The "Stadiums Of The Past & Present In Lancaster" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Driving past Franklin & Marshall College's new stadium that was recently finished.  Beautiful stadium that sits on the north side of the campus in land that at one time belonged to Armstrong Cork Company.  For years F&M played most of their football games and track events on the Sponaugle-Williamson Field which was built in 1894.  At first, the field carried no name until finally in 1899 it was christened Williamson Field.  Henry S. Williamson was a former trustee at the school.  Within the past 25 years S. Woodrow "Woody" Sponaugle, a former football coach, had his name added to the field.  The original wooden bleacher stadium burned to the ground in 1916 due to a victory bonfire that got out of control.  The new stadium was built out of concrete.  The most recent stadium, known as Shadek Stadium, is now being used for a variety of sports.  These stadiums are just a few of Lancaster County's sports venues that has numerous, venerable stadiums that have served the sports community for years and years.  Follow along and I will give you a glimpse of local stadiums as well as a few closeby that have influenced amateur as well as professional sports in the past.

The original Sponaugle-Williamson Field at Franklin & Marshall College.

Entrance to the new Shadek Stadium.

The playing field at Shadek Stadium.

Biemsderfer Stadium is the home of Millersville University's sports teams.  It was built in 1958 is hold events in football, field hockey, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field.  Nearby Penn Manor High School also uses the field for their athletic teams.  Dr. Daniel Luke Biemesderfer was the ninth president of the University.

This is the stadium of Millersville University.

Nearby Ephrata, Pennsylvania has a stadium that is known at Ephrata War Memorial Field and is home to the Ephrata High School Mountaineers athletic teams.  It has been used for football as well as baseball.  The American Legion uses the field for their baseball league and is one of just a few stadiums with lights.  And, they have the best chicken corn soup at their refreshment stand!

This is the Ephrata War Memorial Field.

In Lancaster City is J.P. McCaskey High School Stadium.  It sits directly behind the high school and saw its first game on September 24, 1938.  I can remember taking my children to the stadium many times to watch fireworks on July 4th.  Many excellent high school sporting events have been held on the field.

 This is an aerial view of a football game from November 26, 1970.  The teams featured were J.P. McCaskey High School and Lancaster Catholic High School.  The Thanksgiving Day game was played before a crowd of more than 11,000 fans.  

About 25 miles to the west of Lancaster is Hershey, Pennsylvania.  It has a brand-new arena known as the Giant Center, but for us old-timers, Hersheypark Arena was one of the greatest places to take in a hockey game or basketball game.  The arena opened on December 19, 1936 and was the Hershey Bears home rink.  It was also the site of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point basketball game on March 2, 1962.  Somewhere in my collection of sports memorabilia is the program from that evening.  What a thrill it was to witness the game.  

This is what the Hershey Stadium looked like when it was first built.

And, the final stadium that is perhaps my favorite was at Stumpf Field which was on the Fruitville Pike about two blocks from my childhood home on North Queen Street in Lancaster.  It was the home of the Lancaster Red Roses minor league baseball team from 1940 through 1961.  Both baseball and football were played at the stadium.  I was fortunate enough to see both Willie Mays and Brooks Robinson play ball at the ballpark.  I have told you before, I'm sure, that I would get to the game early and retrieve balls hit over the fence during batting practice.  I would take them to the nearby scoreboard keeper who would give me a ticket to get in the game when I returned a few balls to him.  Found out when I started high school and entered one of my classes that my teacher was the same guy who gave me the free passes. Guy by the name of Gene Kris.  Stumpf Field also hosted the Lancaster Newspaper's New Era Baseball Tournament.  My oldest son got to play in one of those game in the ballpark.  I also remember watching a softball game played at the park between a local softball all-star men's team and "The King and his Court" which featured a guy by the name of Eddie Feigner and his team which consisted of Eddie as pitcher and four other players.  They really put on a show and played five guys against a full all-star team and still beat them. 

This is about all that is left of the stadium today.  There is still a couple of softball fields where the original stadium stood, but that's about all I have left of my memories of the place. 

Lancaster, Pennsylvania loves it's sports teams.  Some come and go while others have been around forever. Some of the stadiums have also followed the same trend.  Here's hoping the newest stadiums will last for the rest of my lifetime.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.