Location | St. Louis, Missouri |
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Public transit | MetroBus Blue At University City-Big Bend |
Owner | Washington University in St. Louis |
Operator | Washington University in St. Louis |
Capacity | 3,300 19,000 (previous) |
Surface | IronTurf |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1902 |
Opened | 1904 |
Architect | Cope and Stewardson |
Tenants | |
Washington University Bears (NCAA) (1905–present) St. Louis Stars (NASL) (1975–77) | |
Website | |
bearsports |
Francis Olympic Field is a stadium at Washington University in St. Louis that was used as the main venue for the 1904 Summer Olympics. It is currently used by the university's track and field, cross country, football, and soccer teams. It is located in St. Louis County, Missouri on the far western edge of the university's Danforth Campus. Built in time for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 St. Louis World's Fair), the stadium once had a 19,000-person seating capacity, but stadium renovations in 1984 reduced the capacity to 3,300 people. It is one of the oldest sports venues west of the Mississippi River that is still in use. Francis Olympic Field now uses artificial turf that can be configured for both soccer and football.
Known at its opening as World's Fair Stadium and then as Washington University Stadium or simply "the Stadium", the venue was renamed as Francis Field in October 1907 for David R. Francis, a former Missouri governor and president of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. [1] The word "Olympic" was added in 2019 to reflect its role in the 1904 Summer Olympics. [2] [3]
The 1904 Summer Olympics (the first to be held in the Western Hemisphere) were given to St. Louis, Missouri as a result of the efforts of David Rowland Francis, for whom the stadium and accompanying gymnasium are named. Built in 1902, Francis Olympic Field's permanent stands represent one of the first applications of reinforced concrete technology. [4] Both the stadium and its gymnasium are U.S. National Historic Landmarks. During the 1904 Games, the stadium hosted the archery, athletics, cycling, football, gymnastics, lacrosse, roque, tug of war, weightlifting, and wrestling events. The tennis events took place at some dirt courts located outside the stadium. [5]
Following the 1904 Olympics, the stadium became the permanent home of the Washington University Bears, who were formerly known as the Pikers. From the 1920s through the 1950s, the Bears played before crowds of as many as 19,000 people, competing against universities such as Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Boston College, with half of the spectators in temporary wooden stands. The Bears now play as an NCAA Division III team.
In the summer of 2004, Francis Olympic Field had its natural grass replaced with artificial FieldTurf. [6]
Francis Olympic Field is an annual host for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event. [7]
The adjacent Francis Gymnasium has hosted four U.S. presidential debates in 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2016 and the vice-presidential debate in 2008. [8]
During the 1984 and 1996 Olympic Torch relays, the Olympic Flame passed by Francis Olympic Field on its way to the site of the Olympic Games. [9]
Francis Olympic Field hosted the 1986 AAU/USA National Junior Olympic Games, the first and second National Senior Olympic Games, and the 1985 NCAA Division III National Men's Soccer Championship.
In July 1994, Francis Olympic Field served as a centerpiece for the U.S. Olympic Festival as 3,000 athletes were housed on the campus for the country's top amateur sporting events.
The stadium was used by the St. Louis Stars soccer team from 1969 to 1970 and from 1975 to 1977, before their 1978 move to Anaheim, California, where they became the California Surf.
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington, the first president of the United States.
The 1932 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held during the worldwide Great Depression, with some nations not traveling to Los Angeles as a result; 37 countries competed, compared to the 46 at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, and even then-U.S. President Herbert Hoover did not attend the Games. The organizing committee did not report the financial details of the Games, although contemporary newspapers stated that the Games had made a profit of US$1 million.
The 1904 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. This was the first time that the Olympic Games were held outside Europe.
Men's association football (soccer) was contested at the 1904 Summer Olympics. A total of three club teams competed, two representing the United States, both from host city St. Louis, and one representing Canada, from Galt, Ontario. Originally, two other Canadian teams had also been entered in the competition, Berlin Rangers and the University of Toronto, but both withdrew before the draw.
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was first time the new Paralympic logo featured in the Summer Paralympics since its rebranding after the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
David Rowland Francis was an American politician and diplomat. He served in various positions including Mayor of St. Louis, the 27th Governor of Missouri, and United States Secretary of the Interior. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Russia between 1916 and 1917, during the Russian Revolution of 1917. He was a Wilsonian Democrat.
