Out with the old, in with the new

Out with the old, in with the new. Spurred by the Tigers state football championship in December, Tiger stadium is going through a $5 million dollar renovation which will include a brand new football field, track and updates to the field house locker room.

A new softball field is also part of the plan.

If you’ve cruised down Murray lately, you’ve probably noticed a couple of changes.

The old stadium, which was built in 1934, is rubble now, as bulldozers and earth movers work in earnest to have the new facility finished by football season.

As will be the case in a few months, there was much anticipation concerning the Tigers new football field in 1934, but most of the excitement had to do with the fact that the new stadium featured actual lights.

The Sunday before the first game, a large crowd showed up at Tiger Field to watch the Grey Bar Co. electricians throw the switch on the lights for the very first time.

Before the new stadium was erected, the Tigers played at Fair Park on Friday afternoons.

The headline in The Rockdale Reporter was “Night Football Will Get First Trial.”

Things were not too rosy as Hubert Dennis entered his second season as head coach of the Tigers, according to The Reporter, “prospects poor in Tiger camp” and “locals appear weak.”

Cameron and Rosebud-Lott were added to District 21B and had Tiger fans worried.

The Tigers had seven lettermen returning from a 4-2-1 squad led by backs Graham Kyle and Harvey Dean.

Their prospects took a hit when lineman Guy Pruett was lost for the season with an infected kidney.

At 158 pounds, Kyle was the second biggest player on the roster. Center Bryon Fitzgerald tipped the scales at 111 pounds.

Season tickets were $1.50 for all five home games and 109 advance tickets were sold before the Lexington contest.

The first action on the new Tiger Field was a scrimmage against Milano the Tuesday before they faced Lexington.

The Tigers posted an “unimpressive” 36-0 victory over Class C Lexington during a slight rain.

An estimated 450 fans showed up for the first game at the new Tiger Field.

The next week in the district opener against Taylor, it was reported that there were 2,000 people in attendance.

Dean scored the very first touchdown at the new field against Lexington, one of two on the night for the 129-pound halfback.

Quarterback Graham Kyle also found the end zone twice as the Tigers built up a 30-0 lead in the fi rst quarter.

Three blocked punts within the Lexington 10-yard line fueled the Tigers’ early outburst.

The Tigers—who defeated Lexington 32-0 the year before—rolled up 20 first downs and 369 total yards.

Lexington managed just two first downs and 56 total yards.

The Tigers finished 5-3-1 in 1934, losing to Rosebud-Lott and tying Cameron 6-6.

There was no Battle of the Bell yet. That would come 20 years later.

By coincidence, the Tigers first opponent in the new stadium will be Lexington on Sept. 19—if construction is completed.

The final game played at Tiger Field will go into the record books as a 77-0 thrashing of Jarrell on Oct. 10, 2017.

The final score was produced by Cam’Ron Valdez from nine yards out with 11:31 left in the game. Valdez was a freshman who had been moved up for the final game of the year.

The old gal was home to three state football champions and two track championships as well.

As a sidebar, 1934 was the first season that Aycock fielded a football team and the Purple Tigers were able to take advantage of the new lighted field as well when the Tigers were on the road.

Their first opponent—Cameron of course.

It cost 25 cents to watch the game.

Twenty-one years later, Aycock would capture a state championship—at Tiger Field.