Gilmore Stadium

Last updated

Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium before being demolished 1951.jpg
Gene Doyle, the manager of Gilmore Stadium, sits alone in the grandstands in 1951.
Gilmore Stadium
U.S. - Los Angeles Metropolitan Area location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Gilmore Stadium
Location within the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Relief map of California.png
Red pog.svg
Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium (California)
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium (the United States)
AddressLos Angeles, California
Coordinates 34°04′28″N118°21′36″W / 34.07444°N 118.36000°W / 34.07444; -118.36000
Capacity 18,000
Construction
Opened1934 (1934)
Demolished1952
Tenants
Hollywood Stars (PCL) 1939
Los Angeles Bulldogs (PCPFL) 1940–1947
Los Angeles Mustangs (PCPFL) 1943–1944
Loyola Marymount Lions football
Pepperdine Waves football

Gilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City. [1] The stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field. The stadium was located west of Curson Avenue, surrounded by Beverly Boulevard, Fairfax Avenue and Third Street. The stadium was used in a Three Stooges 1934 short Three Little Pigskins .

Contents

The stadium was built by Earl Gilmore, son of Arthur F. Gilmore and president of A. F. Gilmore Oil, a California-based petroleum company which was developed after Arthur struck oil on the family property. [2] The area was rich in petroleum, which was the source of the "tar" in the nearby La Brea Tar Pits.

Uses

Opening

The first event staged at the Stadium was a series of shows featuring prominent Hollywood actors of the day, led by Screen Actors Guild president Eddie Cantor, on the weekend of May 18-19-20, 1934. This "Film Stars Frolic" sought to raise money for less fortunate Hollywood actors such as extras. [3] [ full citation needed ] [4]

Football venue

The Stadium was used for American football games at both the professional and collegiate level.

It was the home of the Los Angeles Bulldogs, the first professional football team in Los Angeles. [5] The Bulldogs competed as an independent team before joining the second American Football League in 1937 and winning its championship with a perfect 8–0–0 record, the first professional football team to win its championship with an unblemished record. [6] After the collapse of the league, the Bulldogs returned to being an independent team before joining the American Professional Football Association in 1939. [6] The Bulldogs then became charter members of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in 1940 [7] and played in Gilmore Stadium until 1948, when the team moved to Long Beach, California, for its (and the league's) final season.

The Stadium was also home to the Los Angeles Mustangs of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League.

Several teams in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League labeled as "Hollywood" also used the Stadium as their home during the early 1940s: The Stars, the Bears and the Wolves.

The Stadium was home to the collegiate Loyola Marymount Lions football team and Pepperdine Waves football team.

Gilmore Stadium was the site of two 1940 National Football League (NFL) Pro Bowls.

1940 NFL All-Star Game (1939 season)

On January 14, 1940, the 1939 NFL champion Green Bay Packers met an All-Star team consisting of players from the nine other NFL clubs in the second NFL all-star game. The Packers won 16–7. [8]

1940 NFL All-Star Game (1940 season)

Extra seating was added to accommodate 21,000 fans for the all-star game for the 1940 NFL season. The crowd set a record as the largest to view a Los Angeles pro game. [9] The event was held on December 29, 1940. The game pitted the 1940 NFL Champion Chicago Bears against an All-Star team from the other NFL clubs in the third NFL All-Star game. The Bears won 28–14. [9]

Baseball venue

The Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League played here early in the 1939 season, while awaiting completion of Gilmore Field's construction. The diamond was situated in the southwest "corner" of the stadium, with right field so close that baseballs hit over the fence in that area were ground-rule doubles.

Midget car venue

While the first modern-day midget car racing program took place at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California in June 1933, [10] and Loyola Stadium became the starting point in Southern California in August 1933, Gilmore Stadium is often billed as the first track purposely built for the new style of racing. The track hosted midget car racing from the track's debut in May 1934 until 1950. [5] [11] The 1939 Turkey Night Grand Prix was held at the track. [12]

Rodger Ward drove Vic Edelbrock's midget car in a famous August 10, 1950 event at Gilmore Stadium. Ward shocked the racing world by breaking Offenhauser engine's winning streak by sweeping the events at Gilmore Stadium that night. [13]

Notable drivers that raced at the track include Bill Betteridge, Fred Friday, Walt Faulkner, Perry Grimm, Sam Hanks, Curly Mills, Danny Oakes, Roy Russing, Bob Swanson, Bill Vukovich, Rodger Ward, and Karl Young. [11] Drivers that were killed at the track include Ed Haddad, Swede Lindskog, Speedy Lockwood, Frankie Lyons, and Chet Mortemore. [11]

In the sixteen years of the stadium's existence, over 5 million fans attended races at the track. [11] The stadium drew crowds over 18,000 people each race. [11] Attendance dropped to below 9,000 at normal weekly races by the late 1940s. The attendance drop and increased demand for property in West Hollywood led to the track's sale in 1950. [11] It was torn down in 1951. Some of its grandstand was installed at Saugus Speedway. [14]

Other uses

Stadium scoreboard and Hollywood Hills in Three Little Pigskins. ThreeLittlePigskins-GilmoreStadium.JPG
Stadium scoreboard and Hollywood Hills in Three Little Pigskins.

