![]() A poster promoting a Springfield Bicycle Club event in September 1883 when the stadium was known as Hampden Park | |
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Location | Springfield, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 42°06′37″N72°36′37″W / 42.1102°N 72.6103°W |
Opened | 1853 |
Closed | 1966 |
Tenants | |
Springfield Bicycle Club Springfield Giants Springfield Acorns |
Pynchon Park, also known as Hampden Park and League Park, was a sports venue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1853 by the Hampden Agricultural Society and was destroyed by fire in 1966. [1]
The venue hosted various events, including horse racing, bicycle racing, and college football (including several editions of the Harvard–Yale football rivalry). It also served as home grounds for the minor league baseball team primarily known as the Springfield Ponies.
In 1853 the Hampden Agricultural Society paid $15,405 for the land on the site with the intention of creating a venue for the National Trotting Organization to hold its meetings. [2] However the facilities were then used for a broader range of recreational activities. With the advent of the American Civil War, Hampden Park was used as a muster point for the 10th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. [2] The 46th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment – which was primarily recruited in Hampden County
In 1885 and 1896, cycling's hour record was unofficially broken multiple times at Hampden Park. [3]
Renamed in 1940 for early settler William Pynchon, but the park came down in a blaze on the sixties.[ citation needed ]
Date | Winning team | Result | Losing team | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
November 24, 1881 | Amherst | 0–0 | Dartmouth | [4] |
October 30, 1889 | Wesleyan | 20–17 | Williams | |
November 9, 1889 | Harvard | 67–2 | Wesleyan | [5] |
November 16, 1889 | Yale | 52–0 | Wesleyan | [6] [7] |
November 22, 1889 | Lehigh | 11–11 | Wesleyan | [8] |
November 23, 1889 | Dartmouth | 20–9 | Williams | [9] |
November 23, 1889 | Yale | 6–0 | Harvard | [10] [11] |
November 12, 1890 | Harvard | 64–0 | Amherst | [12] [13] |
November 21, 1890 | Wesleyan | 34–6 | Brown | [14] |
November 22, 1890 | Harvard | 12–6 | Yale | [15] [16] [17] [18] |
November 21, 1891 | Yale | 10–0 | Harvard | [19] |
October 26, 1892 | Yale | 50–0 | Springfield YMCA | [20] |
November 19, 1892 | Yale | 6–0 | Harvard | [21] |
November 25, 1893 | Yale | 6–0 | Harvard | |
October 17, 1894 | Yale | 34–0 | Dartmouth | [22] [23] |
November 24, 1894 | Brown | 20-4 | Dartmouth | [24] [25] |
November 24, 1894 | Yale | 12–4 | Harvard | |
November 25, 1905 | Dartmouth | 24–6 | Brown | [26] |
October 27, 1906 | Dartmouth | 0–0 | Williams | |
November 24, 1906 | Brown | 23–0 | Dartmouth | |
Hampden Park provided a neutral site in between Cambridge and New Haven suitable for the annual Harvard-Yale game between 1889 and 1894. [27] However the match played on 1894 led to such violence and injury that the match was suspended for two years. It subsequently became known as the Hampden Park Blood Bath, also known as the Springfield Massacre. [28]
The 1890 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University in the 1890 college football season. The team finished with an 11–0 record, shut out nine of eleven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 555 to 12.
The 1892 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1892 college football season. In its fifth and final season under head coach Walter Camp, the team finished with a 13–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 429 to 0. Mike Murphy was the team's trainer. The team is regarded as the 1892 national champion, having been selected retrospectively as such by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, and Parke H. Davis. Yale's 1892 season was part of a 37-game winning streak that began with the final game of the 1890 season and stopped at the end of the 1893 season.
The 1894 Yale Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Yale University as an independent during the 1894 college football season. The team finished with a 16–0 record, shut out 13 of 16 opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 485 to 13. William Rhodes was the head coach, and Frank Hinkey was the team captain.
The 1889 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1889 college football season. The Crimson finished with a 9–2 record. The team won its first ten games by a combined score of 404–6, but lost its last two games, against Princeton and Yale, giving up 41 points against Princeton.
The 1891 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1891 college football season. The Crimson finished the season with a 13–1 record. The team won its first 13 games by a combined score of 588–16, but lost its final game against Yale, 10–0.
The 1890 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1890 college football season. In its third year under head coach Walter Camp, the team compiled a 13–1 record, recorded 12 shutouts, and outscored all opponents by a total of 486 to 18. Its only loss was to rival Harvard by a 12–6 score.
