A few weeks ago, more than 28,000 fans packed the Glass Bowl as the University of Toledo football team hosted Miami, Fla., in a nationally televised game.
What a difference eight decades make.
The Glass Bowl is in its eighth decade of hosting football games on Toledo’s campus. On Oct. 23, 1935, an 8,000 seat stadium was among the Works Progress Administration projects announced by UT president Phillip C. Nash. The project, which included a swimming pool in the adjacent fieldhouse, totaled $300,000.
The original plans, according to an October, 1935, article in The Blade, called for seats only on the two sides of the stadium, with the ends to be left open. Beginning in 1936, the 300-man crew cleared more than 13,000 square yards of earth, with all the labor done manually. Construction took more than one year.
Two years later, on Sept. 27, 1937, the Rockets hosted their first game at what was then known as University Stadium. This Blade archive photo shows the stadium one year after construction was completed.
The stadium fell into disrepair during four years when UT discontinued football (1942-45), but it was rebuilt and rechristened the Glass Bowl, with the dedication game against Bates College on Dec. 7, 1946.
Another interesting UT athletics tidbit also comes from September — the Rockets first received their nickname during a game in September, 1923, when a sportswriter remarked that a UT player runs like a rocket.
Go to thebladevault.com/memories to purchase historical photos taken by our award-winning staff of photographers, past and present, or to purchase combinations of stories and photos.
First Published September 24, 2018, 4:00 a.m.
