gentleman by the name of Carl Woodward. I knew Carl from a few years earlier as a student athlete but at that time was in law school. I couldn’t imagine why they would want to interview us.
When I arrived at the stadium there was an older gentleman with white hair (much like my few now) and was introduced to him as Carl Woodward, the grandfather of the Carl I knew. He advised that his fame had lasted long enough (39 years) as he had set the previous record against St. Louis University as a free kick in 1925. He detailed of going to the sidelines to scoop mud for creating an elevated “T” for the ball to be placed upon.
I still recall the emotions of having broken this gentlemans record and the elation of it being the SEC record and the longest in the nation during the 1964 season.
katrina survivor…It was a blessing in that I learned what is truly of value… Faith-Hope and Charity…family, friends, and those who are in need. Sharing what is necessary to our neighborse is doing for the community of New OrleansWavof what dTulane, the Green …to those who have less…for the least of my brothers and sisters.
I am so proud of all in SERVICE to the NOLA most in need community. TULANE-GREEN!!~~~~…
My most vivid recollection of the old Tulane Stadium is the immediate aftermath of the demolition (it was my freshman year). Piles of brick and mortar were everywhere. It was a stunning scene. I grabbed a brick from a pile and put it away for safekeeping. I found that brick last month, in the corner of my parents’ attic in Washington, D.C. I wonder … How many bricks are scattered in attics all over the country??
My son is now a freshman at Tulane. Construction of the new stadium will be complete the year after he graduates. As a family, we “sandwich” the two football stadiums. It will be fun for us to go back in a few years to share the new experience of attending our first football game on campus. I look forward to it. Roll wave!
In 1962, I was in 10th grade, and my parents discouraged me from playing hs football that year…they were afraid I’d get hurt…told me to wait a year and get a little bigger.
So, to fill the time in the fall my brother and I got jobs at Tulane Stadium renting “easy seats”…the backrests that were made of canvas supported by a steel frame. The bulk of the work came after the games, when we picked up the seats and put them on fairly large 4-wheeled “dollies” to bring them back to where they were stored.
Well, one night me and another guy were rolling a dolly full of seats down one of those long ramps on the north end of the stadium. We were standing in front of the dolly, backing the load down the ramp. It weighed a lot, and took all our effort to keep it restrained. About 20 ft from the bottom of the ramp, we started losing control. The other guy was smart enough to jump away, but I was dumb enough to try and stop it myself. I ended up at the bottom of the ramp with my lower leg smashed between that heavy dolly and the concrete base for one of the (vertical) steel columns. It was far more painful than anything I ever experienced playing football. Somebody took me to a Tulane campus hospital…there were no broken bones but I couldn’t walk for a couple of weeks. Looking back on it, I could have gotten hurt a lot more seriously.
So that’s my story except for this….Tulane had played Alabama that night (a Friday night) and lost. Before going to the stadium, I read the pre-game article in the States-Item. It was the first or second game of the year. It was before freshmen could play on the varsity. The sportswriter was telling the Tulane fans to watch out for a sophomore quarterback from up north that Bear Bryant had gone all the way to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania to recruit…his name was Joe Namath. Joe did lead Alabama over the Wave that night, in what I believe was his second college football game.
I remember as a Boy Scout in the late 1940′s ushering and selling programs at Tulane Stadium then as a high school student selling ice cream, in hot and cold weather, at Tulane Stadium. Then when I entered Tulane in 1956, it was so much fun walking across the campus to the games and enjoying the atmosphere of the on campus stadium. I am sorry that generations of Tulanians missed this experience but am thrilled to death that future ones will once again enjoy this once in a lifetime experience. Go Wave!!
I sold 7-Ups in the old stadium when I was 8 – 10 years old. Later I served as an usher as a Boy Scout. My children played in the South end zone, while the dads watched the games and the mothers talked and visited. On weekends when Tulane and the Saints played (Saturday and Sunday), my children parked cars in the yard, driveway and front lawn. $3.00 per car for Tulane games and $5.00 per car for the Saints games. They waived off big cars, preferring smaller cars! I will ask Maureen to dig up her roses, fill in her flower beds, etc so we can go into the parking business! That will be the day.
Saw this over on YOGWF from TPSTulane and thought I shuold re-post it here. Agree.Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 4:36 pm Post subject:I have to give congrats to the people behind this blog. It definitely opens up new doors for Tulane fans. This is a great feature.I had to miss the Spring Tour in Cut-Off so that video made me feel like I was there (except for the great food I missed). Keep up the great features! Roll Wave!
The old Tulane Stadium was place of great history not only for the university but for the city and state. What I remember fondly are New Orleans Saints football games that I attended with my father. It was a place where both black and white folks came together to enjoy a common event. This did more to improve race relations in New Orleans (at a time of racial tension common to the late 60’s) than most of us will understand. I remember the cool fall afternoons of NFL football that included the saints stopping OJ Simpson cold during his record breaking year as running back in 1973. The half time entertainment was unique and memorable… this included ostrich races among other acts. Does anyone remember the beer vendors with beer back packs to distribute Falstaff/Dixie draft to the fans? In the end, I was fortunate enough to play in the last game at the stadium in 1979 between Archbishop Rummel High and De La Salle High School. The memories are many and Tulane Football will have a great opportunity to create its own in the coming years. This is a great day for the university and way overdue.
I arrived at Tulane from NJ in 1982. The Stadium had already been torn down. I lived in Phelps Hall directly across from the Stadium site. It was hard to envision a stadium on that site.
In 1982, only the astroturf field remained – and my buddies and I used to go out at night with a tee and kick FG’s through the remaining uprights. It was hard to imagine that Super Bowls had been played on that same field … it was just a parking lot.
4 years later, I was parking my car in the lot and I bumped into former Super Bowl QB Len Dawson and had his sign my notebook as I was going to class as he reminisced about the Super Bowl.
I can’t wait to take my kids to the new stadium !!