It also hosted donkey baseball, dog shows, rodeos, and at least one cricket match. [5] Esther Williams performed in a diving and water ballet performance. A temporary above ground pool was constructed for the event. [5] Several professional boxing title matches were held in the stadium. [5] U.S. President Harry S. Truman delivered his "stiff upper lip" speech in the stadium.

Gilmore Stadium was featured in a 1934 Three Stooges short featuring a football game, and fittingly titled Three Little Pigskins . [15] The scoreboard, with the name of the stadium, appears prominently in several shots, as does a billboard advertising Gilmore products. A sign for the nearby Fairfax Theater, across Beverly Boulevard at the north (open) end of the stadium, is also visible in the background a couple of times.

On May 19, 1947, Gilmore Stadium was packed with people waiting to hear a speech by Progressive Party candidate for President Henry A. Wallace. Wallace served as vice president under FDR and was also the Secretary of Agriculture (his specialty) and Secretary of Commerce. Also speaking at the event was actress Katharine Hepburn, whose speech stole the show.

It was there on September 23, 1948, that Ronald Reagan introduced President Harry S. Truman at a campaign rally, the first time that Reagan personally met a U.S President.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balboa Stadium</span> Multi-sport stadium in San Diego, California

Balboa Stadium is an outdoor stadium in San Diego, California, adjacent to San Diego High School and Balboa Park. Owned by the City of San Diego, it is leased to San Diego Unified School District. The stadium is used for local athletics and high school events. It has been the home of the San Diego High School Cavers athletic teams since it opened in 1915.

Gilmore Field was a minor league baseball park in Los Angeles, California, that served as home to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League from 1939–1957 when they, along with their intra-city rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, were displaced by the transplanted Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edelbrock</span> American automotive aftermarket company

Edelbrock, LLC is an American manufacturer of specialty automotive and motorcycle parts. The company is headquartered in the Memphis area, with a Southern California R&D Tech Center located in Cerritos, CA. The Edelbrock Sand Cast and Permanent Mold Manufacturing foundries are located in San Jacinto, CA. Edelbrock has two facilities in North Carolina: the Edelbrock Carburetor Division in Sanford, and the Edelbrock Race Center in Mooresville.

Otis Victor Edelbrock, Sr. was an American automotive aftermarket performance parts engineer, racer and is considered one of the founders of the American hot rod movement Victor, known as "Vic", established Edelbrock Corporation in Beverly Hills in 1938 and is the father to Otis Victor Edelbrock, Jr., who was from 1962 to 2010 president and was CEO of the Edelbrock Corporation until 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernie Smith (tackle)</span> American football player (1909–1985)

Ernest Frederick Smith was an American professional football player for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning All-American honors. Smith was a two-time All-Pro with the Packers. He was inducted into he College Football Hall of Fame.

Throughout the years, a number of teams in the National Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterans Memorial Stadium (Long Beach)</span> Stadium in Long Beach, California

Veterans Memorial Stadium is an 11,600-seat stadium located south of the Liberal Arts Campus of Long Beach City College in Long Beach, California. It is the home stadium to a number of local area high school football teams, as well as Long Beach City College's football team. It was also home to Long Beach State's football team until the program disbanded in 1991.

<i>Three Little Pigskins</i> 1934 short film by Ray McCarey

Three Little Pigskins is a 1934 short subject directed by Raymond McCarey and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the fourth entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

The American Football League (AFL) was a professional American football league that operated in 1936 and 1937. The AFL operated in direct competition with the more established National Football League (NFL) throughout its existence. While the American media generally ignored its operation, this second AFL was the first "home" of the Cleveland Rams, which joined the National Football League after one year in the AFL.

The Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL), also known as the Pacific Coast Football League (PCFL) and Pacific Coast League (PCL) was a professional American football minor league based in California. It operated from 1940 through 1948. One of the few minor American professional sports leagues that competed in the years of World War II, the PCPFL was regarded as a minor league of the highest level, particularly from 1940 to 1945, at a time in which the National Football League (NFL) did not extend further west than Chicago and Green Bay. It was also the first professional football league to have a team based in Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Bulldogs</span> Professional American football team from 1936 to 1948

The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948. Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937, the Bulldogs were the first team on the major league level to play its home games on the American West Coast. They were considered "the best football team in existence outside the NFL".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry Grimm</span> American racing driver

Perry Grimm was an American racecar driver who raced midget cars in California and Australia.

The first National Football League (NFL) was the first attempt at forming a national professional American football league in 1902. This league has no ties with the modern National Football League. In fact the league was only composed of teams from Pennsylvania, which meant it was actually regional, despite having locations in the two largest cities in Pennsylvania. Two of the teams were based in Philadelphia, while the third was based in Pittsburgh. This NFL was a curious mixture of football players and baseball players who adapted to playing football. Future Baseball Hall of Famer Rube Waddell was with the Philadelphia Athletics, and pitcher Christy Mathewson a fullback for Pittsburgh. Two of the three teams were owned by the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Athletics, with the third team suspected of being owned by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The league folded after the 1902 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Monarchs</span>

The Los Angeles Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team, active from 1944–1950, in the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL). The Monarchs are the first professional ice hockey team to win a league championship for the city of Los Angeles. They played in the southern division of the PCHL, alongside teams from the neighboring cities such as the Pasadena Panthers, the Hollywood Wolves, and the San Diego Skyhawks. The southern division also included the San Francisco Shamrocks, Oakland Oaks and, in 1947, the Fresno Falcons.

