View source for Cleveland Stadium

{{Short description|Former stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, US}}
{{about|the former stadium|the current stadium which replaced it|Huntington Bank Field}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox venue
| stadium_name = Cleveland Stadium
| nickname = Municipal Stadium<br>Cleveland Municipal Stadium<br>Lakefront Stadium
| image = Cleveland Municipal Stadium (NBY 6450).jpg
| caption = The stadium in 1955
| address = 1085 West 3rd Street
| city = [[Cleveland]]
| country = United States
| broke_ground = June 24, 1930
| opened = July 1, 1931
| renovated = [[1947 Cleveland Indians season|1947]] (inner fence installed)<br/>1967 (new seats)<br/>1974 (new scoreboard, suites)
| publictransit = [[Cleveland Union Depot|Union Depot]] (1931–1953)
| closed = December 17, 1995
| demolished = November 4, 1996-Early 1997
| owner = [[Cleveland|City of Cleveland]]
| operator = City of Cleveland (1931–1973)<br>[[Art Modell|Cleveland Stadium Corporation]] (1973–1995)
| surface = Natural grass
| construction_cost = US$3 million<br/>(${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|3000000|1931}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}})
| architect = [[Walker & Weeks]]<br/>[[Osborn Engineering|Osborn Engineering Company]]
| general_contractor = Biltmore Construction<ref>{{cite web|title=History, Legacy...and Today|url=http://www.biltmoreconstruction.net/About.html|publisher=Biltmore Construction|access-date=May 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815095617/http://biltmoreconstruction.net/About.html|archive-date=August 15, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| tenants = [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Indians]] ([[Major League Baseball|MLB]]) 1932–1933, 1937–1993<br />[[Cleveland Browns]] ([[All-America Football Conference|AAFC]]/[[National Football League|NFL]]) 1946–1995<br />[[Cleveland Rams]] ([[American Football League (1936)|AFL]]/NFL) 1936, 1939&ndash;1941<br />[[Cleveland Indians (NFL 1931)|Cleveland Indians]] (NFL) 1931<br />[[Western Reserve Red Cats football|Western Reserve Red Cats]] ([[NCAA]]) 1933<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.case.edu/its/archives/Seasons/wfoot1933.htm |title = WRU Football 1933/34}}</ref><br />[[John Carroll Blue Streaks football|John Carroll Blue Streaks]] ([[NCAA]]) 1933–1942, 1946–1951<br />[[Cleveland Stokers]] ([[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|NASL]]) 1967–1968<br />[[Great Lakes Bowl]] ([[NCAA]]) 1947
| seating_capacity = [[Baseball]]: 74,438 ([[1993 Cleveland Indians season|1993]])<br />&nbsp;originally 78,000 ([[1932 Cleveland Indians season|1932]])<br />[[American football|Football]]: 81,000 ([[1995 Cleveland Browns season|1995]])
| dimensions = '''Left Field''' – {{convert|322|ft|abbr=on}}<br />'''Left-Center''' – {{convert|385|ft|abbr=on}}<br />'''Center Field''' – {{convert|400|ft|0|abbr=on}}<br />'''Right-Center''' – {{convert|385|ft|abbr=on}}<br />'''Right Field''' – {{convert|322|ft|abbr=on}}<br />'''Backstop''' – {{convert|60|ft|0|abbr=on}} [[File:ClevelandMunicipalStadiumBaseballFieldDimensions.svg|200px]]
{{Infobox NRHP
 | embed = yes
 | name = Cleveland Municipal Stadium
 | image = 
 | alt = 
 | caption = 
 | coordinates = {{coord|41|30|24|N|81|41|50|W|display=inline, title}}
| locmapin = United States Cleveland#Ohio#USA
 | map_alt =
 | area =
 | architect = 
 | added = November 13, 1987
 | mpsub = 
 | refnum = 87002287
 }}
}}
'''Cleveland Stadium''', commonly known as '''Municipal Stadium''', '''Lakefront Stadium''' or '''Cleveland Municipal Stadium''', was a [[multi-purpose stadium]] in [[Cleveland]], Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football. The stadium opened in 1931 and is best known as the long-time home of the [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Indians]] of [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB), from [[1932 Cleveland Indians season|1932]] to [[1993 Cleveland Indians season|1993]] (including 1932–[[1946 Cleveland Indians season|1946]] when games were split between [[League Park]] and Cleveland Stadium), and the [[Cleveland Browns]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL), from [[1946 Cleveland Browns season|1946]] to [[1995 Cleveland Browns season|1995]], in addition to hosting other teams, other sports, and concerts. The stadium hosted three AAFC Championship Games, six NFL Championship Games, served as one of the host venues of the [[1948 World Series|1948]] and [[1954 World Series]] to go along with being a four-time host of the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] and the site of the original [[Dawg Pound]], [[Red Right 88]], and [[The Drive (American football)|The Drive]].