I have been attending Tulane football games (that I remember) since I was six years old, and my dad(a Tulane grad)took me to the games in Tulane Stadium. My parents told me that Tulane had bonfires before the game and a parade, and my dad would carry me on his shoulders to watch the bonfire. Two games are forever ingrained in my mind – the ’72 and ’73 Tulane-L.S.U. games. In ’72, I remember that Tulane was stopped from winning the game on the 6-inch line. I was devastated, but I knew without any doubt (I could have bet every penny I had) that Tulane would beat L.S.U. in ’73. That game ranks as one of the happiest moments of my life! Even though I am one who enjoys the comfort of the Dome, I can’t wait for the new stadium. Thank you, Rick Dickson and Dr. Cowan! Roll, Wave!
As a lifelong Louisianian and a Tulane Green Wave fan I have questioned for years why we did not have a campus stadium for the Green Wave football team. Tulane was an original SEC member and has a rich football tradition and history. This is a huge shot in the arm to get our program turned in the right direction. I am so proud of the leadership within the student community who have worked so hard to see this dream become a reality. I will be in line for season tickets. I cannot wait to be at that opening game. While we are upgrading, can we come up with a decent new cheer to replace the hullaballoo? Roll Green Wave!
Tulane football on campus. Never thought I would live to see it again.
At 60 years old I have lived in walking distance of the old stadium my entire life. Parked cars in driveways, sold cokes and 7up out of galvanized mop buckets filled with ice and bottles in the stadium during the first half so I could watch Tulane play the second half. Purchased student end zone season tickets for ten bucks.
There for the great games and not so great games for both Tulane and the Saints. Saints season ticket holder since year one. Oh I miss that stadium and to see it return will be great. I will be in that number. Renewing my football season tickets and given to the TAF to do my part.
Thanks Tulane and go Wave.
I was a Freshman in 1974 and, like Mark Nodine, vividly remember the 1975 Superbowl. I lived in Phelps and that day, as was true for all “football days”, you woke up to a sea of activity in preparation for a game. I stood on my second floor balcony as game time approached and watched as the stadium filled up to maximum capacity. I saw the kick-off on my television and then walked across the street and was literally given a ticket by a scalper who was anxious to get inside and see the game for himself. The excitement was incredible!
The following year, we were in the Dome and we made do by each organization chartering their own bus down to the game. I was an ATO and the bus would pick us up and drop us off right in front of the fraternity house. We made the ride itself part of the social experience.
My two sons, Drew B’09 and B’10; Christopher B’12, surprised me when they said that nobody goes to the games anymore and I tried to describe to them the thrill of having games on campus or attending a game in the Dome with a large group but it was like trying to describe a color over the phone, it lost something in the translation.
Having a new stadium back on campus will bring back student support, it will bring back that air of excitement on campus the day of a game and will once again bring that social experience to the campus. It will literally add a much stronger student element to the games. It will be an exciting time!
I was the mother in the staion wagon with the above Jennifer Giddens Glaser when we drove down to New Orleans from Shreveport in Nov.,1970,to see the Saints play the Detroit Lions. With only seconds left in the game and the Saints losing, we all wanted to leave. Something (probably my husband, Dr. william Giddens,Tulane Medicine 1954) made us stay for those last historic seconds!
My husband and I returned to the “Sugarbowl” 3 years later to see Tulane beat LSU.
Two historic events! Fond memories of that beautiful stadium.
I’M TRULY SO EXCITED THAT TULANE UNIVERSITY WILL BE BRINGING THE SPIRIT OF PLAYING “HOME” FOOTBALL GAMES BACK HOME TO OUR WONDERFUL CAMPUS.
AS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE HULLABALOO MY FRESHMAN YEAR I COVERED TULANE JV FOOTBALL AND THOSE GAMES WERE PLAYED AT “HOME” IN TULANE STADIUM. I OFTEN WONDERED WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE TO BE ABLE TO WALK TO THE GAMES FROM OUR RESIDENCE HALLS.
THE SUPERDOME WAS IMPRESSIVE. IN 1978 I RECALL SNEAKING INTO SUPERBOWL XII WITH A TULANE FRIEND TO WATCH DALLAS BEAT DENVER 27-10 COURTESY OF SOME HELP FROM A FEW GREEN WAVE PLAYERS PROVIDING SECURITY. THAT WAS QUITE A DAY!
THANK YOU TO SCOTT AND EVERYONE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN. I LOOK FORWARD TO EXPERIENCING A “HOME” TULANE FOOTBALL GAME AS AN PROUD ALUMNI.
The stadium dominated the neighborhood in the 50s and early 60s when I was growing up. I parked cars for football games in my driveway near Audubon and Willow and on Freret near Calhoun and used the money to buy felt pennants from all the teams that came to town. I can still hear the PA announcer saying “doctor three-seven, west side phone at once.”
As a Boy Scout, I ushered and also pitched camp on the field during several Scout fairs in the stadium. Tulane day camp used it and the Army ROTC marched from the student center down MacAlister Drive and into the stadium every Friday for inspection.
In 1962, it was the Army ROTC’s turn to escort the homecoming queen onto the field at half time and since I was the senior officer, I had the assignment. However, I got in big trouble with Bea Field by arranging that the ROTC escorts for the homecoming court would go sit with their own girl friends in the stands after the halftime ceremony and let the girls’ boyfriends come sit with them in the box on the field. I can still remember the chewing-out I got after the game.
CHAIRBACKS! In high school, I used to be one of the Tulane Stadium chairback/seat cushion salesmen at the gates as you walked in. It was a great job, but it made you realize how large the stadium was when picking them up and storing them after the game. First Tulane game I attended was against William & Mary in the late 50′s as a child. Had season tickets in the 60′s. Watched many NFL preseason games before the Saints. In that number for Dempsey’s kick. Super Bowl IV in 1970 when the Chiefs, led by Hank Stram beat the Vikings. So many memories.
