Charles C. Hughes Stadium

Last updated
Hughes Stadium
Charles C Hughes Stadium.jpg
Interior view during a soccer game in 2014
Charles C. Hughes Stadium
Full name Sacramento, California, U.S.
Former namesSacramento Stadium
(1928–1944)
Address Sacramento, CA
United States
Coordinates 38°32′28″N121°29′11″W / 38.541°N 121.48652°W / 38.541; -121.48652
Owner Sacramento City College
Type Stadium
Capacity 20,311 [1]
SurfaceNatural grass (1928–2012)
Artificial turf (2012–present)
Current use Football
Construction
Opened1928;96 years ago (1928)
Renovated2012
Tenants
List
Website
scc.losrios.edu/hughes-stadium
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Sacramento
class=notpageimage|
Location in the United States
Relief map of California.png
Red pog.svg
Sacramento
class=notpageimage|
Location in California

Charles C. Hughes Stadium (commonly referred to as Hughes Stadium) is an outdoor stadium in the Western United States, located at Sacramento City College in Sacramento, California. The stadium opened in 1928 and was initially known as "Sacramento Stadium" and "Sacramento College Stadium". [2] It was renamed in November 1944 in honor of Charles Colfax Hughes, the first superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District, who died a month earlier. [3] [4]

Contents

In 2012, the stadium underwent a major overhaul, installing an artificial turf field surface, a new track surface, and a major refurbishment of the facilities documented in this video. Its present seating capacity is 20,311.

Location

Hughes Stadium is located on the eastern portion of the Sacramento City College campus. The Union Pacific (ex Western Pacific) railroad tracks are to the east and Sutterville Road is to the south; its bridge over the tracks is visible from the western seats. The City College station of Sacramento Regional Transit District's Blue Line is to the northeast, and the stadium's parking lots are to the northwest and northeast.

The football field has a near north–south alignment, but slightly northwest-southeast. The open end of the U-shaped grandstand is to the south, with the scoreboard. The elevation of the field is approximately twenty feet (6 m) above sea level.

Events and teams hosted

Football

Sacramento Surge

Hughes Stadium in 2007, prior to renovation Hughes Stadium.jpg
Hughes Stadium in 2007, prior to renovation

Former NFL Europe football team the Sacramento Surge, the only American team to ever win the World Bowl, played its inaugural season at Hughes Stadium in 1991, before relocating to Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus in 1992. [5] The Sacramento Surge played five home games at Hughes Stadium, with ticket prices ranging from $40 to $100. [6]

The Sacramento Surge, which played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992, featured many notable football stars. The team was coached by Kay Stephenson, [7] former Buffalo Bills quarterback and head coach, with Charlie Sumner as the defensive coordinator and Jim Haslett as the defensive assistant coach. Mike Keller served as General Manager, [8] while Special Projects was led by Jack Youngblood, who also partnered with Joe Starkey and Ronnie Lott on the Surge radio broadcasts KRAK. Future professional wrestler Bill Goldberg also played for the team. [5]

In 1992, the Surge played in the World Bowl. The Surge won the game, 21–17, behind quarterback David Archer's MVP performance (22 completions of 33 attempts for 286 yards, two touchdowns and one interception). The game would be the only World Bowl involving two North American-based WLAF teams, as well as the only World Bowl played on North American soil.

The Surge was owned by Fred Anderson, who, upon the WLAF going on hiatus after the 1992 season, continued Sacramento's professional football presence by forming the Sacramento Gold Miners, which played in the Canadian Football League for three years, albeit at Hornet Stadium.

Camellia Bowl

Hughes Stadium hosted sixteen college football bowl games known as the Camellia Bowl between 1961 and 1980. The first three games were for the NAIA national football championship. The 1964–72 games were one of four regional bowls that led up to a poll to determine the NCAA College Division championship, prior to the current Division II playoff structure, initiated in 1973. It was also the site of the third Division I-AA championship game in 1980, in which Boise State defeated defending champion Eastern Kentucky with a late touchdown in the fog on December 20. [9] [10]

Sacramento Capitols

The Sacramento Capitols of the Continental Football League used Hughes Stadium as their home field in 1968 and 1969, before the league folded. [11]

Causeway Classic

Though Sacramento State and UC Davis traditionally switched stadiums for the annual Causeway Classic football game, Hughes Stadium was used as a third-party venue for several games in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and last in 2002. It was the host of the famous "mud bowl" in 2000, where wind and rain was so strong that a UC Davis punt actually flew backwards during the game.