Through most of its tenure as a baseball facility, the stadium was the largest in Major League Baseball by [[seating capacity]], seating over 78,000 initially and over 74,000 in its final years. It was superseded only by the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] from 1958 to 1961, while it was the temporary home of the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]], and by [[Mile High Stadium]] in 1993, the temporary home of the expansion [[Colorado Rockies]]. For football, the stadium seated approximately 80,000 people, ranking as one of the larger seating capacities in the NFL.

Former Browns owner [[Art Modell]] took over control of the stadium from the city in the 1970s and while his organization made improvements to the facility, it continued to decline. The Indians played their final game at the stadium in October 1993 and moved to [[Progressive Field|Jacobs Field]] the following season. Although plans were announced to renovate the stadium for use by the Browns, in 1995 Modell announced his intentions to move the team to Baltimore citing the state of Cleveland Stadium as a major factor. The Browns played their final game at the stadium in December 1995, after which they were renamed the [[Baltimore Ravens]]. As part of an agreement between Modell, the city of Cleveland, and the NFL, the Browns [[Cleveland Browns relocation controversy|were officially deactivated]] for three seasons and the city was required to construct a new stadium on the Cleveland Stadium site. Cleveland Stadium was demolished in 1996 to make way for [[Cleveland Browns Stadium]], which opened in 1999. Much of the debris from the demolition was placed in [[Lake Erie]] to create an artificial reef.

==History==
The impetus for Cleveland 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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lewis, Franklin|title=The Cleveland Indians|publisher=Kent State University Press reprint from Putnam|isbn=978-0-87-338885-6|year=2006|pages=166–167}}</ref>  However, some have incorrectly stated that it was built in a failed bid to attract the [[1932 Summer Olympics]], which had been awarded to Los Angeles in 1923,<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/Official%20Past%20Games%20Reports/Summer/ENG/1932_Los_Angeles_Official_Report.pdf |title=The Games of the Xth Olympiad, Los Angeles 1932 Official Report |date=1933 |publisher=Xth Olympiad Committee of the Games of Los Angeles, U.S.A. 1932 |editor1-last=Browne |editor1-first=F.G. |location= |pages=37–38 |oclc=1437448 |access-date=January 5, 2016}}</ref> long before ground was broken on the stadium.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pahigaian|first1=Josh|first2=Kevin|last2=O'Connell|title=The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip|year=2004|publisher=Lyons Press|location=[[Guilford, Connecticut]]|isbn=1-592-28159-1 |page=235 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FM1YtoSZEnAC&pg=PA235}}</ref> Another common misconception is that Cleveland Stadium was a [[Works Progress Administration]] project; the WPA was not created until 1935, four years after the stadium was built.<ref>{{cite book |last=Torry |first=Jack |date=1996 |title=Endless Summers: The Fall and Rise of the Cleveland Indians |publisher=Diamond Communications |page=207 |isbn=0-912-08398-0 |quote=A peculiar legend has emerged that Cleveland Stadium was a WPA project designed to attract the Olympics.}}</ref>

