War Memorial Stadium, colloquially known as The Rockpile, was an outdoor

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Opened in 1937 as Roesch Memorial Stadium, the venue was later known as Grover Cleveland Stadium and Civic Stadium. The stadium was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins

and

(

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

), Buffalo Bulls football (NCAA), Buffalo Indians-Tigers ( AFL),

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

( AAFC),

(AFL/ NFL), Buffalo Bisons ( IL), Buffalo White Eagles ( ECPSL), Buffalo Blazers ( NSL), and Buffalo Bisons ( EL/ AA). It also had a

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

and hosted several

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

events. The venue was demolished in 1989 and replaced with the Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Pavilion, which retains entrances from the original stadium.

History

Planning and construction

The stadium was built on the East Side of Buffalo for $3 million as a

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

project in 1937. It was built on a large, rectangular block that had once housed the Prospect Reservoir.

Opening and reception

The 36,500-seat venue was primarily used for college

when it opened on October 16, 1937, with the Tulane Green Wave defeating the Colgate Raiders 7–6 in the inaugural game. The name changed several times in its first two years of operation, first being named after Republican Charlie Roesch, then for Democrat

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

, before settling on the nonpartisan Civic Stadium. The Buffalo Indians-Tigers became the venue's first professional football team in 1940.

Alterations

A quarter mile cinder oval

was added to the interior perimeter of the venue in 1940 for

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. Both

midget car racing Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

and

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

were popular at the venue, attracting

events in 1956 and 1958. Due to the small size of the track, drivers were forced to leave the venue to make pit stops at nearby Masten Armory. Fans were also forbidden from sitting in the first five rows of the venue for safety reasons. Buffalo was awarded an expansion franchise by the

Continental League The Continental League of Professional Baseball Clubs (known as the Continental League or CL) was a proposed third major league for baseball in the United States and Canada. The league was announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 19 ...

of Major League Baseball in January 1960, and made plans to play at the venue beginning with the 1961 season. However, the league folded before the season began. The Buffalo Bisons remained in the

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

and began play at the newly renamed War Memorial Stadium in 1961, as their previous home of Offermann Stadium had already been slated for demolition. The venue's race track was removed in 1960 so that the stadium could accommodate both baseball and football for the Buffalo Bisons and

. The stadium's baseball diamond had an unorthodox southeast alignment (home plate to center field). The east-west alignment of the football field was also unorthodox, running along the third base line. The stadium was expanded to hold 46,306 fans in 1965. The venue was poorly maintained, lending to its nickname of "The Rockpile". Brock Yates of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' jokingly wrote in 1969 that the stadium, "looks as if whatever war it was a memorial to had been fought within its confines." While the Buffalo Bills were popular and regularly filled the venue, the Buffalo Bisons struggled to attract crowds. The Bisons moved mid-season in 1970 and became the

Winnipeg Whips The Winnipeg Whips were a professional Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A minor league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that played in the International League from 1970 to 1971. The team was affiliated with the Montreal Expos of Ma ...

. The stadium was deemed unsuitable for

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

play after the

AFL–NFL merger The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, wh ...

, as it sat fewer than the combined league's 50,000 seat requirement for venues and was unable to be expanded. Rich Stadium was constructed for the Bills in suburban Orchard Park, where the team moved after the 1972 season. The venue sat vacant until 1976 when the Buffalo Blazers of the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

began play. A new Buffalo Bisons franchise was founded in 1979 that returned baseball to the venue. That same year, Canisius College signed a 10-year agreement to use the venue for its college events. '' The Natural'' was filmed at the venue in 1983.

Closing and demolition

The Bisons moved to newly constructed Pilot Field following the 1987 season. The final event at the venue saw the

Akron Zips The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level as a memb ...

defeat the Canisius Golden Griffins 11–2 on May 6, 1989. Canisius moved its football and baseball teams to the newly built Demske Sports Complex. War Memorial Stadium was demolished in 1989 and replaced with the Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Pavilion, a high school athletic field. Built in 1992 for $6.8 million, the complex incorporates the original entrances from War Memorial Stadium. It was previously home to the Buffalo Gladiators, an amateur football team. The original flag pole from center field at War Memorial Stadium was preserved and installed at Pilot Field (now known as Sahlen field) in July 1990, where it stands to this day.

Notable events

Football

A preseason neutral site

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

game between the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

and the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

took place at the venue on August 11, 1951. Hamilton defeated Toronto by a score of 17–11. The venue was host to the Coaches All-America Game from 1961 to 1965. Originally called the Graduation Bowl in its inaugural year, the game was an exhibition between the best college seniors in America who were turning professional. The stadium hosted three postseason

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

games: * 1963 AFL Eastern Division playoff: Boston Patriots defeated the

26–8 on December 28, 1963 * 1964 AFL Championship Game:

defeated the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

20–7 on December 26, 1964 * 1966 AFL Championship Game:

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

defeated the

31–7 on January 1, 1967

Baseball

The stadium hosted two

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

exhibitions: *

All-Stars defeated the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

5–0 on August 19, 1963 *

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

played to an 8–8 tie on April 5, 1987 A touring Old-Timers' Game staged Buffalo's Grand Old Game at the venue on June 23, 1984. The American League All-Stars defeated the National League All-Stars 6–1.

NASCAR

The stadium hosted two

events: * NASCAR Convertible Division event on July 7, 1956, won by Joe Weatherly *

NASCAR Grand National The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...

event on July 19, 1958, won by Jim Reed

In media

The 1984 film '' The Natural'' was filmed at War Memorial Stadium, with it representing the home ballpark of the fictional New York Knights.

References

External links

Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports PavilionA Visual Tour of the Ol' Rockpile
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