This will be Tulane Stadium III for me. We used to walk past the original stadium, which was probably built before the turn of the century on our way to the games. It was just a small bleacher on a practice field between Willow and St. Charles.
It is a very emotional experience sitting here far away in Texas and reading about Tulane building an on campus stadium. My connection to Tulane football runs generations. My grandfather, Haywood H. “Sandy” Hillyer Jr. played on Tulane’s Rose Bowl team. Given that I was born in 1973, I have no memories of games in the old stadium. My father, Dr. Victor Law, a graduate of Tulane and still a professor of chemical engineering there, has often regaled me with stories of his experiences at the old stadium. As a boy scout, he sold programs there. The Tulane football experience was a major reason he decided early on he would attend Tulane. He entered as a freshman in 1956 if I remember correctly. He is still teaching there and he is still the biggest Green Wave fan I know. Dad made sure I always had a Green Wave jersey and I dreamed of growing up to play for the Wave. Alas I was never the athlete I wanted to be. I found my place in the stands, screaming for the boys and running up and down the aisles riling up the crowd. You could always find me at games, you just had to listen for me. When I was a student at Tulane, I lived in the Aron Residences at Stadium Place for a few years. I remember standing on my balcony, trying to imagine just exactly where I would be if the old stadium was still there. There have been some great games in the Dome, but I can hardly wait to walk into this new stadium with my dad. I’m going to give him a big hug and tell him, “The Green Wave is finally HOME again.” When I heard the news today, Dad is the first person I called. It was great to share the news with someone as passionate about Green Wave football as he is. He again shared with me some of his fond memories if yesteryear. I am ecstatic about this news. I even let loose a Hullabaloo in my front yard. My neighbors here think I’m crazy. This is the sort of thing that will make me drive the 6 hours home for games in the coming years. Roll Wave – Haywood “Sandy” Law (Class of 1997)
My family drove down from Shreveport in November 1970 to see the Saints play the Detroit Lions. My mom, dad (Tulane med school alumni) grandmother, five brothers and sisters and I piled into the station wagon and risked our lives coming down Highway 1 to see the big game. I was 10 years old and this was my first pro football game and my first and only time in the Sugar Bowl–when I returned to attend Tulane in 1978 it was no more. I do not remember much about the game except it was cold, the Saints were losing, and that the last few seconds were incredible. Although I had no experience attending professional football games, I knew then I had witnessed something historical. The ghost of the old stafium lingered behind Josephine Loiuse House, all that was left were stories when I was a student Uptown. My sons Matt and Alex are currently Tulane students, and my husband Bob (Tulane 81) I am I are really looking forward to attending a Green Wave game on campus one day, Roll Green Wave.
MY FIRST SEASON AS A COMPANION TO MY FATHER WAS THE 1973 SEASON. I’M SO GLAD TO HAVE WITNESSED THE 14-0 VICTORY OVER THE TIGERS!!! I WAS ALSO THERE WHEN THE WAVE LOST ( I THINK? ) TO OLE MISS ON A FREEZING DAY IN EARLY DECEMBER 1974, TO MY KNOWLEDGE THAT WAS THE LAST TULANE GAME THERE, A POSTPONED GAME DUE TO A HURRICANE! (GO FIGURE!)
TO THINK THAT I WILL AGAIN BE ABLE TO SEE A WAVE GAME ON BASICALLY THE SAME SITE THAT MY FATHER AND I HAD SHARED SO MANY YEARS AGO,( I WAS 8 YEARS OLD, HE WAS 33!) IS A DREAM COME TRUE!!!
ROLL WAVE!!!
KIRK WINDSTEIN
Remembering the first time I caught a glimse of old Tulane Stadium in the 50′s, my dad brought me to see Tulane play Ole Miss with Richie Petibon as the QB. Great memories from games against LSU. The game I remember most was Tulane beating Georgia on regional TV in 72, when George Ewing returned a punt 60 yards for a TD to beat Georgia. It was my birthday….what a day it was then. Finally the last game in the Stadium, Pittsburgh beating Minnesota in SB IX. Great family memories…Can not wait for the new Stadium…
As a McMain Jr High student, many of my early dates were TU games on Saturdays. We dated through high school – great memories. Lynn, if you’re out there, I think of you often.
Best friend lived on Calhoun St., so we missed very few TU, Sugar Bowls or Saints games. A few memories that stand out – TU QB the “Mouse” Nugent & Richie Pettibon, LSU – Syracuse Sugar Bowl – LSU – TU games – Dempsey’s 63 yrd field goal against the Lions – Archie’s first Saints game win over the Rams (he did NOT fumble).
Nothing like game day on campus – make it happen TU!
I was about 5 years old and saw my first game at Tulane stadium in the 1964 season. I lucky because my dad George Sweeney was the Tulane beat writer back then. It was such a joy to be able to experience Tulane stadium first hand while growing up. I attended just about every Tulane and Saints game from that point on including the first Saints game and the 1973 Tulane win over LSU. I also attended many Sugar and all Super Bowls as well as the ZZ Top/Lynyrd Skynyrd rock concert in the 1970′s. I was also lucky enough to have been a ball boy for the Saints during a few of those forgettable years (Atlanta beat us 62-7 one season). But I have to say my most memorable moment took place when I was a student at Tulane (1977-81). My brother in law Paul Spansel (also a Tulane alum) and I would often go into the stadium and have field goal kicking contests off the turf after class. One day while kicking former Tulane great Mark Olivari was passing through the stadium and asked me if I wouldn’t mind holding one for him. I told him no problem, what yard line would you like to try it from? Mark replied,”Where did Tom Dempsey break the record from?”. I told him about the 37 yard line on the other side of mid-field (back then the goal post were on the goal line). So Mark tells me to move 2 yards further back to the 35 and hold it (65yard attempt). He took off his shoe and curled his foot upward and kicked the ball so hard smoke came out of it and it sounded like a cannon went off. The ball easily sailed straight ahead through the uprights and it would have been good from 70 yards. Mark just picked up his books and smiled as he walked away. My brother in law and I just looked at each other in amazement. I’ll never forget that moment. I believe Tulane stadium was demolished my shorty after that in the fall of 1980 which was my Jr year.