In November 1928, Cleveland voters passed by 112,448 to 76,975, a 59% passage rate, with 55% needed to pass, "a US$2.5 million levy for a fireproof stadium on the Lakefront." Actual construction costs overran that amount by $500,000.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cormack|first=George|title=Municipal Stadium: Memories on the Lakefront, Vol. 1|year=1997|url=https://www.biblio.com/book/municipal-stadium-memories-lakefront-volume-one/d/1243117824|publisher=Instant Concepts, Inc.|location=Cleveland, Ohio|isbn=978-1-88-217121-7|page=2}}</ref>

==Construction==
[[Image:6a29310r.jpg|thumb|left|Cleveland Stadium under construction in 1931]]
[[File:Cleveland Ohio.jpg|thumb|right|Cleveland Stadium and skyline, 1940s]]

Built during the administrations of [[city manager]]s [[William R. Hopkins]] and [[Daniel E. Morgan]], it was designed by the architectural firms of [[Walker and Weeks]] and by [[Osborn Engineering|Osborn Engineering Company]]. It featured an early use of structural aluminum.
The stadium was dedicated on July 1, 1931.  On July 3, 1931, it hosted a [[boxing]] match for the [[National Boxing Association]] World Heavyweight Championship between [[Max Schmeling]] and [[Young Stribling]], with 37,000 fans in attendance. Schmeling retained his title by a [[technical knockout]] victory in the 15th round.<ref>{{Citation |title=Max Schmeling vs Young Stribling |date=1931-07-03 |url=https://archive.org/details/MaxSchmelingVsYoungStribling |access-date=2025-03-13 |language=English |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The Donald Gray Gardens were installed on the stadium's north side in 1936 as part of the [[Great Lakes Exposition]]. They remained until construction started on Cleveland Browns Stadium in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacKeigan |first=Judy |title=Donald Gray Gardens - Great Lakes Exposition |url=https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/291 |website=Cleveland Historical}}</ref>

==Tenants==

===Indians===
The stadium was built for football as well as for the [[Cleveland Indians]], who played their first game there on July 31, 1932, losing to the [[Philadelphia Athletics]]' great pitcher [[Lefty Grove]] 1–0 while attracting a then-major-league-record crowd of 80,184.<ref>Cormack, ''op.cit''. p.17.</ref> The Indians played all of their games at the stadium from the middle of the [[1932 in baseball|1932 season]] through 1933.  However, the players and fans complained about the huge [[outfield]], which reduced the number of home runs.  Moreover, as the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] worsened, attendance plummeted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Clem's Baseball ~ League Park (IV) |url=http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/LeaguePark.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.andrewclem.com}}</ref> The Indians returned to their smaller previous home, [[League Park]], which was owned by the team, for all of the 1934 and 1935 seasons.

