The opening game against the Wilmington College “Quaker outfit” was described as a civic event with more than 10,000 people in attendance, a Dayton record for a sporting event at the time.
“It may be difficult to conceive how two rows of concrete tiers, with a plot of green grass in the center can be made a thing of beauty, but the throng that attended the opening game in which the U.D. met Wilmington was shown.”
“The stadium is not the largest in the country, but it is among the most modern,” reported the newspaper.
“Under the tiers are showers, dressing rooms and similar conveniences for the players. Atop the south tier is a modern press stand enclosed in glass and equipped with telephones, telegraph lines and typewriters.”
The Dayton Daily News sports page covered “Stadium Day” with as much passion as the front page did.
Coach Harry Baujan’s “red jerseyed youngsters” “gloried in a 45 to 0 victory” in the stadium which was built for $140,000.
“The same spirit that brought victory to the Red and Blue teams in past years called again Saturday but in a special way,” wrote Tom Hook, a sports writer for the newspaper.
“The call came from the huge concrete stands and echoed across the green gridiron which was on this day opened for the first time to a football game.”
In 1961, the stadium was named for Baujan. Today the stadium is called Baujan Recreational Sports Field and is the home to the Flyer soccer teams.
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