Pig Bowl

For many years the "Pig Bowl" was played at Hughes Stadium, an annual football game between police officers. The teams were composed of the Sacramento City Police Officers and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputies, and these games were mostly played in the 1970s.

Sacramento Mountain Lions

During the 2012 season, the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League used Hughes Stadium as their practice facility. [12]

Sacramento Solons

The Sacramento Solons, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers played three seasons in Hughes Stadium from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, the Solons' affiliation changed to the Texas Rangers. As a football and track stadium, the field was expectedly unsuitable for baseball, with a left field foul line reportedly at just 233 feet (71 m), or 17 feet shorter than the minimum requirement of 250 feet (76 m), but baseballs hit over the high screen were still counted as home runs. This photo, though somewhat exaggerated due to the zoom lens, provides a sense of the closeness of the left field area.

Track and field championships

Hughes Stadium was the site of the AAU National Championships in 1968; on the evening of June 20, Jim Hines, Ronnie Ray Smith, and Charlie Greene all bettered the world record (hand timed) of ten seconds in the 100 metres (and several others were very close), [13] [14] [15] and is famous amongst track and field historians as the "Night of Speed." [16] [17] [18] It was also host to the 1995 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships as well as several other championship events. The stadium was the host of most long-distance races at the 2011 World Masters Athletics Championships . [19]

Hughes Stadium was one of the regular sites that would host the California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field Championships on a rotational basis. The meet was held on ten different occasions from 1979 to 2007. (1979, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007) [20]

Boxing

On September 9, 1978, Pete Ranzany fought for the world (WBA) welterweight title against champion José "Pipino" Cuevas. A crowd of over 17,000 saw Cuevas knock out Ranzany in the second round. [21]

Motor racing

Hughes Stadium's track has been used for Midget car racing.Hughes Stadium's legacy began more than 80 years ago | Valley Community Newspapers, Inc. Hughes Stadium's track has been used for Speedway Motorcycle Races 1957/58

Sacramento Republic FC

The expansion USL Pro soccer club Sacramento Republic FC played the first few home games of 2014 at Hughes Stadium, where their per-game attendance dwarfed that of the rest of the league, and where they recorded three sellouts. [22] The team left Hughes in June 2014 for Bonney Field, a newly built facility in Cal Expo with a full-sized soccer field and lower capacity.

Concerts

Sacramento Pop Festival

The Sacramento Pop Festival was held at Hughes in 1967 on Sunday, October 15, headlined by Jefferson Airplane, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and The Sunshine Company. [23] It was held four months after the Monterey Pop Festival.

Pink Floyd

In 1988, Hughes Stadium was the venue for Pink Floyd during their Momentary Lapse of Reason tour, with a sold-out crowd of 27,000 on April 20.

Doobie Brothers/Santana

On August 16, 1981, 21,041 fans attended the "Rockin' the Capital" concert, according to Billboard Magazine. The Doobie Brothers headlined the concert and were joined by Santana, Rick Springfield, Gamma and Ranger.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NFL Europe</span> Defunct professional American football league

NFL Europe League was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally founded in 1989 as the World League of American Football, the league was envisioned as a transatlantic league encompassing teams from both North America and Europe. Initially, the WLAF consisted of seven teams in North America and three in Europe. It began play in 1991 and lasted for two seasons before suspending operations; while the league had been "wildly popular" in Europe, it failed to achieve success in North America. After a two-year hiatus, it returned as a six-team European league, with teams based in England, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Spain. NFL Europa was dissolved in 2007 due to its continued unprofitability and the NFL's decision to shift its focus towards hosting regular-season games in Europe; at the time of its closure, the league consisted of five German teams and one team based in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacramento Gold Miners</span> Defunct Canadian Football League franchise

The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners inherited a home stadium, front office staff and much of the roster of the Sacramento Surge from the defunct World League of American Football. The team played its home games at Hornet Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camping World Stadium</span> Stadium in Florida, U.S.