The Indians used the stadium to host the [[1935 Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] and returned to the stadium in 1936 to host the New York Yankees on August 2 as part of the [[Great Lakes Exposition]], drawing a crowd of 65,342. In 1937, the Indians began playing Sunday and holiday games at Cleveland Stadium during the summer, adding selected important games there in 1938. League Park lacked field lighting, so the emergence of night baseball in the 1930s led to the addition of night games to the schedule after lights were installed at the stadium in 1939. In 1940 and from 1942 on, the Indians played the majority of their home slate at the stadium, abandoning League Park entirely after the [[1946 in baseball|1946 season]]. They remained at Cleveland Stadium until the end of the [[1993 in baseball|1993 season]], after which they moved to [[Progressive Field|Jacobs Field]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Lowry|first=Phillip|title=Green Cathedrals|url=https://archive.org/details/greencathedralsu0000lowr_u1c9|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Walker & Company|location=New York City|isbn=0-802-71562-1}}</ref>
[[Image:ClevelandMunicipalStadium1993Outfield.jpg|thumb|right|View of center field in 1993. [[Lake Erie]] is visible just outside the stadium. Visible beyond the outfield wall is a portion of the original (larger) outfield area.]]
The stadium foreshadowed problems that would emerge 40 years later when [[cookie-cutter stadium]]s were in vogue.  Due to the fundamentally different sizes and shapes of baseball and football fields, the baseball sight lines generally left much to be desired. Many of the seats in the upper deck were too far from the field to be of any use during the regular season. The original baseball playing field was so large that an inner fence was constructed in 1947 to cut down the size of the spacious outfield. Even after the fence was installed, the distance markers on the bleacher walls remained visible for many years: {{convert|470|ft}} from home plate to the bleachers in straightaway center field, {{convert|463|ft}} to either corner of the bleachers, and {{convert|435|ft}} to the far corners of the main stands in left-center and right-center. No player ever hit a [[home run]] into the center field [[bleacher]]s. 
According to his autobiography, ''Veeck – As in Wreck'', Indians owner [[Bill Veeck]] would move the fence in or out, varying by as much as {{convert|15|ft}}, depending on how it would favor the Indians, a practice that ended when the [[American League]] specifically legislated against moving fences during the course of a given season. But over the years, various ownerships tinkered with the position of the fence from time to time.

Like some other facilities built before [[warning track]]s became standard, the stadium had an earthen berm in front of the center field wall. After the inner fence was installed, the berm was still visible during football season.

[[Jim Palmer]] was convinced that the pitcher's mound at the stadium was taller than most. "The mound was, despite whatever the rules claim, just a little lower than [[Mount Kilimanjaro]]."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Palmer|first1=Jim|last2=Dale|first2=Jim|title=Palmer and Weaver: Together We Were Eleven Foot Nine|year=1996|publisher=Andrews and McMeel|location=Kansas City|isbn=0-836-20781-5|page=127}}</ref>

The facility, located just south of [[Lake Erie]], was known for the biting cold winds that would blow into the stadium in winter, as well as during much of the spring and fall. Because of its proximity to the lake during hot summer nights, its lights attracted swarms of [[Chironomidae|midges]] and [[mayfly|mayflies]]. Game 2 of the [[2007 American League Division Series]] at Jacobs Field on October 5, 2007, brought back memories of the old stadium, when swarms of midges (misidentified by the television announcers as mayflies) infested the field, particularly the pitcher's mound.

The Indians set three Major League attendance records during the 1948 season, when they won the [[List of American League pennant winners|American League pennant]] and [[1948 World Series|World Series]] behind pitcher [[Bob Feller]] and shortstop/player-manager [[Lou Boudreau]]. That season, Cleveland had the highest single season attendance, 2,620,627, which was not eclipsed until 1962 by the [[1962 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Toman|first=James A.|title=Cleveland Stadium: The Last Chapter|year=1997|publisher=Cleveland Landmarks Press, Inc.|location=Cleveland, Ohio|isbn=0-936-76010-9|page=87}}</ref> largest regular season night game attendance of 72,434 for the first major league start of [[Satchel Paige]],<ref>Cormack, ''op.cit''. p.59.</ref> and biggest World Series game attendance of 86,288 for game 5 on October 10, 1948.<ref>Cormack, ''op.cit''. p.58.</ref>  However, during the Indians' lean years from the 1960s through the 1990s, they rarely attracted more than 30,000 people, and even crowds of 40,000 looked sparse in the cavernous environment. After the Indians were eliminated from the pennant race in 1949, as a [[black humor]]-themed stunt they held a mock funeral procession on the field and buried their 1948 pennant behind the center field fence.<ref>"'Mortician' Veeck Buries 1948 Flag" ''The Plain Dealer'' September 24, 1949: 14</ref> Due to the large size of the facility, the Indians began using a [[bullpen car]] in 1950.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lukas |first=Paul |date=October 19, 2007 |title=Lukas: Long live the bullpen car |url=http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=bullpencars/071018 |access-date=February 24, 2018 |work=ESPN}}</ref>

