This photograph, which was taken sometime in the late 1920's before the construction of U.S. Route 15 in the early 1930's, shows a football game in progress in the new stadium. Automobiles are parked in several rows to the left in the photograph. Construction of the Christy Mathewson Memorial Gate, which was completed in 1928, had not begun. The stadium was build on a portion of the George Barron Miller Farm, which had been purchased in 1920. Haystacks in a hay field of the farm are visible in the left bottom part of the photograph.

The path for pedestrians from the stadium to the campus met South Seventh Street in front of Carnegie Library. It was "of generous width, and...made of crushed stones and gravel, well rolled." The path was constructed in 1926. The first wing of the Engineering Building, which was completed in 1922, is located to the right of this path. The dome of the central part of Old Main is visible as well as the east wing of the building. To the right of Old Main is East College with its observation tower and to the left of Old Main is West College with its clock tower. Taylor Hall, called the Biology Building in the late 1920's and its annex, is located to the left of West College. The Susquehanna River is located at the top of the photograph.

Football from 1926 to World War II

Charles Moran who was the football coach when the stadium was dedicated in 1924 until 1926 compiled a record of 19-10-2. The decade beginning in 1930, was a golden era for Bucknell football. Carl Snavely, who coached from 1927 to 1933 compiled a record of 42-16-8. When Snavely was the coach, lights were installed in the stadium so the team could practice at night. In 1931, the football team lead by the "Lakawanna Express", Clark Hinkle, was undefeated with a record of 6-0-3, including an end of-the-season one point victory over Fordham in a game played before a large crowd at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Both Hinkle and Snavely were later elected to the NFL Hall Of Fame. Edward "Hook" Mylin was the coach from 1934 to 1936. He complied a record of 17-9-3, including a 26-0 rout of the University of Miami in the first Orange Bowl game, which was played on January 1, 1935. Al Humphreys was the coach from 1937 to 1942, and again in 1946 upon returning to the university after service in World War II. His overall record was 30-24-5, including a 14-0 win over Penn State in State College, which was the last time the Bison defeated the Nittany Lions in football although the rivalry continued until 1949.

Bucknell vs. Penn State Rivalry, 1924-1945

From the dedication of Memorial Stadium in 1924 to 1945, Bucknell University played Penn State in football a total of seventeen times, winning seven games and losing ten. Between 1926 and 1930, Bucknell and Penn State played every year in this central Pennsylvania rivalry, and Bucknell won four of the five games, only one of which was played in Memorial Stadium. From 1934 through 1945, Bucknell and Penn State played every year and Bucknell won only three games, two of which were played in Memorial Stadium. Of the four games played in Memorial Stadium during this period, Bucknell won three.

This photograph was taken at the same time as the photograph to which it is linked.

"of generous width..." Bucknellian, Fall 1926 (clipping in files of Bucknell Athletic Communications)

The major sources for the information on this page are the Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Bucknell University, 1920-1950 (BT '20-'50) and statistics and information supplied by Bucknell Athletic Communications.