Drake Stadium is an 11,700-capacity stadium in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and the home of the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

men's and women's

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

teams. The stadium, built in 1969, is named for UCLA track legend Elvin C. "Ducky" Drake, who was a student-athlete, track coach and athletic trainer for over 60 years. It was the home of the UCLA Bruins men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

soccer teams until 2017. They are now playing at the soccer-specific

Wallis Annenberg Stadium Wallis Annenberg Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located on the campus of University of California, Los Angeles. The stadium is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's soccer programs, and replaced Drake Stadium as the home venue for the ...

also located on the campus of

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. There was a proposal in 1965 to build a 44,000 seat "Multi-Purpose Stadium" on campus, for UCLA Bruins track meets and varsity football games, rather than the Bruins using the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

for home field. In both spring and fall 1965, UCLA students "voted by a two-to-one majority against the proposal to use fee funds to build a football stadium." Additionally, the proposal was opposed by influential area residents and politicians. By February 1966 UCLA had scaled back the project to the Drake Stadium configuration. Although the football stadium never became a reality, there have been UCLA Bruins football scrimmage games played in the stadium. Drake Stadium has hosted the Pacific-10 (now Pac-12) Track and Field Championships, the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

in 1976-77-78, the Pacific-8 Championships in 1970 and 1977 and the CIF California State Meet for high schools in 1969-71-77. The facility hosted the first-ever California-Nevada Championships on April 30-May 1, 1994. It also has hosted other student events such as concerts and graduation ceremonies. The track at Drake Stadium is named for gold medalist

Rafer Johnson Rafer Lewis Johnson (August 18, 1934 – December 2, 2020) was an American decathlon, decathlete and film actor. He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956. He had previously won a gold in the 1955 Pan Amer ...

and his wife Betty. The field is named for UCLA alumnus Frank Marshall, a film producer.

Notable athletes

Carlos Bocanegra Carlos Manuel Bocanegra (born May 25, 1979) is an American sports executive and former professional soccer player. A two-time MLS Defender of the Year, Bocanegra also played professionally in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. He earned over ...

* Ato Boldon *

Jonathan Bornstein Jonathan Rey Bornstein (born November 7, 1984) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a left-back. He has captained and made 38 appearances for the United States national team. In addition to also playing for Chivas USA in Majo ...

* Tom Bradley *

Lauren Cheney Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius. ...

Danny Everett Danny Everett (born November 1, 1966) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He won bronze medals in the 400m at the 1988 Olympic Games and at the 1991 World Championship ...

Benny Feilhaber Benny Feilhaber (; born January 19, 1985) is an American soccer coach and former professional player who is currently head coach of MLS Next Pro side Sporting Kansas City II, an affiliate of Sporting Kansas City. A midfielder, Feilhaber played fo ...

* Dawn Harper *

Joanna Hayes Joanna Dove Hayes (born December 23, 1976, Williamsport, Pennsylvania) is an American hurdler, who won the gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She originally specialized in the 400 metres hurdles. She won the silv ...

Monique Henderson Monique Marie Henderson (born February 18, 1983 in San Diego, California) is an American track and field athlete, who specializes in the 400-meter dash. Henderson was a gold medalist in both the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and the 2 ...

Florence Griffith-Joyner Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith; December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete. She set world records in 1988 for the 100 m and 200 m. During the late 1 ...

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

Meb Keflezighi Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi (; Ge'ez: መብራህቶም ክፍልእዝጊ, ''Mebrāhtōm Kifl'izgī''; born May 5, 1975) is a retired Eritrean-born American long distance runner. He is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and fin ...

* Cobi Jones * Steve Lewis * Mike Powell *

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

* Mike Tully *

C.K. Yang Yang Chuan-kwang, or C.K. Yang ( Amis: Maysang Kalimud, ) (July 10, 1933 – January 27, 2007), was an Olympic decathlete from Taiwan. Yang attended college at UCLA where he trained and competed with team mate and Olympian Rafer Johnson and w ...

* Kevin Young * Marvell Wynne

References

External links

Drake Stadium at UCLA
{{Pac-12 Conference track venue navbox UCLA Bruins track and field UCLA Bruins men's soccer venues UCLA Bruins women's soccer venues University of California, Los Angeles buildings and structures Athletics (track and field) venues in Los Angeles College soccer venues in California College track and field venues in the United States Soccer venues in Los Angeles Sports venues completed in 1969 1969 establishments in California