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Some stadium history

T. Brillhart
Thursday October 03, 2002

To the Editor: 

Whatever the merits are for moving or not moving Memorial Stadium on the UC campus, it might be interesting to hear the facts about the stadium and when it was built. 

Construction on Memorial Stadium was completed late in 1923 in time for the first football game held there on Nov. 24, 1923 – the Big Game between Cal and Stanford. It was the 29th Big Game and was won by Cal 9-0. The year 1923 was a rebuilding one for Cal after the graduation in 1922 of several members of coach Andy Smith's original Wonder Team of 1920-’22. 

Cal's record for the year of 1923 was 9-0-1. Not too bad for a rebuilding year. Cal's win in the 1923 Big Game evened the series at 12-12-5. Andy Smith coached at Cal through the 1925 season and died suddenly of pneumonia on Jan. 9, 1926, while vacationing in Philadelphia. He was 43. 

 

T. Brillhart 

Berkeley