Old Byrd Stadium, also known as Byrd Stadium or Byrd Field and nicknamed "the Byrd Cage", was the home stadium for the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

from 1923 until 1947. It was located in

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best known ...

, east of Baltimore Avenue on the site of the school's present-day fraternity row. The

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

for the stadium was 5,000. Athletic Evolution
''The Diamondback'', December 10, 2005.

History

In 1915, Harry "Curley" Byrd, head coach for what was then the Maryland Agricultural football team, petitioned the school for funds for a stadium. At that time, the football team lacked any dedicated facilities and had one poorly suited athletic field on which to practice and play games.David Ungrady,
Tales from the Maryland Terrapins
', p. 3–26, 2003, Sports Publishing LLC, . The new stadium was originally to be called the University of Maryland Athletic Field, but the student body protested for a better name.
, University of Maryland, retrieved March 17, 2009. The Board of Regents voted to name the stadium after Byrd, who was a former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

, the current coach, and future

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

. The stadium was built by the H. D. Watts Construction Company, which was owned by Harry Watts, an alumnus who played as a fullback on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

from 1901 to 1903.Morris Allison Bealle, ''Kings of American Football: The University of Maryland, 1890–1952'', pp. 41–47, Columbia Publishing Co., 1952. Construction was completed in 1923 at a cost of $60,000. The inaugural game was played against on September 29, which Maryland won, 53–0. The stadium was officially dedicated on November 24, for the

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

game against

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Maryland won that game as well, 40-6, in front of a crowd of 3,000.Year-By-Year Results
(PDF), ''2007 Terrapin Football Record Book'', University of Maryland, 2007, retrieved 16 January 2009. Between 1924 and 1947, Maryland played most home games in the facility, but for major games often traveled to

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Boundar ...

in Washington, D.C. or Memorial Stadium in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, both of which were significantly larger. In 1944, Byrd Stadium hosted the first night game in College Park, which pitted the Terrapins against

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all- ...

. During the 1948 season, the Terrapins played all of their home games at

in Washington, D.C. In 1950, the old stadium was replaced by the significantly larger

Byrd Stadium SECU Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. It is the home of Maryland Terrapins football and men's lacrosse teams, which compete in the Big Ten Conference. The facility was ...

(which was renamed

Maryland Stadium SECU Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. It is the home of Maryland Terrapins football and men's lacrosse teams, which compete in the Big Ten Conference. The facility was ...

in 2015), and the original stadium was razed in 1953.Tyser Tower
, University of Maryland, retrieved March 17, 2009.

References

{{University of Maryland, College Park Maryland Terrapins football venues Defunct college football venues American football venues in Maryland Sports venues completed in 1923 Demolished sports venues in Maryland 1923 establishments in Maryland Sports venues demolished in 1953 1953 disestablishments in Maryland