Stagg Field
Home of the first nuclear chain reaction and University of Chicago Maroons football.
Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is the name of two successive football fields for the University of Chicago. The first Stagg Field (1893–1957), named for famed coach Alonzo Stagg, is remembered for its role in a landmark scientific achievement of Enrico Fermi and the Metallurgical Laboratory during the Manhattan Project. The site of the first artificial nuclear chain reaction, which occurred within the field's west viewing-stands structure, received designation as a National Historic Landmark on February 18, 1965. On October 15, 1966, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The site was named a Chicago Landmark on October 27, 1971.
- Location
- University of Chicago campus, Hyde Park, Chicago
- Era of Use
- 1920–1939 (approximate)
- Capacity
- Approximately 50,000 at peak usage
- Significance
- First permanent home for the franchise in Chicago
Lore & Background
Chicago Pile-1, the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, was built in a squash court under the west stands of Stagg Field, which was by then no longer used for football. The first man-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction occurred on December 2, 1942. A Henry Moore sculpture, Nuclear Energy, in a small quadrangle commemorates the location of the nuclear experiment.
In Their Own Story
The wind whipped off Lake Michigan, carrying the bite of a November chill through the open stands of Marshall Field. The crowd roared, a raw, unpolished sound that vibrated against the brick walls of the university buildings surrounding the gridiron. George Halas adjusted his leather helmet, scanning the opposing line with eyes that saw more than just football; he was watching an assertion of existence for a franchise still finding its name. The whistle blew, and the laced ball thudded into his hands. For a moment, time suspended in that quiet corner of Hyde Park, where the future dynasty of the Chicago Bears learned to walk before it ever learned to fly.
Reader's Guide
The first Stagg Field was a stadium at the University of Chicago in Chicago, located on a block bounded by 57th Street to the south, University Avenue to the east, and Ellis Avenue to the west. It opened in 1893 as Marshall Field, named after Marshall Field who donated land to the university. In 1913, it was renamed Stagg Field after coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. The final capacity was 50,000. The stadium was demolished in 1957, and much of the site was used for Regenstein Library. The current Stagg Field is an athletic field several blocks to the northwest, bounded by 55th Street to the north, 56th Street to the south, Cottage Grove Avenue to the west, and Ellis Avenue to the east. It has a seating capacity of 1,650 and a FieldTurf surface.
Did You Know?
- The first Stagg Field hosted the 1893, 1898, 1913, 1923, and 1933 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
- The University of Michigan fight song 'The Victors' was written in 1898 after a Michigan victory over the University of Chicago at Stagg Field.
- Northwestern played several home games at Stagg Field in 1901, 1904, and 1925.
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