As achild I went to manu TU and Saints game in Tulane Stadium> I loved wale king through Newcomb and TU campuses on way to game. As a young boy I would pay attention to all th out of state license plates on cars and think wow this is a special place where students from all over came to learn. The atmosphere was great at both TU and Saints games. I remeber stomping my feet on the steel decks to make as much noise as aints preseason games because of the half time show which include setting different images on fire ,such as the Saints with shield symbol. I went to the last TU game against Ole Miss it was a cold mother and we lost not only the game but a wonderful part of my childhood. I loved goin uptown for games and that was gone. Its funny but I still remember the smell of the old place.
Missing from your history of Old Tulane Stadium is the fact that Superbowl IX, between Pittsburgh and Minnesota, was played there in January 1975, after the last Tulane football game in the stadium. I was a freshman at the time, and was aware of the Superbowl being played right down the street. At halftime, a fellow freshman and I walked over to the stadium, and to our surprise, we were able to sashay right into the stadium, find seats on about the 30 yard line and watch the entire second half! Such a bonanza would be unthinkable for modern Superbowls. Add to that the fact that except for a safety, all the points were scored during the second half which we witnessed, and it remains a life-long memory.
Memory: tearing down the south end zone goal post following Tulane’s November, 1973 victory over that Baton Rouge Tiger team. Opinion: open-air, Saturday evenings, under the lights, ON CAMPUS! THIS IS Tulane football. So nice to know Tulane students will once again have this fantastic, spirit-raising experience. Go WAVE!
My most memorable event at Tulane Stadium took place on September 27,1947 when Tulane played Alabama.It was the opening game of the season and my Freshman Year at Tulane. the Green Wave came into the game ranked among the Top Ten Div.I Colleges with the best win/loss record for the previous 22 consecutive years.Tulane defeated Alabama [21-20]in a close and hard fought contest.This national ranking was extended over the next three years.
This event and the overall college experience at Tulane which included its Athletics Program began my involvement in and support of those activities which has spanned more than six decades.Needless to say, a return to the new on-campus stadium will rekindle old memories,provide new experiences, and represent a true “Homecoming”.I will be joined by my wife,Joycelyn, who I met while we were both freshmen in college and has shared in this journey,as well as other family members that include five fellow Tulanians.
Roll Wave,
Dan
Tulane A&S ’51;Law ’54
The old stadium! How well I remember…going to every Tulane game in my early years from our home on State St. Then.. the first Sugar Bowl …in the end zone with my father. I still remember Monk Simons’s kickoff return of over 100 yards from the end zone to beat Temple.
Build this new stadium soon! And then I’ll come…and start this all over again.
Norman Kauffmann
Mech Eng.’47.
Any mention of the stadium or the sugar bowl always brings back one poignant memory. In circa 1950, maybe 1951, Tulane took on Notre Dame. As a student at that time, I was privileged to be part of the riotous cheering and calling as the Green Wave doused Notre Dame at every turn. The cheering quieted down when Notre Dame won over the Greenies with a last minute touchback. What a game!
I played my first organized football game in Tulane Stadium in 1975. My “team” of 9 year olds was coached by Raul Rodriguez, who played for Tulane under Coach Gibson. The old astroturf was torn and buckled, but it was an awesome and memorable day for a young kid with dreams of the big time. And of course, our team won the game! I later got to play real college football for Tulane under Coach Brown with the great Terrence Jones, Marc Zeno, Lonnie Marts, Richard Harvey and Jerome McIntosh. We had great teams, but poor student support. The Superdome was a fantastic place to play for us, but lacked (and still lacks) a connection with the student body. I fully support the new stadium. It will energize the campus and bring a sense of fun back to the game for both athletes and fans. I will be there with my two sons, cheering the team on at the home opener and many many games thereafter.
We proudly walked inside the stadium wearing a red cheerleader uniform. My first Bayou Classic (Southern vs. Grambling) was held at the stadium in 1974 (or ’75). I remember the crowd, the excitement, and the popular dance at the time, “The Bump”.
I have so many memories of the Tulane Stadium that there is not room for all of them. I started Tulane in the fall of 1957. Our freshman team anchored by All American, Tommy Mason, was undefeated in three games. We beat Alabama, LSU and Florida. I didn’t have a great football career, but I played in two freshman games in Tulane Stadium against LSU and Florida in 1957, both of which we won and two Spring Games in 1958 and 1959. For me, that was the thrill of my lifetime. The friends I made in Tulane Sports are still in my heart. They treated me like I was one of the stars of the team. At Tulane, we ate in the student center except during the season, and we even had non athletes as room mates or suite mates. For several years, I lived in Zemurray Hall. I would sit in my room until the kick off at Tulane stadium and then walk across Freret Street and buy a ticket from a scalper for $1.00. I went to the Sugar Bowl six years in a row while in Undergraduate and Law School and many more after graduating including the Notre Dame vs Alabama game in a blinding rain and the early Super Bowl in the 1970s. There was a homecoming tradition in Law School that the seniors in Law School stood on the field in their derby hats and canes and held our canes up in an arch for the Tulane players to run out on to the field. I still have the derby and cane I used at the 1962 Homecoming game. I plan to wear them for my 50 year Law Reunion at the 2013 Homecoming Reunion. When Tulane Stadium was torn down they cut up the wooden seats and made Tulane clocks out of them. It is still in my office. I was really sad to see it go, and I am very proud to know that we will have a new campus Tulane Stadium. I’ll be the first one in the stands. Varse, Varse, Tee Yay, Helluva Hullabaloo
“Don’t you know it seems to go, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone!”
