Honolulu Stadium was a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

located in the Moiliili district of

Honolulu, Hawai'i Honolulu (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of H ...

, at the corner of King and Isenberg Streets. Opened in 1926, it was the primary sports venue in Hawaii preceding Aloha Stadium. During its final years, the stadium could hold about 25,000 fans; it was demolished in 1976. A public park, Old Stadium Park, now occupies the location. A plaque at the corner of King and Isenberg commemorates the stadium. Some of the property wall that stood behind the stands on the west end still remains.

Description

The stadium was bounded by King Street (north, third base); Isenberg Street (east, left field); Citron Street and Date Street (south, right field); and Makahiki Way (west, first base). It was catty-corner to, and replaced, Mo'ili'ili Field as the venue of choice for the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

's athletic teams. Mo'ili'ili Field stood on the northeast corner of King and Isenberg, and was also bounded by South Beretania Street to the north and east. It still exists, in the form of "Mo'ili'ili Neighborhood Park", which has two ballfields within it. In the baseball configuration, home plate was in the northwest corner; the third base line ran along King, and left field seating was bounded on the east by Isenberg. Field dimensions mentioned in local newspapers varied somewhat, but the consensus appears to be: left field , right field , and center field . The football field ran parallel to the third base line, but away from the infield; the west end zone was near the first base line and the gridiron ran east-southeast, through right field and center field. The sideline seating for football was in right field and along the third base line.

History

The stadium was owned throughout most of its history by Honolulu Stadium, Ltd., a private entity that was incorporated for $150,000 in 1926. As of 1943, the stadium was leased to the

. By the 1960s, Honolulu Stadium had long since reached the end of its useful life. It was made mostly of wood and was frequently attacked by

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

s, resulting in it being nicknamed "the Termite Palace". In January 1975, the State of Hawaii purchased the stadium for $8.5 million—at that time, the University held a majority of the shares of Honolulu Stadium, Ltd. The stadium was the longtime home of the University of Hawaii's

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

team (then known as the Hawaii Rainbows) from 1926 to 1974, and the minor league baseball

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) from 1961 to 1975. In its final years, the stadium also was home to

The Hawaiians Hawaiians are the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiians or The Hawaiians may also refer to: * The Hawaiians (WFL), a football team in the World Football League from 1974 to 1975 * The Hawaiians (film), ''The Hawaiians'' (film), a 1 ...

of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

(WFL) in 1974 and 1975. The stadium was the venue for several

bowl games In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I Fo ...

: the

Poi Bowl The Poi Bowl was a college football bowl game played during the late 1930s in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Honolulu Stadium. The game featured the then- Hawaii Rainbows and, usually, an invited team from the Pacific Coast Conference. History The game was ...

(1936–1939, 1945),

Pineapple Bowl The Pineapple Bowl was a college football bowl game played during the 1940s and early 1950s in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Honolulu Stadium. The game featured the then- Hawaii Rainbows and an invited team from the mainland. History The Pineapple Bowl w ...

(1940–1941, 1947–1952), and

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

(1960–1975). It also hosted

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

, world championship boxing matches, and was used for

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

Track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

was also run at the stadium; it was the site of Hawaii's first night track meet in 1949. Famous athletes who competed in Honolulu Stadium include

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

and

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

in 1934;

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...

, who hit a home run out of the park while playing for a military team in 1944; and

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

, who outran a horse in an 80-yard dash at the stadium in 1946.

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

performed at the stadium in 1945,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

performed in 1957, and

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

inspired a capacity crowd a year later. The 1971 Hawaii Rainbows football team hosted the undefeated and top-ranked

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

at the stadium in early December. The defending national champions were fresh off their " Game of the Century" win on Thanksgiving at No. 2

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and defeated the Rainbows, 45–3. Nebraska went on to defeat

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the

1972 Orange Bowl The 1972 Orange Bowl was the 38th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, January 1. The final game of the 1971–72 bowl season, it matched the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the ...

on New Year's Day for a 13–0 season. In the stadium's final event, the Islanders won their first PCL championship over the Salt Lake Gulls, in six games concluding on September 8, 1975. The stadium was replaced by Aloha Stadium in

Halawa Halawa () is a census-designated place (CDP) in the ‘Ewa District of Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. Halawa Stream branches into two valleys: North and South Halawa; North Halawa is the larger stream and fluvial feature. Their conflue ...

, which opened the following week.

References

External links

Official ceremony of Hawaii's Statehood celebrations at Honolulu stadium
via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Elvis Presley Honolulu Stadium, Hawaii November, 10 1957
via

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Description

History

References

Further reading

External links