| 词条 | War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo, New York) |
| 释义 |
| name = War Memorial Stadium | nickname = The Rockpile | logo_image = | logo_caption = | image = War Memorial Stadium Rockpile.JPG | image_size = 240 | caption = Main entrance (left field corner) in 2011, at Dodge Street and Jefferson Avenue | fullname = | former_names = Civic Stadium (1938–1960) Grover Cleveland Stadium (1937–1938) Roesch Memorial Stadium (1937) | location = 285 Dodge Street Buffalo, New York | coordinates = {{Coord| 42.905|-78.856|scale:5000|display=inline,title}} | broke_ground = 1935 | opened = {{Start date and age|1937}} | expanded = 1960 | closed = | demolished = 1988 (partially) | owner = City of Buffalo | operator = City of Buffalo | surface = Natural grass | scoreboard = | cost = $3 million (${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|3000000|1937}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) | architect = | project_manager = | structural engineer = | services engineer = | general_contractor = | main_contractors = | capacity = • 46,500 (1960) • 35,000 (1939) • 33,000 (1937) | suites = | record_attendance = | dimensions = | acreage = | tenants = Buffalo Indians/Tigers (AFL) (1940–1941) Buffalo Bills (AAFC) (1946–1949) Buffalo Bills (AFL/NFL) (1960–1972) Buffalo Bisons IL (1961–1970) Buffalo Bisons (EL/AA) (1979–1987) Bishop Fallon High School (Monsignor Martin Athletic Association) (1962–1969) | website = }}{{Location map |USA |relief = 1 |label = Buffalo |lat = 42.905 |long = -78.856 |caption = Location in the United States |position = bottom |marksize = 5 |float = |background = |width = 240 }}{{Location map |USA New York |relief = 1 |label = Buffalo |lat = 42.905 |long = -78.856 |caption = Location in New York |position = |marksize = 5 |float = |background = |width = 170 }} War Memorial Stadium (nicknamed The Rockpile) was an outdoor stadium in the northeast United States in Buffalo, New York. It hosted Minor League Baseball and professional football teams, most notably the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL), and later National Football League (NFL). The stadium was on a rectangular block near the downtown area and its baseball diamond had an unorthodox southeast alignment (home plate to center field).[1] The main entrance was in the left field corner at Jefferson Avenue to the east and Best Street to the south (behind right field). Its other boundaries were Dodge Street to the north (behind third base) and Masten Park to the west (behind first base) with Masten Avenue farther west. The east-west alignment of the football field was also unorthodox, running along the third base line. The elevation at street level is approximately {{convert|650|ft|round=5}} above sea level. War Memorial Stadium was built as a WPA project in 1937. It was built on top of a large block that had once been the Prospect Reservoir.[https://buffalostreets.com/tag/prospect-reservoir/] It was originally named Roesch Memorial Stadium, though the name was changed to Grover Cleveland Stadium later in 1937 (honoring the former President and Buffalo public official) and then to Civic Stadium in 1938. The name was changed to War Memorial Stadium in 1960.[2] The stadium originally sat 35,000, but expansions raised the capacity to over 46,500. Despite this, by the time of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, it was one of the league's smallest stadiums (below the league's new 50,000-seat minimum). After considering[3] and rejecting a move to Seattle, the Bills left after the 1972 season for Rich Stadium (now New Era Field) in suburban Orchard Park, which had a capacity of over 80,000 in 1973. HistoryProfessional tenantsThe stadium hosted the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, and later the National Football League from {{nowrap|1960 to 1972,}} the unrelated Buffalo Bills of the AAFC from {{nowrap|1946 to 1949}} ("Bisons" in 1946), the Buffalo Indians and Chiefs of the third American Football League in 1940 and 1941, Canisius College's baseball and football teams, and baseball's Buffalo Bisons of the International League during the 1960s and again from 1979 to 1987 (as part of the Eastern League and American Association). Postseason games hostedThe stadium hosted three postseason professional football games, all in the American Football League.
