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Stoll Field/McLean 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 ...
in
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
, United States. It was the home of the
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...
Wildcats football team. The field has been in use since 1880, but the concrete stands were opened in October 1916, and closed following the 1972 season. The stadium was replaced by
Kroger Field Kroger Field, formerly known as Commonwealth Stadium, is a stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, located on the campus of the University of Kentucky that primarily serves as the home field for the Kentucky Wildcats football team. The stad ...
, which opened in 1973 as Commonwealth Stadium. Memorial Coliseum is located across the street from the site. The stadium was a two-sided concrete structure, with bleachers in both endzones. It was named for Judge Richard C. Stoll, a prominent alumnus. In November 1924, the grandstands were renamed McLean Stadium in honor of Price Innes McLean, a former center for the Wildcats who had died from injuries sustained in the 1923 Kentucky-
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
game. The stadium was the home of the Wildcats during the
Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...
era (1946–1953), which included the team's first bowl appearance (in the 1947
Great Lakes Bowl The Great Lakes Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played only once, on December 6, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Villanova Wildcats. The game was played at Cleveland Stadium with attendance o ...
), and their first
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
(SEC) football championship (in
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
). Bryant's coaching tenure at the predominantly basketball-savvy school is regarded as the best era in UK's football history.


First game in the south

It is the site of the first recorded football game played in the South. A historic marker was erected in 2008 and reads – Side 1 – ''"STOLL FIELD: In 1880 the first college football game ever played in the South was held here at what was eventually named Stoll Field. It was dedicated in 1916 at the Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt game and was named in honor of alumnus and long-term Board of Trustees member Judge Richard C. Stoll. The field was the setting of early football games and an integral part of student life.'' Side 2 – ''MCLEAN STADIUM This field, which once pastured President Patterson's cows, was used for military training during World War I and in 1924 it held McLean Stadium. It was named for Price McLean, an engineering student who was fatally injured in a football game in 1923. McLean Stadium was the site of Kentucky football games until they were moved to Commonwealth Stadium in 1973.'' On that first game in 1880, which
Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...
won over
Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...
13¾–0, "The two teams met in a cow pasture, belong to Hubert McGoodwin near Lexington, the present site of the University of Kentucky's Stoll Field . . . There were fifteen players on each team and a player once injured or removed for other reasons could not re-enter the game. At the end of much scuffling and butting of scholarly foreheads, Transylvania was declared the winner by the score of 13-3/4 points to 0 . . . . The team members were older men, a good many of them having whiskers. And they wore extremely heavy shoes and heavily padded apparel."


First SEC game

McLean Stadium was the site of the first football game of the newly formed SEC on September 30, 1933, in which
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
defeated
Sewanee Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892 * Sewanee Natural Bridge * Saint Andrews-Sewanee School See also * Suwanee (disambiguati ...
7–0.


End of Stoll Field

The final Kentucky game played at the stadium was on November 11, 1972, with the
Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
beating Vanderbilt 14–13. The final overall games were the 1972 Class A and AA
KHSAA The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky high-school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington. Sports The organization sanctions competition in the following sports ...
State Championships The Brazilian states football championships are the professional adult male soccer competitions in Brazil that take place between January and April for the Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South regions. In some states from the North Reg ...
, played on November 24. Trigg County defeated Pikeville 22−0 in the Class A final, while Tates Creek won the Class AA final over Ashland, 16−7. The stadium was razed during the 1970s, the south end being replaced with the
Singletary Center for the Arts Originally opened on November 1, 1979, as Center for the Arts'','' the Singletary Center for the Arts is a fine arts complex located on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Nearly eight years after its opening, on Apri ...
. A field was installed in the north end, perpendicular to the old end zone, and is named Stoll Field. It was used as the practice field for the UK marching band and for intramural sports activities until the expansion of the nearby
Gatton Student Center The Gatton Student Center is a student activity center for meetings, conferences, meals, recreation, and shopping for students on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Kentucky. The building houses University of Kentucky's student servi ...
in 2018.


References


External links


A short history of Stoll Field/McLean Stadium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoll Field Mclean Stadium Defunct college football venues Kentucky Wildcats football venues American football venues in Kentucky Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States Sports venues in Lexington, Kentucky