In addition to the 1935 MLB All-Star Game, Cleveland Stadium also hosted three additional all-star games: [[1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1954]], [[1963 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1963]], and [[1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1981]]. Cleveland Stadium and [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]] are the only venues to host four MLB all-star games. On May 15, 1981, [[Len Barker]] threw a [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] at the stadium, the second in franchise history and [[List of Major League Baseball perfect games|eighth]] in modern Major League history. The final Indians home game at Cleveland Stadium was held October 3, 1993, a 4–0 loss to the [[1993 Chicago White Sox season|Chicago White Sox]] in front of 72,390 fans. During the game, fans, led by comedian [[Bob Hope]], who grew up an Indians fan and was once a part-owner, sang a version of his signature song "[[Thanks for the Memory]]" with special lyrics for the occasion.<ref>{{cite web |title=1993 Cleveland Indians Schedule and Results |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/1993-schedule-scores.shtml |year=2016 |access-date=October 31, 2016 |work=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

===Browns===
[[File:Cleveland Municipal Stadium last game played in the stadium December 17, 1995.jpg|thumb|Aerial photo during the last Browns game played in the stadium, December 17, 1995, against the [[Cincinnati Bengals]].]]
The [[Cleveland Browns]], originally members of the [[All-America Football Conference]] (AAFC), began playing at the facility in 1946, and played there through 1995. The stadium was the site of the AAFC Championship game in 1946, 1948 and 1949, all Browns wins. The Browns joined the NFL in 1950 and hosted the [[List of NFL champions|NFL Championship Game]] in [[1950 NFL Championship Game|1950]], [[1952 NFL Championship Game|1952]], [[1954 NFL Championship Game|1954]], [[1964 NFL Championship Game|1964]], and [[1968 NFL Championship Game|1968]], winning titles in 1950, 1954, and 1964.

The first Browns game at the stadium was also the first AAFC game, when the Browns hosted the [[Miami Seahawks]] on September 6, 1946. The Browns won the game 44–0 and drew 60,135 fans, what was then a record for a professional football crowd. During the 1980s, the center field [[bleacher]]s at the east end of the stadium were home to many of the club's most avid fans and became known as the [[Dawg Pound]] after the barks that fans made to disrupt opposing teams' offensive plays. The fans were copying Browns players [[Hanford Dixon]] and [[Frank Minnifield]], who frequently appeared to bark to each other and to the opposition. Some of the fans even wore dog masks and threw dog biscuits at opposing players. The Dawg Pound was included in the design of [[Cleveland Browns Stadium]] (built on the same site as Cleveland Stadium), where the east end zone also has bleacher seating.

The stadium was also the site of two notable moments in Cleveland sports and Browns history. In a [[1980–81 NFL playoffs|1980 divisional playoff game]] on January 4, Browns quarterback [[Brian Sipe]] was intercepted in the end zone with less than a minute remaining in the game, resulting in a 14–12 loss to the [[1980 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders]]. The game has since been referred to by the name of the pass play, [[Red Right 88]]. Six years later, during the [[1986–87 NFL playoffs#AFC: Denver Broncos 23, Cleveland Browns 20 (OT)|1986 AFC Championship game]] on January 11, [[John Elway]] led the [[1986 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]] on what is referred to as [[The Drive (American football)|The Drive]], a 98-yard touchdown drive with 5:32 left that tied the game and sent it into overtime. The Broncos ultimately prevailed 23–20.