Final yearsThe Bisons baseball team, which had been prosperous at Offermann Stadium, suffered a serious downturn in attendance after moving to War Memorial Stadium. Additionally, the park's rough neighborhood contributed to an incident on July 18, 1969, when a gang held the clubhouse boy at knifepoint and stole anything they could carry away. The players threatened to strike if something wasn't done to improve security.[Rochester, New York, Democrat and Chronicle, July 20, 1969, p.88] As disheartening as that incident was, the nadir came in early June of 1970, when the International League revoked Buffalo's entry and awarded it to the Montreal Expos, who moved the team to Canada.[Ithaca, New York, Journal, June 5, 1970, p.14] In its later years, War Memorial Stadium was poorly maintained. Ron Fimrite, writing in Sports Illustrated in 1984, quoted another writer, Brock Yates, as having once said this stadium "looks as if whatever war it was a memorial to had been fought within its confines."[4] That look contributed to the oft-used nickname Buffalo residents gave it: The Rockpile. Ironically, that worn-down look worked perfectly for the 1984 film The Natural, about which Fimrite was writing. All of the baseball scenes in that movie were filmed here in 1983,[5][6] except for the one scene set at Chicago's Wrigley Field, which was filmed at Buffalo's All-High Stadium. The movie was set in the late 1930s, when the stadium was new. The stadium was deemed unsuitable for National Football League play after the AFL–NFL merger. As part of a deal with Congress clearing the way for the merger, the NFL declared stadiums seating fewer than 50,000 people were not suitable for league needs. War Memorial Stadium only seated 46,500 people at its height, and could not be expanded. This led to the Bills constructing what was then called Rich Stadium (now called New Era Field) in suburban Orchard Park and vacating War Memorial Stadium after the 1972 season. After the Bills' departure, the stadium sat dormant from 1973 to 1978. The last tenant of War Memorial Stadium was the Buffalo Bisons, a franchise revived in 1979 before moving to a new downtown stadium, known as Pilot Field, in 1988. The last major event at War Memorial Stadium was a Bisons game against the Nashville Sounds (the Sounds won, 7–5) on August 30, 1987; the game drew a capacity crowd of nearly 40,000 spectators.[7] Following after the game was a slowpitch softball match between members of the Buffalo media. Doug Smith, a freelance newspaper columnist and WIVB-TV personality, led the winning team.[8] Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports PavilionWar Memorial Stadium was demolished shortly after the Bisons moved downtown to Pilot Field. A high school athletic field (Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Pavilion – c. 1997) remains at the old site and serves as one of Buffalo's three major high school football fields (the others being All-High Stadium and the field at Riverside Institute of Technology); the field also was the home of the Buffalo Gladiators, an adult amateur football team. The northwest and southwest entrance to the old stadium was demolished, but the northeast and southeast entrance was saved and preserved. A small baseball diamond is on the former field's southwest corner. See also
References1. ^{{cite web |url=http://historicaerials.com/?layer=0&zoom=11&lat=42.906&lon=-78.857 |publisher=Historic Aerials |title=42.906 N, 78.857 W |accessdate=January 13, 2016}} 2. ^Western New York Heritage Press 3. ^{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cOVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5-ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=1870%2C2203803 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |title=Buffalo Bills nearing move to Seattle |date=January 12, 1971 |page=3B}} 4. ^{{cite news |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1984/05/07/626594/a-star-with-real-clout# |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Fimrite |authorlink=Ron Fimrite |first=Ron |title=A Star with Real Clout |date=May 7, 1984 |page=100}} 5. ^{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JXhGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xSwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1435%2C1816180 |newspaper=Evening News |location=Newburgh, New York |agency=Associated Press |title=Redford movie being filmed in Buffalo |date=June 16, 1983 |page=8B }} 6. ^{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2LdaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=glkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4535%2C992417 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Independent |location=Florida |last=Mulcahy |first=Susan |title=Buffalo wins out for Redford flick |date=July 20, 1983 |page=18B }} 7. ^Harrington, Mike (August 30, 2012). Bisons' Rockpile finale was 25 years ago today. The Buffalo News. Retrieved August 30, 2012. 8. ^Doug Smith, 81, colorful newsman, sportswriter and TV personality 2. The site is currently used for grammar school track & field events. External links
| title = Home of the Buffalo Bills | years = 1960 – 1972 | before = first stadium | after = Rich Stadium }}{{succession box | title = Home of the Buffalo Bisons | years = 1960–1970 1979–1987 | before = Offermann Stadium | after = Pilot Field }}{{end}}{{AFL III}}{{Defunct NFL stadiums}}{{Buffalo(NY)}}{{Buffalo Bills}}{{Buffalo Bisons}}{{Canisius Golden Griffins football navbox}} 16 : American Football League venues|Buffalo Bills stadiums|Canisius Golden Griffins baseball|Canisius Golden Griffins football|Sports venues in Buffalo, New York|Defunct National Football League venues|Defunct baseball venues in the United States|American football venues in New York (state)|Demolished sports venues in New York (state)|Baseball venues in New York (state)|Defunct minor league baseball venues|Defunct college football venues|American Football League (1940) venues|Sports venues completed in 1937|1937 establishments in New York (state)|High school football venues in the United States |
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