Drake Stadium is a stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Best known as the home of the Drake Relays, it also serves as the home field of the university's football team. It opened in 1925.
Christian Brothers College High School is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis and is owned and operated by the De La Salle Christian Brothers Midwest District and is the second oldest Lasallian school in the United States.
The United States hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. American athletes won a total of 231 medals, setting a record for the most medals won at a single Olympics that still stands today.
Sports in Chicago include many professional sports teams. Chicago is one of eleven U.S. cities to have teams from the five major American professional team sports. Chicago has been named as the "Best Sports City" by Sporting News three times: 1993, 2006, and 2010.
Bearcat Stadium is the football stadium of the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats in Maryville, Missouri and is the oldest continuous site for any NCAA Division II school.
Washington University's origins were in seventeen St. Louis business, political, and religious leaders concerned by the lack of institutions of higher learning in the Midwest. The effort to found the university was spearheaded by Missouri State Senator Wayman Crow, and Unitarian minister William Greenleaf Eliot, grandfather of the Nobel Prize laureate poet T. S. Eliot. Its first chancellor was Joseph Gibson Hoyt. Crow secured the university charter from the Missouri State Legislature in 1853 and handled further political maneuvering. While Eliot was in charge of raising funds for the university, he accepted the position as President of the Board of Trustees. Early on Eliot was able to solicit some support from the local business community, including John O'Fallon, one of the wealthiest people in St. Louis, even briefly considering naming the university the O'Fallon Institute. However, Eliot failed in securing a permanent endowment. In fact Wash U is unique among other American universities, in not having any prior financial endowment to begin with; the school had no religious backing, wealthy patron, or government support. Therefore, financial problems plagued the university for several decades after its founding.
The Danforth Campus is the main campus at Washington University in St. Louis. Formerly known as the Hilltop Campus, it was officially dedicated as the Danforth Campus on September 17, 2006, in honor of William H. Danforth, the 13th chancellor of the university, the Danforth family and the Danforth Foundation. Distinguished by its collegiate gothic architecture, the 169-acre (0.68 km2) campus lies at the western boundary of Forest Park, partially in the City of St. Louis. Most of the campus is in a small enclave of unincorporated St. Louis County, while all the campus area south of Forsyth Boulevard is in suburban Clayton. Immediately to the north across Forest Park Parkway is University City.
Francis Gymnasium is a building at Washington University in St. Louis, currently used by the university's athletics department. Built in 1903, it is located in St. Louis County, Missouri, on the far western edge of the university's Danforth Campus. It is part of the Washington University Hilltop Campus Historic District.
The Washington University Bears are the athletic teams of Washington University in St. Louis, located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Washington University is currently a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA Division III level. The Bears compete in the University Athletic Association (UAA).
American football was featured in the Summer Olympic Games demonstration programme in 1904 and 1932. College football was played at the 1904 Olympics, which was played at Francis Field, but was, in reality, college teams playing each other as part of their regular seasons. The sport was eventually played officially as a demonstration sport only once, in 1932. Though American football has not been played in the Olympics since then, various American football players have participated in the Olympics. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) oversees the IFAF World Championship, which is an international tournament, which itself is held every four years.
A total of twenty-nine sports venues were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Missouri hosts a number of sports teams. Missouri is home to six major league professional sports teams — three in the St. Louis metropolitan area, and three in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The 1904 Saint Louis Blue and White football team was an American football team that represented Saint Louis University as an independent during the 1904 college football season. In their sixth and final season under head coach Martin Delaney, the Blue and White compiled an 10–0 record and were not scored upon all season. The team played nine of its ten games in its home city of St Louis, at three different venues: one game at Handlan's Park, four at Sportsman's Park, and four at the newly-opened World's Fair Stadium—now known as Francis Olympic Field—on the grounds of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair. The stadium also hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics.
The 1904 Washington University football team represented Washington University in St. Louis as an independent during the 1904 college football season. Led by L. W. Boynton in his second and final season as head coach, the team compiled a record of 4–7 and was outscored by its opponents 162 to 85. Washington University played all 11 of its games at home in St. Louis, at the newly-opened World's Fair Stadium—now known as Francis Olympic Field—on the grounds of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair. The stadium also hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics.
Events and tenants | ||
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Preceded by | Host of the College Cup 1962 1965 1967 | Succeeded by |