Material for this story found in "Autumn Days of Blue and Gold", written by Bryan Fritz, published 1995
 
John Carroll football has called many places home, but none carried the significance of the 20-year stretch in which Cleveland Municipal Stadium served as the home field.

The Blue Streaks played over 60 home games at Cleveland Stadium between 1931 and 1951, winning more often than not (35-25-5). There were many memorable games staged on the lake front, some of which still stand as the most storied victories in the history of the program.


A Fireproof Stadium on the Lakefront

The impetus for Cleveland Municipal Stadium came from city manager William R. Hopkins, Cleveland Indians' president Ernest Barnard, real estate magnate and future Indians' president Alva Bradley, and the Van Sweringen brothers, who thought that the attraction of a stadium would benefit area commerce in general and their own commercial interests in downtown Cleveland in particular.

In November 1928, Cleveland voters passed by a 59% margin, with 55% needed to pass, "a 2.5 million levy for a fireproof stadium on the Lakefront."

Construction was completed on July 1, 1931, and with a seating capacity of over 78,000, Cleveland Stadium was the largest in the world at the time to feature individual seating. Lighting had been put in to allow for night events with the use of 250 1,000-watt lamps.


Here Come The Blue Streaks

On Friday night, September 25, 1931, John Carroll played its first game at the stadium. Johnny Steigerwald, a fullback from Cathedral Latin, scored on a one-yard touchdown run in the opening period as the Blue Streaks christened their new home field with a 26-6 thrashing of Adrian College. Heavy rains made the field ankle deep in mud and water and held the crowd down to an estimated 2,000. The small crowd, combined with Friday meat abstinence still the norm of the day, meant that the concessionaires were stuck with over 150 pounds of leftover hot dogs.

Through 1937, John Carroll would play at least six and sometimes seven or eight home games each year at Cleveland Stadium.


Big Wins

Starting in 1938, JCU would alternate its home schedule between Cleveland Stadium and Shaw High School. It seemed that the Blue Streaks would save their best for the biggest stage.

In 1934, John Carroll pulled off a 20-0 upset of Miami University of Ohio.

Case Tech ruled the roost of the Big Four during its ten-year run, winning nine titles. The only time another school broke through was in 1939, when John Carroll emerged as Big Four champions. The win that sealed the crown was a 6-0 win at the Stadium over Western Reserve.

Of course, the historic 21-16 victory over Syracuse took place at Cleveland Stadium on November 10, 1950.


End Of An Era

As the Cleveland Browns moved from the defunct AAFC into the NFL, more of a premium was placed on having the stadium ready for the professional games. That meant John Carroll's days at Cleveland Stadium were numbered.

The Blue Streaks played their final home game at Cleveland Stadium on November 4, 1951. The opponent was the Dayton Flyers and the game turned out to be the worst defeat of the Herb Eisele era. The Flyers, 5-1-0 on the year and featuring future Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll (who had an interception in the game) would turn an 8-0 halftime lead into a 36-0 rout.

Cleveland Municipal Stadium would remain the home of the Cleveland Browns until 1995 and the Cleveland Indians until 1993. Demolition on Cleveland Stadium began in November 1996 and was completed in early 1997. Over 14,000 tons of demolition debris was dumped into Lake Erie to create three artificial reefs for fishermen and divers, offshore of Cleveland and neighboring Lakewood. Construction on a new stadium began later in 1997 and it opened in August 1999 as Cleveland Browns Stadium.