The 1889 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1889 college football season. In their second season under head coach Walter Camp, Yale compiled a 15–1 record, held opponents scoreless in 12 games, and outscored all opponents by a total of 664 to 31. Its only loss was in the final game of the season against rival Princeton by a 10–0 score.
The 1895 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as a member of the Triangular Football League during the 1895 college football season. Head coach William Wurtenburg scheduled a 13-game season for 1895, a still-standing record at Dartmouth for most games played in a single year. The team compiled an overall record of 7–5–1 with a mark of 2–0 in TFL play, winning the league title. The season began with a 50–0 shutout of Phillips Exeter Academy, which was followed by a close game with Harvard. The match was hard-fought; Harvard won by a slim 4–0 margin, the closest that a Dartmouth team had gotten to beating Harvard. The squad then played three smaller colleges, winning two of the games and tying the other. The team then went back-and-forth between losing and winning, falling twice to Yale and once to West Point, but defeating MIT and Boston University. Conference opponents Williams and Amherst were defeated by a combined score of 30–5, and the team was awarded its third straight Triangular Football League championship. The season ended on a negative note, however, with a close 10–4 loss to Brown.
The 1894 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as a member of the Triangular Football League (TFL) the 1894 college football season. Led by second-year head coach Wallace Moyle, Dartmouth compiled an overall record of 5–4 with a mark of 2–0 in TFL play, winning the league title.
The 1889 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association (EIFA) during the 1889 college football season. Dartmouth compiled an overall record of 7–1 with a mark of 4–0 in EIFA play, winning the league title.
The 1899 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as an independent during the 1899 college football season. This season was the least successful under head coach William Wurtenburg. Of the nine games played during the year, only two were won. The team finished with the worst win percentage (.286) since the 1883 squad went winless, albeit against one team. The season began with easy defeats of Phillips Exeter Academy and Bowdoine. That luck quickly changed and the team dropped seven straight games. After being shut out by Yale, they lost in a close match to Williams. Following another close loss, Army, Dartmouth was defeated by Wesleyan. The following game was the low point of the season, a 21–0 loss to Harvard. It was the worst defeat by the Crimson in nearly a decade. The year concluded with lopsided defeats by Columbia and Brown.
The 1894 Amherst football team represented Amherst College as a member of the Triangular Football League during the 1894 college football season. Amherst compiled an overall record of 7–5–1 with a mark of 0–2 in TFL play, finished last out of the three teams in the league. One of the sport's best known historians, Parke H. Davis, was coach of the team.
The 1890 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association (EIFA) during the 1890 college football season. Dartmouth compiled an overall record of 4–4 with a mark of 1–2 in EIFA play. Charles O. Gill, capatain of the 1889 Yale Bulldogs football team spent two weeks coaching the team in September 1890. Frank Lakeman was the team's captain.
The 1894 Brown Bears football team represented Brown University as an independent in the 1894 college football season. Led by William G. Norton in his first and only season as head coach, Brown compiled a record of 10–5.
The 1920 Brown Bears football team represented Brown University as an independent during the 1920 college football season. Led by 19th-year head coach Edward N. Robinson, Brown compiled a record of 6–3.
The 1888 Amherst football team represented the Amherst University as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association (EIFA) during the 1888 college football season. Amherst compiled an overall record of 2–8–1 with a mark of 0–3 in EIFA play.
The 1890 Amherst football team was an American football team that represented the Amherst College as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association (EIFA) during the 1890 college football season. The team compiled an overall record of 7–6–1 with a mark of 3–1 in EIFA play. Amherst was outscored by a total of 185 to 184 on the season. Two of Amherst's losses were to undefeated national champion Harvard. Excluding the two one-sided losses to Harvard, Amherst outscored its opponents, 178 to 47. The team played its home games at Blake Field in Amherst, Massachusetts.
The 1891 Springfield YMCA football team, also known as the Christian Workers and the Staggs, was an American football team that represented the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School—now known as Springfield College–as an independent during the 1891 college football season. Led by Amos Alonzo Stagg in his second and final season as head coach, the team compiled a record of 5–8–1. Stagg also played for the team at fullback and halfback. Springfield YMCA played their home games at Outing Park in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The 1890 Springfield YMCA football team, also known as the Christian Workers and the Staggs, was an American football team that represented the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School—now known as Springfield College–as an independent during the 1890 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Amos Alonzo Staggh, the team compiled a record of 5–3.
The 1907 Springfield Training School football team was an American football team that represented the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School—now known as Springfield College–as an independent during the 1907 college football season. Led by James H. McCurdy, who returned for his tenth season as head coach after helming the team from 1895 to 1903, Springfield compiled a record of 2–4–2.