In the early 70′s when I was being recruited to play football for Tulane, the impending completion of the “Superdome” was a major recruiting tool. For an 18 year old coming out of a then small town, Lafayette, LA in my case, the idea of playing, at least for a year or two, in a state of the art and truly futuristic domed stadium seemed almost a dream come true.
Of course the dome wasn’t completed before I graduated in 1975 and for that I will be forever grateful. The games we played in the old stadium while our fans avidly stomped on the steel, are forever etched in my memory.
The walks to the stadium on game day while students lined the sidewalks; the “work out the bumps and bruises” practices on Sunday, sometimes in front of thousands of early arriving Saints fans; and of course for all that where there, December 1st, 1973. “At kickoff time the crowd was there, 90,000 strong, some drunken “LSwho” fan said, this won’t take us long.”
Well, we all know the rest of the story that night “On Campus”. Thanks to Scott Cowen, Rick Dickson and all of the behind the scenes Tulane supporters who are making this “New Tulane Stadium”, happen.
Roll Wave Roll
As a freshman in 1967 I was told that a male and female student had decided to see if they could…well, you know…on the 50-yard line of the stadium the previous September. As they were climbing the wall to get out she fell and broke her leg. By Halloween she was in a walking cast and able to trick-or-treat on Audubon Blvd., where she cheerfully told a nice gentleman in one of the big houses how she got injured. The next day there was great concern in the administration–it turned out that the nice gent was President Longenecker and he had NO idea how to handle the situation.
Remember going to games at old stadium as a kid and boy scout, great memories looking forward to going again to new stadium with my youngest son hope to make some memories for and with him as I had growing up at the games, was a very positive experience and memories I will always remember. Biggest thrill Sugar Bowl Notre Dame Vs. Alabama Notre Dame won National Championship.Since I went to Redemptorist high in the Irish Channel naturally my favorite team was the Irish, great memory. Proud season ticket holder go green wave.
I grew up on Fern St. 7 blocks from the old stadium. I remember the days of attending the games and concerts and also parking cars in the neighborhood. This new stadium is not only a great addition for the university and the surrounding community, as well as the great city of New Orleans. Though I now live in Georgia, I still have ties to the community. And I will take the opportunity to attend events in this new venue.
I was forunate enough to see two LSU games at Tulane Stadium, including our first win in 25 years, played lacrosse, & drilled with the Navy ROTC in that magnificent structure. Having the stadium back on campus will rekindle some of the community spirit that helped make Tulane a truly great institution.
I am a 1974 Tulane graduate. During the years that I attended Tulane (1970-1974), the Wave had 3 winning seasons, 2 bowl game appearances, and 1 bowl championship (1970 Liberty Bowl). All of the football games that I witnessed were at the old stadium. The place was a grand old lady indeed.
Please construct this new stadium ON TIME. I am really looking forward to Tulane returning to the old campus to host college football again.
Also, additional PARKING on and near the campus must be created. Please promise that will also come along with the stadium construction. Tulane must not hope that the old neighborhoods near the campus will be enough to handle the football supporters.
ROLL GREEN WAVE!!!!
Antoine “Pete” Madere
Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Tulane College A&S/NROTC 1974
As a senior (student athlete) during the season of 1964 a storm had cancelled our game with Duke resulting in re-scheduling after the regular season (last game with LSU) had occurred. During the preceeding week I had a vision of setting a school field goal distance record and had advised my girlfriend of same.
It was a clear, windless evening, late in the game, and we were leading. It was third down with the ball on the 35 yard line. A pass failed and I heard coach(Tommy O’Boyle) yell field goal! Holder(Elmer Smith) and I raced onto the field. When he was about to set up on the 42 yard line for ball placement I told him to move back one yard further as I knew the school distance record was 52 yards.(The goal posts in 1964 were located at the back of the end zone).
As a conventional kicker(not soccer style) I lined up directly with the goal posts, the ball was snapped, placed, and the moment I hit it knew the record was broken. It sailed through the goal posts with coach John Symank) later sayng it would have been good from 65-70 yards.
I was given the game ball, and the following week received a call from a sports writer with the Times Picayune wanting to interview me and a gentleman by the name of Carl Woodward. I knew Carl from a few years earlier as a student athlete but at that time was in law school. I couldn’t imagine why they would want to interview us.
When I arrived at the stadium there was an older gentleman with white hair (much like my few now) and was introduced to him as Carl Woodward, the grandfather of the Carl I knew. He advised that his fame had lasted long enough (39 years) as he had set the previous record against St. Louis University as a free kick in 1925. He detailed of going to the sidelines to scoop mud for creating an elevated “T” for the ball to be placed upon.
I still recall the emotions of having broken this gentlemans record and the elation of it being the SEC record and the longest in the nation during the 1964 season.
Good Memories!
katrina survivor…It was a blessing in that I learned what is truly of value… Faith-Hope and Charity…family, friends, and those who are in need. Sharing what is necessary to our neighborse is doing for the community of New OrleansWavof what dTulane, the Green …to those who have less…for the least of my brothers and sisters.
I am so proud of all in SERVICE to the NOLA most in need community. TULANE-GREEN!!~~~~…
My most vivid recollection of the old Tulane Stadium is the immediate aftermath of the demolition (it was my freshman year). Piles of brick and mortar were everywhere. It was a stunning scene. I grabbed a brick from a pile and put it away for safekeeping. I found that brick last month, in the corner of my parents’ attic in Washington, D.C. I wonder … How many bricks are scattered in attics all over the country??
My son is now a freshman at Tulane. Construction of the new stadium will be complete the year after he graduates. As a family, we “sandwich” the two football stadiums. It will be fun for us to go back in a few years to share the new experience of attending our first football game on campus. I look forward to it. Roll wave!
In 1962, I was in 10th grade, and my parents discouraged me from playing hs football that year…they were afraid I’d get hurt…told me to wait a year and get a little bigger.