Camping World Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Kia Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and Inter&Co Stadium. It opened in 1936 as Orlando Stadium and has also been known as the Tangerine Bowl and Florida Citrus Bowl. The City of Orlando owns and operates the stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Stadium</span> Former multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California

San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium; it was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium for sportswriter Jack Murphy from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium's naming rights were owned by Qualcomm; it was known as Qualcomm Stadium. The naming rights expired on June 14, 2017, and were purchased by San Diego County Credit Union, renaming the stadium to SDCCU Stadium on September 19, 2017; those naming rights expired in December 2020. Demolition of San Diego Stadium began in December 2020; its last freestanding section was felled on March 22, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Machine</span> World League of American Football team

The Montreal Machine were the sole Canadian team in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a springtime developmental professional league set up by the National Football League (NFL) that played in 1991 and 1992. There were also three European teams and six United States–based teams. Like all WLAF teams, the Machine played American rules football, 11 players per side on a 100-yard-long/53+1⁄3-yard-wide field, rather than Canadian rules football of 12 players per side on a 110-yard-long/65-yard-wide field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Fire</span> World League of American Football team

The Birmingham Fire were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They were a member of the North American West division of the World League of American Football (WLAF) and played their home games at Legion Field. The club was a charter member of the WLAF, and was under the ownership of Gavin Maloof. Led by head coach Chan Gailey, the Fire saw moderate success as they compiled an overall record of twelve wins, nine losses and one tie (12–9–1) and made the playoffs in both seasons they competed. The franchise folded in September 1992 when the NFL placed the league on an indefinite hiatus.

The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus. It was owned by Managing General Partner Fred Anderson and the General Manager was Michael F. Keller. In charge of Special Projects was Jack Youngblood, who also partnered with Joe Starkey and Ronnie Lott on Surge radio broadcasts on Sacramento radio station KRAK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hornet Stadium (Sacramento)</span> Stadium in California

Fred Anderson Field at Hornet Stadium is a 21,195-seat college football and track stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento. it is the home field of the Sacramento State Hornets of the Big Sky Conference. The field is named after local businessman and owner of the Sacramento Surge, Fred Anderson.

The Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992. The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Florida Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992. The team's most visible point was their colors – the League wanted to develop new colors which hadn't been used for teams before, hence the vermilion and green that the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks wore, and the fluorescent green jerseys that the Thunder sported.

World Bowl '92 was the second championship game of the World League of American Football (WLAF), played on Saturday, June 6, 1992 at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 43,789 witnessed the matchup between the Sacramento Surge and the Orlando Thunder.

Patrick Dante Ross Cunningham is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), World League of American Football (WLAF), and Canadian Football League (CFL).

Orlando, Florida has a history of major events in sports. It has had a considerable measure of success in minor league sports as well, with teams winning several minor league championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Davis Aggies football</span> American college football team

The UC Davis Aggies football team represents the University of California, Davis in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The football program's first season took place in 1915, and has fielded a team each year since with the exception of 1918 during World War I and from 1943 to 1945 during World War II, when the campus, then known as the University Farm, was shut down. The team was known as the Cal Aggies or California Aggies from 1922 to 1958 when UC Davis was called the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture.

Anthony Bernard Jones is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Houston Oilers, Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals; one season in the Canadian Football League with the Sacramento Gold Miners and two season in the World League of American Football with the Frankfurt Galaxy and the Amsterdam Admirals. In college he was All-Conference and the 1988 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl Offensive MVP.

The Sacramento State Hornets football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the California State University, Sacramento located in Sacramento, California. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Big Sky Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1954. The team plays its home games at the 21,195-seat Hornet Stadium.

