Maryland #2 vs Syracuse (NR) Oct 22, 1955

[TexanMark]

Photos from Mark Gracyzk off Facebook

Truly a beautiful stadium and weather looked great. Jim Brown's first season. They finished 5-3 but were really better than their record. They played 4 ranked teams and won 3 of them. This Maryland team was really good and went undefeated in the regular season but lost to #1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. For Syracuse this was the very beginning of Ben's stretch of great teams. The crowd size looks to be in the upper 30's.

 

[Toga]

Photos from Mark Gracyzk off Facebook

View attachment 202880View attachment 202881

Truly a beautiful stadium and weather looked great. Jim Brown's first season. They finished 5-3 but were really better than their record. They played 4 ranked teams and won 3 of them. This Maryland team was really good and went undefeated in the regular season but lost to #1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. For Syracuse this was the very beginning of Ben's stretch of great teams. The crowd size looks to be in the upper 30's.

Walking into Archbold for the first time as a 7 year old was mind blowing. Place looked huge and the grass was very green. Not a cloud in the sky.

 

[Chip]

I miss the gray out promotions.

 

[sutomcat]

Photos from Mark Gracyzk off Facebook

View attachment 202880View attachment 202881

Truly a beautiful stadium and weather looked great. Jim Brown's first season. They finished 5-3 but were really better than their record. They played 4 ranked teams and won 3 of them. This Maryland team was really good and went undefeated in the regular season but lost to #1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. For Syracuse this was the very beginning of Ben's stretch of great teams. The crowd size looks to be in the upper 30's.

Nice post.

A couple of comments.

Seven tubas. In those days, the SUMB was known as '100 Men and a Girl', where the girl was Orange Girl. It was a simpler time.

What if Syracuse had remained a major national power in football into the late 1960s and early 1970s?

I believe the capacity of Archbold was raised to a little over 40K in the 1950s. You can see the extra stands that were built above the concrete bowl on the northern sideline (closest to the Physics and Hendricks buildings). I think they later added bleachers on the cinder track between the playing field and the concrete stadium to further expand capacity...don't see them here.

Had demand been there, would a complete second deck have eventually been built above the original concrete stadium? Was there room? I think so but the big castle turret behind the Western end zone would have been a problem. My guess is that it would have been removed, and perhaps rebuilt above the second deck.

Or more likely, the second deck would have just stopped once it got close to the turret.

Was Archbold deteriorating so badly that it wouldn't have been possible to do a major expansion? Did the university let the building fall apart because they didn't want to care for it any longer?

The Yale Bowl is older and still is standing. I suspect if SU maintained it properly, it could still be there. There are certainly some other buildings on campus that are older and remain in excellent shape.

 

[storange]

Walking into Archbold for the first time as a 7 year old was mind blowing. Place looked huge and the grass was very green. Not a cloud in the sky.

Similar experience for me. First time I saw the Orange helmets pop out of the tunnel and heard the roar of that “huge” stadium ( to an 8 year old ) I was hooked. Syracuse and Tommy Meyers pounded Pitt that day. About 250 home games ago for me.

 

[Eric15]

My parents would always talk about going to games at Archbold when they were first dating. My Dad loved it and my Mom said she's never been more cold/uncomfortable in her life.

 

[sutomcat]

Similar experience for me. First time I saw the Orange helmets pop out of the tunnel and heard the roar of that “huge” stadium ( to an 8 year old ) I was hooked. Syracuse and Tommy Meyers pounded Pitt that day. About 250 home games ago for me.

Me too.

The first time I went to a college football game was at Archbold.

Looking at the stadium from the outside, I wasn't that impressed. I got inside but instead of walking directly to my seat (likely in the end zone), I went into the dark concourse that ran under the stands and walked until I got to the entrance to the stands at the 50 yard line.

It was a long dark walk. Not much to see. The concourse was to my memory quite cramped, there were water stains all over the place, no colorful signs or bright lights. It was like the Wizard of Oz before the house landed.

I got to entrance to the field. I think I was looking down as I walked and when I finally looked up, I was astonished to see an explosion of color.

It was a brilliant sunny day. The grass field was a vibrant green. I believe the endzones were painted orange. The SUMB was on the field playing, so I was hit by a full blast of college band sound too.