William Hilton Sargent was an American college, high school, and professional football coach. He served as the head coach at Loyola Marymount University from 1947 to 1948. Sargent also coached the Los Angeles Bulldogs and Hollywood Rangers, professional teams that played in California-based leagues. He led those clubs to capture the Pacific Coast Professional Football League and the American Football League championships, respectively.

The 1939 National Football League All-star Game was the professional football league's first-ever all-star game, sponsored by the Los Angeles Times as a charity game to benefit the Salvation Army. It pitted the New York Giants, the league's champion for the 1938 season, against a team of all-stars. The game was played on Sunday, January 15, 1939, at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California in front of 15,000 fans; although 30,000 spectators were expected, bad weather led to the poor attendance. The Giants defeated the all-stars by a score of 13–10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1940 NFL All-Star Game (January)</span> NFL All-Star Game

The 1940 National Football League (NFL) All-Star Game was an exhibition contest that the NFL organized after the 1939 season. The game was played between the Green Bay Packers, the league's champion that season, and a team of All-Stars made up of players from the remaining NFL teams. The players on the All-Star team were selected by a national poll of fans. The game, which was delayed a week due to rain, was played on Sunday, January 14, 1940, at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, California, in front of approximately 18,000 fans. The Packers defeated the All-Stars by a score of 16–7 on three field goals and a 92-yard touchdown pass from Cecil Isbell to Don Hutson. The all-star game format was continued for another three seasons before ending due to World War II. A new all-star format, branded as the Pro Bowl, began after the 1950 NFL season, with these all-star games retroactively considered the first Pro Bowls.

The 1940 National Football League All-star Game (December) was the professional football league's third all-star game. The game pitted the Chicago Bears, the league's champion for the 1940 season, against a team of all-stars. The game was played on Sunday, December 29, 1940, at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, California before an overflow crowd of 21,000, with members of the Stanford and Nebraska football teams also in attendance; the two were scheduled to play in the Rose Bowl, with Nebraska using the All-Star Game to research the Bears' T formation, which was being used by Stanford head coach and former Bears assistant Clark Shaughnessy. The Bears defeated the All-Stars by a score of 28–14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilmore Oil Company</span> Oil company

The Gilmore Oil Company was an independent oil company in California which was founded by Arthur Fremont Gilmore after he struck oil on his dairy farm in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles around 1903. His son, Earl Bell Gilmore, took over the family business and expanded its distribution network which, at its peak, operated over three thousand gas stations on the West Coast. He increased advertising and sponsorships to promote the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benny Lefebvre</span> American athlete and sports coach (1912–1994)

Benny M. Lefebvre was an American athlete and sports coach. After graduating from Manual Arts High School, Lefebvre had a long career in professional football that spanned from 1934 to 1949. He also served as head baseball coach at Pepperdine University from 1940 to 1941, and in 1962. He later coached several high school baseball and football teams until his retirement in 1985. His four brothers each played football, and his three sons each signed professional baseball contracts.

References

  1. Epting, Chris (2010). "Movie Stars and Hollywood Stars". Los Angeles's Historical Ballparks. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 32. ISBN   978-0-7385-8032-6 via Google Books.
  2. "Gilmore Field". Project Ballpark. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  3. Los Angeles Daily News, May 19, 1934, p.12
  4. "Film Star Frolic Seen by 10,000: Ann Harding and Cantor Shine in Screen Guild Show First Performance". Los Angeles Times . May 19, 1934. pp. A1, A3. ProQuest   163180627.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Our History". Farmers Market L.A. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, and John Thorn, Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (HarperCollins 1999) ISBN   0-06-039232-0
  7. "Kenosha Cardinals: Life on the Fringe (1983)". Arena Football - tribe.net. Archived from the original on March 1, 2006. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  8. "January 1940 NFL Pro Bowl game". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2006.
  9. 1 2 "December 1940 NFL Pro Bowl game". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2006.
  10. "Southern California Midget Racing and Gilmore Stadium". The Old Motor. October 9, 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Darr, Alan (September 1977). "The Gilmore Oil Company". Old Car Illustrated. Vol. 3, no. 2. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2007 via Corinth Information Database.
  12. "Mel Hansen Biography". National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  13. "Vic Edelbrock". National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  14. Wilkings, Marshall; Pherigo, Lyn (1982). A Tip of the Hat to Saugus Speedway Champions. Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
  15. Pauley, Jim (2003). "Three Stooges Locations Then and Now: THREE LITTLE PIGSKINS Gilmore Stadium". The Three Stooges Journal. 108: 6–7.
Preceded by Home of the
NFL All-Star Game

1939 and 1940
Succeeded by