The 1991 London Monarchs season was the inaugural season for the franchise in the newly created World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Larry Kennan and played its home games at Wembley Stadium in London, England. They finished the regular season in first place of the European Division with a league-best record of nine wins and one loss, which came in the last regular season game against the Barcelona Dragons. The unexpected loss eliminated the third European team, Frankfurt Galaxy, from the play-offs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Keller</span> American football player and executive (born 1949)

Michael F. Keller is an American former professional football executive and former player. He played as a linebacker for the for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarrod Johnson</span> American football player (born 1969)

Jarrod Godette Johnson, is a former professional American football player who played in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers, as well as for the Sacramento Surge of the World League of American Football, with whom he won the World Bowl in 1992.

The 1992 Birmingham Fire season was the second and final season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Chan Gailey in his second year, and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of seven wins, three losses and one tie (7–3–1) and with a loss against the Orlando Thunder in the WLAF semifinals as a wild card.

Sports in Birmingham, Alabama, include several minor league professional teams and college sports. The City of Birmingham and the Birmingham metro area have no major professional sport franchises. The Birmingham area is home to the Birmingham Barons, the AA minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, which plays at Regions Field in the Southside adjacent to Railroad Park. The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Samford University in Homewood have popular collegiate sports teams, including college basketball and football. The Hoover Metropolitan Stadium is home to the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, which drew more than 108,000 spectators in 2006 and continues to draw large crowds today. The city also hosts a USL team: the Birmingham Legion FC. The Birmingham area also hosts the Alabama Youth Sports Alliance basketball league and Tragic City Rollers women's roller derby team.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2013-01-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "Colleges To Compete in Sacramento Stadium". The Sutter Independent. Yuba City, California. November 8, 1928. p. 5. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  3. ↑ "College Stadium Is Named For Charles C. Hughes". The Sacramento Bee . Sacramento, California. October 19, 1928. p. 28. Retrieved April 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  4. ↑ "Sacramento City Unified School District". Archived from the original on September 18, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Sacramento Surge History". www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  6. ↑ "Sacramento Surge Hopes To Electrify". Lodi News-Sentinel. December 5, 1990.
  7. ↑ "Surge Begins WLAF Action". Lodi News-Sentinel. March 14, 1992.
  8. ↑ "Surge Begins WLAF Action". Lodi News-Sentinel. March 14, 1992.
  9. ↑ "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 21, 1980. p. B2.
  10. ↑ "Boise gets title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 22, 1980. p. 28.
  11. ↑ Crossley, Drew (13 November 2016). "1968–1969 Sacramento Capitols". www.funwhileitlasted.net. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  12. ↑ Mountain Lions begin season with morning practice [ permanent dead link ]. KTXL. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Trio crack world mark in century". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 21, 1968. p. 2B.
  14. ↑ "Hines, Greene, Smith set 100 meter record of 9.9". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. June 21, 1968. p. 9.
  15. ↑ Underwood, John (July 1, 1968). "Some old boys make a stand". Sports Illustrated. p. 32.
  16. ↑ "Olympics - The Night of Speed - Signed print - An Affordable Gift or Investment XXX - Out of Stock - XXX". cricketcollectables.net.
  17. ↑ "Track & Field News • View topic - 100 m of 1968 AAU championship". Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  18. ↑ "'Night of Speed' and other tales from Sacramento's rich track history". Sacramento Sports Commission. April 15, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  19. ↑ "United States Olympic Committee - Sacramento awarded 2011 World Masters Athletics Championships". Archived from the original on 2008-01-07. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  20. ↑ "California Interscholastic Federation" (PDF). www.cifstate.org.
  21. ↑ "Mexico's Cuevas KO's Ranzany in 2nd round". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. September 11, 1978. p. 13.
  22. ↑ "Republic FC Set To Face Arizona: Sellout crowd set for final game at Hughes Stadium". USLSoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "Sacramento Pop Festival". 188 Classic Rock Over-Blog. October 15, 1967. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
Preceded by Host of the NCAA Div. I
football championship
1980		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.