We're rolling out the red carpet for timeless Hughes Stadium, which hosts its first sporting events today since being refurbished.
Welcome back, old friend.
The venerable stadium on the Sacramento City College campus is one of the most storied facilities in the region. If only the cinderblock walls could talk.
In its 84 years, Hughes has featured:
• Midget car races on dirt tracks in the 1930s, including plenty of crash-and-burns and ambulance appearances.
• Sacramento- McClatchy high school Turkey Day football crowds of 28,000 in the 1940s.
• The 49ers going 5-1 in preseason games in the 1950s and '60s.
• The Raiders' first victory in 1960, and Al Davis coaching the Silver and Black in a 1965 game.
• Small-college football championships in the 1960s-'70s, featuring San Diego State coaches Don Coryell, John Madden and Joe Gibbs.
• The record 100-yard sprints on "The Night of Speed" in 1968 on the hard, red clay.
• The Solons yanking dozens of home runs to short left field in the 1970s in front of large crowds despite being lovable losers as last-place teams.
• Pig Bowl crowds of 25,000 in the 1980s.
• A record crowd of 41,000 soaking up "China Grove" with the Doobie Brothers in 1981.
Today, Sacramento City plays De Anza in women's soccer at 3 p.m., followed by the football team taking on state-ranked American River at 7 p.m.
It's a new era for Hughes, but the memories will remain for generations.
What to watch
High school football, "Final Quarter," 11 p.m., FOX40: The Bee's Joe Davidson sizes up the Grant-Burbank game.
Today's poll
What is your favorite Hughes Stadium memory?
• Prep/college events
• Track meets
• NFL exhibitions
• Solons baseball
• Concerts
• Other
Vote above or leave your comments in the comment field; or, go to www.sacbee.com/sports
Thursday's poll results
Who will win more games this season?
• Giants: 66%
• A's: 34%
Total votes: 128
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Joe Davidson
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.