I think it was the only time in my life were I gasped because I was so surprised.

Yeah, it was a special moment. I had been to baseball and hockey games but they were nothing compared to the pageantry of college football. Especially at Ole Archbold.

I hope kids attending their first games at the dome get a similar thrill. I would think with the renovations, seeing everything at the dome for the first time it could be pretty exciting for a kid.

 

[Toga]

Me too.

The first time I went to a college football game was at Archbold.

Looking at the stadium from the outside, I wasn't that impressed. I got inside but instead of walking directly to my seat (likely in the end zone), I went into the dark concourse that ran under the stands and walked until I got to the entrance to the stands at the 50 yard line.

It was a long dark walk. Not much to see. The concourse was to my memory quite cramped, there were water stains all over the place, no colorful signs or bright lights. It was like the Wizard of Oz before the house landed.

I got to entrance to the field. I think I was looking down as I walked and when I finally looked up, I was astonished to see an explosion of color.

It was a brilliant sunny day. The grass field was a vibrant green. I believe the endzones were painted orange. The SUMB was on the field playing, so I was hit by a full blast of college band sound too.

I think it was the only time in my life were I gasped because I was so surprised.

Yeah, it was a special moment. I had been to baseball and hockey games but they were nothing compared to the pageantry of college football. Especially at Ole Archbold.

I hope kids attending their first games at the dome get a similar thrill. I would think with the renovations, seeing everything at the dome for the first time it could be pretty exciting for a kid.

An explosion of color. Exactly. It made such an impression that I can still see it.

 

[the villager]

My first game was 1956 Jim Brown I was 14.I saw Kansas with John Hadl ,Floyd Little( 4 touchdowns ) vs Gale Sayers and the Shirtworlder field goal vs Navy last game ,among others

 

[Scooch]

The Yale Bowl is older and still is standing. I suspect if SU maintained it properly, it could still be there. There are certainly some other buildings on campus that are older and remain in excellent shape.

The Yale Bowl was crumbling not that long ago. Somehow the administration of that little school scraped together a few bucks to do some extensive renovations. I suspect SU would have had to spend a ton to keep Archbold viable, given how badly I heard it deteriorated over time. But it could have been done.

 

[All4SU]

Is that Dick In Michigan sitting in the second row wearing a pork pie hat?

 

[TexanMark]

I miss the gray out promotions.

My Dad was of that era...his overcoat was Charcoal Grey...and he wore a fancy wool fedora hat. No sweatshirts, rain slickers, waterproof pants...it must have been miserable on bad weather days at Archbold

 

[tipphill]

Me too.

The first time I went to a college football game was at Archbold.

Looking at the stadium from the outside, I wasn't that impressed. I got inside but instead of walking directly to my seat (likely in the end zone), I went into the dark concourse that ran under the stands and walked until I got to the entrance to the stands at the 50 yard line.

It was a long dark walk. Not much to see. The concourse was to my memory quite cramped, there were water stains all over the place, no colorful signs or bright lights. It was like the Wizard of Oz before the house landed.

I got to entrance to the field. I think I was looking down as I walked and when I finally looked up, I was astonished to see an explosion of color.

It was a brilliant sunny day. The grass field was a vibrant green. I believe the endzones were painted orange. The SUMB was on the field playing, so I was hit by a full blast of college band sound too.

I think it was the only time in my life were I gasped because I was so surprised.

Yeah, it was a special moment. I had been to baseball and hockey games but they were nothing compared to the pageantry of college football. Especially at Ole Archbold.

I hope kids attending their first games at the dome get a similar thrill. I would think with the renovations, seeing everything at the dome for the first time it could be pretty exciting for a kid.

i miss the card section-----my first game was 1960 11y/o i loved the arch seemed majestic to me.

 

[ottodaorange]

My first game was 1959, the championship season. I was 13 and went with my football team for the Colgate game. I think the score was 72-0. We sat close to the field and my biggest memory was hearing the thundering noise of Syracuse hitting the Colgate players. It was a different level of football for me.

 

[IthacaMatt]

My parents would always talk about going to games at Archbold when they were first dating. My Dad loved it and my Mom said she's never been more cold/uncomfortable in her life.

Both could be equally true.