University of Charleston Stadium at Laidley Field
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
University of Charleston Stadium at Laidley Field
Old Laidley Field (Date Unknown)
Rockets Helmet
Rockets Program from 1965
Charleston H.S. vs Stonewall Jackson H.S. 1959
Laidley Field 1940s
Coy Bacon's 1965 Charleston Rockets team photo. Bacon would go on to play in the NFL.
Charleston High's Dick Huffman played for the Los Angeles Rams, Winnepeg Blue Bombers, and the Calgary Stampeders. He is a member of the CFL Hall of Fame.
University of Charleston Stadium at Laidley Field, aerial view
Laidley Field 1940, aerial view
Charleston High School vs Stonewall Jackson High School at Laidley Field 1959.
Charleston High School Football 1934
Charleston Rockets: Continental Football League 1965- 1969
Coy Bacon's 1965 Charleston Rockets team picture. Bacon would go on to play in the NFL for 14 years. Bacon played for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Redskins, and others.
Charleston Rockets Program from 1965
Charleston High's Dick Huffman played for the Los Angeles Rams, Winnepeg Blue Bombers, and the Calgary Stampeders. He is a member of the CFL Hall of Fame.
Nov. 11, 1923 - The grandstand collapse makes front page news of the Charleston Daily Mail. Photo courtesy of MyWVHome.
Nov. 11, 1928 - Charleston Daily Mail report of the grandstand collapse. Photo courtesy of MyWVHome.
Photograph of the collapsed grandstands. Courtesy of MyWVHome.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
HIGH SCHOOL & MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS
For many years Laidley Field was the home of several high school teams from the Kanawha Valley. Charleston High, Stonewall Jackson High School, George Washington High School, and Charleston Catholic High School have all played home games at Laidley Field. The stadium continued to host games after Charleston High School and Stonewall Jackson High School were consolidated to form Capital High School.
Laidley Field also hosts the West Virginia North-South High School Football Classic, an all-star game held every summer.
Laidley Field has not only hosted football games between middle and high school teams, college teams have also played games at the field. Morris Harvey College/ University of Charleston play(ed) home football games at Laidley Field. WVU and Marshall University have also played games here.
It was during a game in 1923 between WVU and Washington and Lee that wooden grandstands collapsed, injuring about 60 people. Local police and ambulances responded quickly, and the game soon resumed. Since the grandstand had collapsed slowly, most of the reported 960 people seated there were able to brace for the fall. The Charleston Daily Mail reported broken or fractures legs as the most serious injuries.
SEMI-PRO HISTORY
During the 1960’s Laidley Field was the home stadium for a semi-pro team, the Charleston Rockets. The Rockets competed in the Continental Football League, which began operations in 1965 and continued until 1969. The Rockets played in Charleston from 1965 to 1968. Future NFL All-Pro Defensive End, Coy Bacon, played for the Rockets in 1965.5
Bacon was not the only CFL alum that would go on to have a career in the NFL. Coaches Bill Walsh (San Jose Apaches/ S.F. 49ers) and Sam Wyche (Wheeling Ironmen/ Cincinnati Bengals), Quarterback Kenny Stabler (Spokane Shockers/ Oakland Raiders), and Defensive End Otis Sistruck (Norfolk Neptunes/ Oakland Raiders) are among the coaches and players who spent time in both the Continental Football League and the National Football League.6 Charleston won the league championship in 1965.7
Semi-pro football returned to Charleston in the early 1980s, when the West Virginia Rockets of the American Football Association (1977-1983) began playing at Laidley Field. The Rockets won the League Championships in 1980 & 19818, but the AFA was short-lived and the West Virginia Rockets folded.
NOTED ATHLETES
- Dick Huffman (Charleston High- LA Rams & the Canadian Football League, CFL Hall of Fame)
- Dennis Harrah (Stonewall Jackson- LA Rams, All-Pro)
- Carl Lee (South Charleston High School- Minnesota Vikings & others- All-Pro)
- Randy Moss (DuPont High School- Minnesota Vikings & others, All-Pro).
Sources
1. "Morris Harvey Decade Info", UC Golden Eagles Official Athletic Site, http://ucgoldeneagles.com/documents/2014/8/27/Morris_Harvey_Football.pdf, accessed February 14, 2015
2. "U.C. Football Decade Page", UC Golden Eagles Official Athletic Site, http://ucgoldeneagles.com/documents/2014/8/27/UC_Football_Decade_Page.pdf, accessed February 14, 2015.
3. "WVU Stats", WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, http://www.wvustats.com/sport/football/games?expand=0&GameSearchForm%5Bsite%5D%5B%5D=Laidley+Field&G..., accessed February 14, 2015.
4) Cohen, Stan (Richard Andre- Research Associate), Kanawha County Images, 1987, Charleston, Pictorial Histories Publishing Company & Kanawha Bicentennial, Inc, p. 389
5.,7. Booster Club of the Continental Football League, http://www.boosterclubcfl.com/, accessed February 14, 2015
6. Greater Northwest Football Association, "Continental Football League (1965-1969), http://www.gnfafootball.org/continentalleague.htm, accessed February 14, 2015
8. Williamson Daily News, "Horton, Rockets put out the Fire", August 31, 1981, Google Newspapers.com, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uJtDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=va4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=3799,3751812&dq=american-foot..., accessed February 14, 2015.
Laidley Field. My West Virginia Home. Accessed September 18, 2017. http://www.mywvhome.com/twenties/laidley.html.
John Carey 41