The final game in the stadium was held December 17, 1995, an emotional 26–10 win over the [[1995 Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati Bengals]], the Browns' final game before the franchise was [[Cleveland Browns relocation controversy|officially deactivated until 1999]].  At the end of that game, many fans cut and removed their seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Day in Browns History: Original Browns win farewell game in Cleveland Stadium |url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2009/12/this_day_in_browns_history_ori.html |author=Exner, Rich |date=December 17, 2009 |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]] |access-date=January 15, 2016}}</ref>

===Football Indians and Rams===
Prior to the arrival of the Browns, the stadium was briefly the home field for two other NFL teams, the [[Cleveland Indians (NFL 1931)|Cleveland Indians]] in 1931, and the [[History of the Cleveland Rams|Cleveland Rams]] from 1936 to 1937 and again from 1939 to 1941. The football Indians played two home games in their [[1931 Cleveland Indians (NFL) season|1931 season]], a 6–0 win over the [[Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)|Brooklyn Dodgers]] and a 14–0 loss to the [[History of the Chicago Cardinals|Chicago Cardinals]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cli/1931.htm|title=1931 Cleveland Indians|publisher=Pro Football Reference|access-date=May 27, 2015}}</ref> The team drew a crowd of around only 2,000 spectators for the September 26th game against Brooklyn and 10,000 for the loss to the Cardinals on November 8.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/193109260cli.htm|title=Brooklyn Dodgers 0 at Cleveland Indians 6|publisher=Pro Football Reference|access-date=May 27, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/193111080cli.htm|title=Chicago Cardinals 14 at Cleveland Indians 6|publisher=Pro Football Reference|access-date=May 27, 2015}}</ref>
 
The Rams were founded in 1936 as members of the second [[American Football League (1936)|American Football League]] and joined the NFL in 1937. They played home games at the stadium their first two seasons, before moving to the smaller [[Shaw Stadium]] in 1938. The Rams returned to the stadium in 1939 and played home games there through the 1941 season before moving to [[League Park]] for the remainder of their time in Cleveland. The team returned to the stadium one last time to host the [[1945 NFL Championship Game]], a 15–14 win in what was the final Rams game in Cleveland before the team relocated to Los Angeles.

==Seating capacity==
{{col-begin}}{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Baseball
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball primary style|Cleveland Indians}};"| Years
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball primary style|Cleveland Indians}};"| Capacity
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball secondary style|Cleveland Indians}};"|1932–1949
| {{center|78,811}} 
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball secondary style|Cleveland Indians}};"|1950–1966
| {{center|73,811}} 
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball secondary style|Cleveland Indians}};"|1967–1968
| {{center|74,056}} 
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball secondary style|Cleveland Indians}};"|1969–1975
| {{center|76,966}}  
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball secondary style|Cleveland Indians}};"|1976–1980
| {{center|76,713}}  
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball secondary style|Cleveland Indians}};"|1981
| {{center|76,685}}  
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball secondary style|Cleveland Indians}};"|1982–1988
| {{center|74,208}} 
|-
! scope="row" style="{{Baseball secondary style|Cleveland Indians}};"|1989–1993
| {{center|74,483}}  
|}
{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Football
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"| Years
! scope="row" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"| Capacity
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1932–1946
| {{center|1=83,000<ref name="cmscap">{{cite book |last1=Gordon|first1=Roger|year=2015|title=Cleveland Browns A - Z|trans-title=Cleveland Municipal/Cleveland Stadium Seating Capacities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRMQCwAAQBAJ|location=New York|publisher=Sports Publishing|isbn=978-1-61-321858-7|access-date=June 4, 2018}}</ref>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1947
| {{center|1=77,563<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1948–1951
| {{center|1=77,707<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1952–1961
| {{center|1=78,207<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1962–1964
| {{center|1=78,166<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1965
| {{center|1=77,096<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1966
| {{center|1=77,124<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1967–1974
| {{center|1=79,282<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1975–1976
| {{center|1=80,165<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1977
| {{center|1=80,233<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1975–1980
| {{center|1=80,385<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1981–1982
| {{center|1=80,322<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1983–1991
| {{center|1=80,098<ref name="cmscap"/>}}
|-
! scope="row" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns}};"|1992–1995
| {{center|1=78,512<ref>{{cite news |title=Pulling His Own Strings Henshaw Carries Top Credentials|first=Joseph|last=Sanchez|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DP&p_theme=dp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB1DA8C7910283E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D|newspaper=[[The Denver Post]]|date=February 16, 1992|access-date=May 10, 2014|page=15B}}</ref>}}
|}
{{col-break}}{{col-end}}

