Clark Field, originally known as Varsity Athletic Field, was a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

on the campus of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Clark Field hosted the

Texas Longhorns football The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate team representing the University of Texas at Austin (variously Texas or UT) in the sport of American football. The Texas Longhorns, Longhorns compete in the NCAA Division I Football ...

and track teams until they moved to the newly constructed Memorial Stadium in 1924. It also hosted the Texas baseball team until it moved to the second

Clark Field Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

in 1928 and the

Texas Longhorns men's basketball The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I College basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The University of Texas be ...

team until it moved next door to the new Men's Gym in 1917. The stadium opened in 1887 on part of the land at the southeast corner of 24th Street and Speedway At its peak of activity, the facility's wooden bleachers held 20,000 spectators. In 1904 it was named after former University of Texas regent, James Benjamin Clark. In 1923, UT athletics director

L. Theo Bellmont L. Theo Bellmont ( – ) was an Athletic Director, Professor and Director of Physical Training, and men's basketball head coach at University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Austin. Bellmont was born in Rochester, New York. He att ...

secured approval from the University's Board of Regents for construction of a permanent concrete stadium as a dual-purpose facility for the Texas football and track teams. Memorial Stadium, completed the following year, was built a short distance to the southeast of Clark Field. Following the 1927 baseball season, the University decided to develop the land and construct the Engineering Building, Taylor Hall, on the site of Clark Field, and the baseball team moved a short distance east to the second Clark Field. From 1896 to 1924 Texas Football had a 135-23-3 record at Clark Field.

References

Defunct college baseball venues in the United States Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Defunct college football venues Defunct sports venues in Texas Texas Longhorns baseball venues Texas Longhorns basketball venues Texas Longhorns football venues Baseball venues in Austin, Texas 1887 establishments in Texas Sports venues completed in 1887 1928 disestablishments in Texas {{Austin-stub