So, to fill the time in the fall my brother and I got jobs at Tulane Stadium renting “easy seats”…the backrests that were made of canvas supported by a steel frame. The bulk of the work came after the games, when we picked up the seats and put them on fairly large 4-wheeled “dollies” to bring them back to where they were stored.
Well, one night me and another guy were rolling a dolly full of seats down one of those long ramps on the north end of the stadium. We were standing in front of the dolly, backing the load down the ramp. It weighed a lot, and took all our effort to keep it restrained. About 20 ft from the bottom of the ramp, we started losing control. The other guy was smart enough to jump away, but I was dumb enough to try and stop it myself. I ended up at the bottom of the ramp with my lower leg smashed between that heavy dolly and the concrete base for one of the (vertical) steel columns. It was far more painful than anything I ever experienced playing football. Somebody took me to a Tulane campus hospital…there were no broken bones but I couldn’t walk for a couple of weeks. Looking back on it, I could have gotten hurt a lot more seriously.
So that’s my story except for this….Tulane had played Alabama that night (a Friday night) and lost. Before going to the stadium, I read the pre-game article in the States-Item. It was the first or second game of the year. It was before freshmen could play on the varsity. The sportswriter was telling the Tulane fans to watch out for a sophomore quarterback from up north that Bear Bryant had gone all the way to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania to recruit…his name was Joe Namath. Joe did lead Alabama over the Wave that night, in what I believe was his second college football game.
I remember as a Boy Scout in the late 1940′s ushering and selling programs at Tulane Stadium then as a high school student selling ice cream, in hot and cold weather, at Tulane Stadium. Then when I entered Tulane in 1956, it was so much fun walking across the campus to the games and enjoying the atmosphere of the on campus stadium. I am sorry that generations of Tulanians missed this experience but am thrilled to death that future ones will once again enjoy this once in a lifetime experience. Go Wave!!
I sold 7-Ups in the old stadium when I was 8 – 10 years old. Later I served as an usher as a Boy Scout. My children played in the South end zone, while the dads watched the games and the mothers talked and visited. On weekends when Tulane and the Saints played (Saturday and Sunday), my children parked cars in the yard, driveway and front lawn. $3.00 per car for Tulane games and $5.00 per car for the Saints games. They waived off big cars, preferring smaller cars! I will ask Maureen to dig up her roses, fill in her flower beds, etc so we can go into the parking business! That will be the day.
Saw this over on YOGWF from TPSTulane and thought I shuold re-post it here. Agree.Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 4:36 pm Post subject:I have to give congrats to the people behind this blog. It definitely opens up new doors for Tulane fans. This is a great feature.I had to miss the Spring Tour in Cut-Off so that video made me feel like I was there (except for the great food I missed). Keep up the great features! Roll Wave!
The old Tulane Stadium was place of great history not only for the university but for the city and state. What I remember fondly are New Orleans Saints football games that I attended with my father. It was a place where both black and white folks came together to enjoy a common event. This did more to improve race relations in New Orleans (at a time of racial tension common to the late 60’s) than most of us will understand. I remember the cool fall afternoons of NFL football that included the saints stopping OJ Simpson cold during his record breaking year as running back in 1973. The half time entertainment was unique and memorable… this included ostrich races among other acts. Does anyone remember the beer vendors with beer back packs to distribute Falstaff/Dixie draft to the fans? In the end, I was fortunate enough to play in the last game at the stadium in 1979 between Archbishop Rummel High and De La Salle High School. The memories are many and Tulane Football will have a great opportunity to create its own in the coming years. This is a great day for the university and way overdue.
I arrived at Tulane from NJ in 1982. The Stadium had already been torn down. I lived in Phelps Hall directly across from the Stadium site. It was hard to envision a stadium on that site.
In 1982, only the astroturf field remained – and my buddies and I used to go out at night with a tee and kick FG’s through the remaining uprights. It was hard to imagine that Super Bowls had been played on that same field … it was just a parking lot.
4 years later, I was parking my car in the lot and I bumped into former Super Bowl QB Len Dawson and had his sign my notebook as I was going to class as he reminisced about the Super Bowl.
I can’t wait to take my kids to the new stadium !!
I have been attending Tulane football games (that I remember) since I was six years old, and my dad(a Tulane grad)took me to the games in Tulane Stadium. My parents told me that Tulane had bonfires before the game and a parade, and my dad would carry me on his shoulders to watch the bonfire. Two games are forever ingrained in my mind – the ’72 and ’73 Tulane-L.S.U. games. In ’72, I remember that Tulane was stopped from winning the game on the 6-inch line. I was devastated, but I knew without any doubt (I could have bet every penny I had) that Tulane would beat L.S.U. in ’73. That game ranks as one of the happiest moments of my life! Even though I am one who enjoys the comfort of the Dome, I can’t wait for the new stadium. Thank you, Rick Dickson and Dr. Cowan! Roll, Wave!
As a lifelong Louisianian and a Tulane Green Wave fan I have questioned for years why we did not have a campus stadium for the Green Wave football team. Tulane was an original SEC member and has a rich football tradition and history. This is a huge shot in the arm to get our program turned in the right direction. I am so proud of the leadership within the student community who have worked so hard to see this dream become a reality. I will be in line for season tickets. I cannot wait to be at that opening game. While we are upgrading, can we come up with a decent new cheer to replace the hullaballoo? Roll Green Wave!
Tulane football on campus. Never thought I would live to see it again.
At 60 years old I have lived in walking distance of the old stadium my entire life. Parked cars in driveways, sold cokes and 7up out of galvanized mop buckets filled with ice and bottles in the stadium during the first half so I could watch Tulane play the second half. Purchased student end zone season tickets for ten bucks.
There for the great games and not so great games for both Tulane and the Saints. Saints season ticket holder since year one. Oh I miss that stadium and to see it return will be great. I will be in that number. Renewing my football season tickets and given to the TAF to do my part.
Thanks Tulane and go Wave.