==Records and milestones==
*July 1, 1931 – Dedication
*July 3, 1931 – Opening event: World Heavyweight Championship boxing match between [[Max Schmeling]] and [[Young Stribling]], with 37,000 fans in attendance.
*July 31, 1932 – First Cleveland Indians game, vs. Philadelphia Athletics (loss, 1–0); pitched by [[Mel Harder]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wancho |first=Joseph |title=July 31, 1932: Lefty Grove shuts out Indians in first game at Cleveland Stadium |url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/july-31-1932-lefty-grove-shuts-out-indians-in-first-game-at-cleveland-stadium/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref>
*December 16, 1945 – The Cleveland Rams [[1945 NFL Championship Game|defeated the Washington Redskins]] 15–14, to win the NFL championship. Twenty-seven days later the Rams moved to Los Angeles.
*December 24, 1950 – The Browns defeated the [[Los Angeles Rams]] 30–28 in the [[1950 NFL Championship Game]].
*December 28, 1952 – The [[Detroit Lions]] defeated the Browns 17–7 in the [[1952 NFL Championship Game]].
*September 12, 1954 – A league record 84,587 people attended a Yankees-Indians game.
*December 26, 1954 – The Browns defeated the Lions 56–10 in the [[1954 NFL Championship Game]].
*April 19, 1960 – The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians played 15 innings on Opening Day, tying the record for the longest Opening-Day game.
*June 17, 1960 – [[Ted Williams]] hits his 500th career home run.
*December 27, 1964 – The Browns defeated the [[Indianapolis Colts|Baltimore Colts]] 27–0 in the [[1964 NFL Championship Game]].
*August 14, 1966 – [[The Beatles]] performed at the stadium.
*June 21, 1970 – Detroit's [[César Gutiérrez]] got seven hits in seven at bats in 12 innings.
*September 21, 1970 – The first ever Monday Night Football game was played, with the Browns defeating the New York Jets.
*June 4, 1974 – [[Ten Cent Beer Night]]: The Indians hosted the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] while promoting unlimited beer for $.10/cup for the fans in order to attract fans to the stadium. Due to the rowdiness of the intoxicated fans, the Indians were forced to [[Forfeit (baseball)|forfeit]] the game.
*April 8, 1975 – MLB first black manager:  Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson made his debut as the first black manager in the history of Major League Baseball.  Robinson, in the latter stages of his career, had been acquired as a player in the last month of the previous season.  He served that Opening Day as a player-manager, hitting a home run to add to the historic day, helping lead the Indians to a 5–3 win over the Yankees before over 56,000 fans.
*June 25, 1977 – 83,199 people attended a concert by the British rock group [[Pink Floyd]].
*January 4, 1981 – The Browns lost their divisional playoff game against the [[Oakland Raiders]] when an [[interception]] occurred during a play called [[Red Right 88]]. The Browns only needed a field goal to take the lead but had an ailing [[placekicker|kicker]].
*May 15, 1981 – [[Len Barker's perfect game]]: [[Len Barker]] pitched the tenth [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] in baseball history
*August 21, 1986 – Boston's [[Spike Owen]] tied a Major League record by scoring six runs
*January 11, 1987 – [[The Drive (American football)|The Drive]]: In one of Cleveland's sports disappointments, [[John Elway]] led the [[Denver Broncos]] 98 yards down the field for the tying score late in the [[1986–87 NFL playoffs#AFC: Denver Broncos 23, Cleveland Browns 20 (OT)|AFC Championship Game]]. Denver won in overtime, 23–20, earning the right to play in [[Super Bowl XXI]]
*September 2, 1990 – Toronto's [[Dave Stieb]] pitched the first [[no-hitter]] in franchise history
*October 3, 1993 – Last Cleveland Indians game, vs. [[Chicago White Sox]] (loss, 4–0)
*December 17, 1995 – Last Cleveland Browns game, vs. [[Cincinnati Bengals]] (win, 26–10)
*December 3, 1996 – Stadium catches fire during demolition
*March 1, 1997 – Demolition completed

==Other events==

===College football===
The only [[Great Lakes Bowl]] was held there in 1947.

