LITTLE ROCK- This Saturday, the Razorbacks will return to historic War Memorial Stadium to play a non-conference football game with Western Carolina to open the 2023 season.
And I have to be open with our readers…as a person who grew up in North Little Rock as a child and counted the days until the Razorbacks played in Little Rock each year, it hurts me to hear the negative comments about playing at War Memorial Stadium.
War Memorial is certainly no comparison to other stadiums across the country. It is almost 75 years old and lacks the amenities of today’s modern stadiums. It does not have the seating capacity of most stadiums today, seating approximately 54,120. But it is an indelible piece of Razorbacks football history, and not so much unlike the colorful histories of Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, on a state, collegiate football scale, it is an important piece of Arkansas history and should be treated with respect.
Back in the day, Arkansas played 3-4 games a year at War Memorial. Usually, two non-conference games and two conference games were played each year. During the Hogs’ history of playing in the Southwest Conference, some of the most memorable games in Razorbacks history were played at War Memorial. And during this run, those games were not just limited to great conference games, but great non-conference games as well against the likes of Stanford, USC, California, Air Force, Oklahoma State, and others. The NFL and the former AFL have played exhibition, preseason games at the stadium, as well.
For me, my first Razorbacks game I ever attended was with my father on November 16, 1968. I was nine years old, and for me, it was so exciting to get to go to my first Razorbacks game. I had listened to their games on the radio, broadcasted then by the legendary Bud Campbell, and on rare occasion, had watched them on television. So, for me, that day could have been the Super Bowl, and it wouldn’t have been any more exciting to me than going to my very first Arkansas football game. The Razorbacks were BIG back then, and kids waited all year for Razorbacks football season to start. It was a great time to be a kid.
On that bright and sunny fall afternoon, we, along with 53,000 fans saw an exciting and later to be known as a historic game between Number 10 Arkansas and Number 14 SMU. The Hogs featured a sophomore class that would go on to Razorback stardom the next year as juniors when they would become Number 2 in the nation and face Number 1 Texas in 1969 for the national championship. But on this day, it was the vaunted offensive attack of SMU coach Hayden Fry and his quarterback Chuck Hixson. Hixson and the offense featured the legendary running back, Jerry Levias, who became the first African American football player in the Southwest Conference and was also the first African American player who played against the Arkansas football program.
Arkansas jumped out to a commanding 35-0 lead just before the half. But SMU stormed back in the second half, closing the deficit to 35-29. The Arkansas defense held on, and SMU ran out of time, and the Hogs would win, 35-29. I remember my dad and others around me going crazy, scared that Arkansas was going to give up the lead and lose the game.
The Hogs would go on to win ten games that season, including a big 16-2 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. SMU would win eight games that season, including a big 28-27 win over Oklahoma in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl.
Arkansas’s football history was in-part built at War Memorial Stadium. Time has passed the great Central Arkansas stadium, but it and its history should be respected. Some of the greatest teams, coaches, and players have played on the War Memorial turf. And just as Alabama used to play a portion of their games, including their annual rivalry game with Auburn at Legion Field in Birmingham back in the day, it may be time also for Arkansas to move past playing at War Memorial.
But in all due respect, referring to it as a dump, or as trash, or bashing it in other ways, well, it just seems to be disrespectful and unnecessary. Perhaps there is a new purpose for the grand old lady of a stadium. But no matter what happens in the future, the colorful and important history of the stadium should never be forgotten, and the stadium should be preserved. It is a landmark in Arkansas history.
And for me, it is the place of one of my fondest childhood memories.