I was a Freshman in 1974 and, like Mark Nodine, vividly remember the 1975 Superbowl. I lived in Phelps and that day, as was true for all “football days”, you woke up to a sea of activity in preparation for a game. I stood on my second floor balcony as game time approached and watched as the stadium filled up to maximum capacity. I saw the kick-off on my television and then walked across the street and was literally given a ticket by a scalper who was anxious to get inside and see the game for himself. The excitement was incredible!
The following year, we were in the Dome and we made do by each organization chartering their own bus down to the game. I was an ATO and the bus would pick us up and drop us off right in front of the fraternity house. We made the ride itself part of the social experience.
My two sons, Drew B’09 and B’10; Christopher B’12, surprised me when they said that nobody goes to the games anymore and I tried to describe to them the thrill of having games on campus or attending a game in the Dome with a large group but it was like trying to describe a color over the phone, it lost something in the translation.
Having a new stadium back on campus will bring back student support, it will bring back that air of excitement on campus the day of a game and will once again bring that social experience to the campus. It will literally add a much stronger student element to the games. It will be an exciting time!
I was the mother in the staion wagon with the above Jennifer Giddens Glaser when we drove down to New Orleans from Shreveport in Nov.,1970,to see the Saints play the Detroit Lions. With only seconds left in the game and the Saints losing, we all wanted to leave. Something (probably my husband, Dr. william Giddens,Tulane Medicine 1954) made us stay for those last historic seconds!
My husband and I returned to the “Sugarbowl” 3 years later to see Tulane beat LSU.
Two historic events! Fond memories of that beautiful stadium.
I’M TRULY SO EXCITED THAT TULANE UNIVERSITY WILL BE BRINGING THE SPIRIT OF PLAYING “HOME” FOOTBALL GAMES BACK HOME TO OUR WONDERFUL CAMPUS.
AS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE HULLABALOO MY FRESHMAN YEAR I COVERED TULANE JV FOOTBALL AND THOSE GAMES WERE PLAYED AT “HOME” IN TULANE STADIUM. I OFTEN WONDERED WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE TO BE ABLE TO WALK TO THE GAMES FROM OUR RESIDENCE HALLS.
THE SUPERDOME WAS IMPRESSIVE. IN 1978 I RECALL SNEAKING INTO SUPERBOWL XII WITH A TULANE FRIEND TO WATCH DALLAS BEAT DENVER 27-10 COURTESY OF SOME HELP FROM A FEW GREEN WAVE PLAYERS PROVIDING SECURITY. THAT WAS QUITE A DAY!
THANK YOU TO SCOTT AND EVERYONE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN. I LOOK FORWARD TO EXPERIENCING A “HOME” TULANE FOOTBALL GAME AS AN PROUD ALUMNI.
MICHAEL L. COHN
A&S ’80
The stadium dominated the neighborhood in the 50s and early 60s when I was growing up. I parked cars for football games in my driveway near Audubon and Willow and on Freret near Calhoun and used the money to buy felt pennants from all the teams that came to town. I can still hear the PA announcer saying “doctor three-seven, west side phone at once.”
As a Boy Scout, I ushered and also pitched camp on the field during several Scout fairs in the stadium. Tulane day camp used it and the Army ROTC marched from the student center down MacAlister Drive and into the stadium every Friday for inspection.
In 1962, it was the Army ROTC’s turn to escort the homecoming queen onto the field at half time and since I was the senior officer, I had the assignment. However, I got in big trouble with Bea Field by arranging that the ROTC escorts for the homecoming court would go sit with their own girl friends in the stands after the halftime ceremony and let the girls’ boyfriends come sit with them in the box on the field. I can still remember the chewing-out I got after the game.
CHAIRBACKS! In high school, I used to be one of the Tulane Stadium chairback/seat cushion salesmen at the gates as you walked in. It was a great job, but it made you realize how large the stadium was when picking them up and storing them after the game. First Tulane game I attended was against William & Mary in the late 50′s as a child. Had season tickets in the 60′s. Watched many NFL preseason games before the Saints. In that number for Dempsey’s kick. Super Bowl IV in 1970 when the Chiefs, led by Hank Stram beat the Vikings. So many memories.
This will be Tulane Stadium III for me. We used to walk past the original stadium, which was probably built before the turn of the century on our way to the games. It was just a small bleacher on a practice field between Willow and St. Charles.
Will be great to be back on campus!
It is a very emotional experience sitting here far away in Texas and reading about Tulane building an on campus stadium. My connection to Tulane football runs generations. My grandfather, Haywood H. “Sandy” Hillyer Jr. played on Tulane’s Rose Bowl team. Given that I was born in 1973, I have no memories of games in the old stadium. My father, Dr. Victor Law, a graduate of Tulane and still a professor of chemical engineering there, has often regaled me with stories of his experiences at the old stadium. As a boy scout, he sold programs there. The Tulane football experience was a major reason he decided early on he would attend Tulane. He entered as a freshman in 1956 if I remember correctly. He is still teaching there and he is still the biggest Green Wave fan I know. Dad made sure I always had a Green Wave jersey and I dreamed of growing up to play for the Wave. Alas I was never the athlete I wanted to be. I found my place in the stands, screaming for the boys and running up and down the aisles riling up the crowd. You could always find me at games, you just had to listen for me. When I was a student at Tulane, I lived in the Aron Residences at Stadium Place for a few years. I remember standing on my balcony, trying to imagine just exactly where I would be if the old stadium was still there. There have been some great games in the Dome, but I can hardly wait to walk into this new stadium with my dad. I’m going to give him a big hug and tell him, “The Green Wave is finally HOME again.” When I heard the news today, Dad is the first person I called. It was great to share the news with someone as passionate about Green Wave football as he is. He again shared with me some of his fond memories if yesteryear. I am ecstatic about this news. I even let loose a Hullabaloo in my front yard. My neighbors here think I’m crazy. This is the sort of thing that will make me drive the 6 hours home for games in the coming years. Roll Wave – Haywood “Sandy” Law (Class of 1997)
My family drove down from Shreveport in November 1970 to see the Saints play the Detroit Lions. My mom, dad (Tulane med school alumni) grandmother, five brothers and sisters and I piled into the station wagon and risked our lives coming down Highway 1 to see the big game. I was 10 years old and this was my first pro football game and my first and only time in the Sugar Bowl–when I returned to attend Tulane in 1978 it was no more. I do not remember much about the game except it was cold, the Saints were losing, and that the last few seconds were incredible. Although I had no experience attending professional football games, I knew then I had witnessed something historical. The ghost of the old stafium lingered behind Josephine Loiuse House, all that was left were stories when I was a student Uptown. My sons Matt and Alex are currently Tulane students, and my husband Bob (Tulane 81) I am I are really looking forward to attending a Green Wave game on campus one day, Roll Green Wave.
