Before Big Blue by Stanley Gregory Kent;

Author:Stanley, Gregory Kent; [Kent Stanley, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2021-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

First game played in McLean Stadium, UK v. Centre, 1924

The dedication ceremony produced the season’s largest crowd. The fans had only taken up about half of the available room for previous games (see table 2). An overflow crowd, accommodated in wooden bleachers, observed the dedication ceremonies and then watched as UK lost to Centre, 7-0.44

Although the university did adopt the title McLean Stadium, it did not gain universal acceptance. For years, many fans held on to the older and familiar name of Stoll Field. Many of them made reference to McLean Stadium at Stoll Field. Official university maps often listed both names. One revisionist Kernel editor, writing in 1936, claimed that both the field and the stadium had been named in honor of Judge Stoll, but “a bronze plate commemorating Price McLean’s death was placed at one end of the stadium and since that time it has been known as McLean Stadium.”45

These first eight years of McVey’s long presidency were the least successful in the school’s early sports history. The football program suffered its first losing seasons in two decades, winning only twenty-nine of sixty-three games (46 percent). Yet, the program survived in spite of the calamities that befell it. Moreover, the new president, not nearly the fan his predecessor had been, at least tolerated sports. His complaints were few, and as yet he showed little inclination to involve himself or to assert a greater authority in the matter. That would await a later day. On the other hand, certain developments within the limited women’s athletic program captured his keen attention.

TABLE 2

Attendance at Home Football Games, 1924

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