MY FIRST SEASON AS A COMPANION TO MY FATHER WAS THE 1973 SEASON. I’M SO GLAD TO HAVE WITNESSED THE 14-0 VICTORY OVER THE TIGERS!!! I WAS ALSO THERE WHEN THE WAVE LOST ( I THINK? ) TO OLE MISS ON A FREEZING DAY IN EARLY DECEMBER 1974, TO MY KNOWLEDGE THAT WAS THE LAST TULANE GAME THERE, A POSTPONED GAME DUE TO A HURRICANE! (GO FIGURE!)
TO THINK THAT I WILL AGAIN BE ABLE TO SEE A WAVE GAME ON BASICALLY THE SAME SITE THAT MY FATHER AND I HAD SHARED SO MANY YEARS AGO,( I WAS 8 YEARS OLD, HE WAS 33!) IS A DREAM COME TRUE!!!
ROLL WAVE!!!
KIRK WINDSTEIN
Remembering the first time I caught a glimse of old Tulane Stadium in the 50′s, my dad brought me to see Tulane play Ole Miss with Richie Petibon as the QB. Great memories from games against LSU. The game I remember most was Tulane beating Georgia on regional TV in 72, when George Ewing returned a punt 60 yards for a TD to beat Georgia. It was my birthday….what a day it was then. Finally the last game in the Stadium, Pittsburgh beating Minnesota in SB IX. Great family memories…Can not wait for the new Stadium…
As a McMain Jr High student, many of my early dates were TU games on Saturdays. We dated through high school – great memories. Lynn, if you’re out there, I think of you often.
Best friend lived on Calhoun St., so we missed very few TU, Sugar Bowls or Saints games. A few memories that stand out – TU QB the “Mouse” Nugent & Richie Pettibon, LSU – Syracuse Sugar Bowl – LSU – TU games – Dempsey’s 63 yrd field goal against the Lions – Archie’s first Saints game win over the Rams (he did NOT fumble).
Nothing like game day on campus – make it happen TU!
I was about 5 years old and saw my first game at Tulane stadium in the 1964 season. I lucky because my dad George Sweeney was the Tulane beat writer back then. It was such a joy to be able to experience Tulane stadium first hand while growing up. I attended just about every Tulane and Saints game from that point on including the first Saints game and the 1973 Tulane win over LSU. I also attended many Sugar and all Super Bowls as well as the ZZ Top/Lynyrd Skynyrd rock concert in the 1970′s. I was also lucky enough to have been a ball boy for the Saints during a few of those forgettable years (Atlanta beat us 62-7 one season). But I have to say my most memorable moment took place when I was a student at Tulane (1977-81). My brother in law Paul Spansel (also a Tulane alum) and I would often go into the stadium and have field goal kicking contests off the turf after class. One day while kicking former Tulane great Mark Olivari was passing through the stadium and asked me if I wouldn’t mind holding one for him. I told him no problem, what yard line would you like to try it from? Mark replied,”Where did Tom Dempsey break the record from?”. I told him about the 37 yard line on the other side of mid-field (back then the goal post were on the goal line). So Mark tells me to move 2 yards further back to the 35 and hold it (65yard attempt). He took off his shoe and curled his foot upward and kicked the ball so hard smoke came out of it and it sounded like a cannon went off. The ball easily sailed straight ahead through the uprights and it would have been good from 70 yards. Mark just picked up his books and smiled as he walked away. My brother in law and I just looked at each other in amazement. I’ll never forget that moment. I believe Tulane stadium was demolished my shorty after that in the fall of 1980 which was my Jr year.
As achild I went to manu TU and Saints game in Tulane Stadium> I loved wale king through Newcomb and TU campuses on way to game. As a young boy I would pay attention to all th out of state license plates on cars and think wow this is a special place where students from all over came to learn. The atmosphere was great at both TU and Saints games. I remeber stomping my feet on the steel decks to make as much noise as aints preseason games because of the half time show which include setting different images on fire ,such as the Saints with shield symbol. I went to the last TU game against Ole Miss it was a cold mother and we lost not only the game but a wonderful part of my childhood. I loved goin uptown for games and that was gone. Its funny but I still remember the smell of the old place.
Missing from your history of Old Tulane Stadium is the fact that Superbowl IX, between Pittsburgh and Minnesota, was played there in January 1975, after the last Tulane football game in the stadium. I was a freshman at the time, and was aware of the Superbowl being played right down the street. At halftime, a fellow freshman and I walked over to the stadium, and to our surprise, we were able to sashay right into the stadium, find seats on about the 30 yard line and watch the entire second half! Such a bonanza would be unthinkable for modern Superbowls. Add to that the fact that except for a safety, all the points were scored during the second half which we witnessed, and it remains a life-long memory.
Memory: tearing down the south end zone goal post following Tulane’s November, 1973 victory over that Baton Rouge Tiger team. Opinion: open-air, Saturday evenings, under the lights, ON CAMPUS! THIS IS Tulane football. So nice to know Tulane students will once again have this fantastic, spirit-raising experience. Go WAVE!