The stadium hosted the annual [[Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry|college football game]] between [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]] and [[Navy Midshipmen football|Navy]] 11 times: in 1932, 1934, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1976 and 1978. The games were well attended, with an average attendance of 69,730 and a high of 84,090 fans for the 1947 game, which was won by Notre Dame 27–0.

Local college teams, including [[Case Western Reserve Spartans football|Western Reserve Red Cats]], [[Case Western Reserve Spartans football|Case Tech Rough Riders]], [[John Carroll Blue Streaks football|John Carroll Blue Streaks]],<ref>{{Cite web |title="Who is John Carroll?" Syracuse Finds Out in 1950. |url=https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll10/id/8589/rec/1 |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=digital.la84.org |language=en}}</ref> and [[Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets football|Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets]] often used the stadium for home games and local matchups, especially during the 1930s and 1940s when the city ''Big Four Conference'' was strong.<ref>{{cite book|last=Watterson|first=John S.|title=College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy|url=https://archive.org/details/collegefootballh0000watt|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=0-801-86428-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/collegefootballh0000watt/page/256 256]}}</ref>  Of the 60 all-time ''Big Four'' matchups, 22 were played at Cleveland Stadium, the most of any venue.<ref name="Krsolovic 2013, p. 143">Krsolovic & Fritz. "League Park, Historic Home of Cleveland Baseball 1891–1946", McFarland & Co., 2013, pp. 33-34.</ref>

The [[Illinois Fighting Illini]] played the [[Penn State Nittany Lions]] there in 1959. The [[Ohio State Buckeyes]] played in the stadium four times, the first three as the home team during [[World War II]]. The first was in a 1942 win over Illinois before 68,656, the second a 1943 loss to Purdue, and the third a 1944 victory over Illinois. The final college football contest played there was on October 19, 1991, when the [[Northwestern Wildcats]] played a [[Home advantage#Neutral venues|neutral site]] "home" game against the Buckeyes. While Northwestern received the home team's share of the gate receipts, Buckeye fans made up the vast majority of the crowd.<ref>{{cite book|last=Toman|first=James A.|title=Cleveland Stadium: Sixty Years of Memories|year=1994|publisher=Cleveland Landmarks Press, Inc.|location=Cleveland, Ohio|isbn=0-936-76009-5|pages=45–46}}</ref>
[[File:Graham Crusade.JPG|thumb|right|The stadium hosts a 1994 [[Billy Graham]] crusade]]

===Concerts===
In addition to sporting events, the stadium hosted a number of other events including concerts. The first concert held at the stadium, featuring [[the Beatles]], took place in 1966. From 1974 to 1980, the [[World Series of Rock]] concerts were held each summer featuring acts such as [[the Rolling Stones]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[the Beach Boys]], [[AC/DC]] and [[Aerosmith]]. The Rolling Stones' July 1, 1978 concert of 82,238 attendees was reportedly the first concert to gross over $1 million.<ref>Toman, ''op.cit''. pp.59-65.</ref>

In the 1980s and 1990s, the stadium hosted concerts by [[the Jacksons]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[U2]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[the Who]] and [[Paul McCartney]], plus more concerts by Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones.

On September 2, 1995, the opening of the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] was celebrated with an all-star concert which featured [[Chuck Berry]], [[Bob Dylan]], [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]] and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321753/|title = The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|website = [[IMDb]]|date = 2 September 1995}}</ref>

===Religious events===
The stadium also hosted numerous religious services. Its most heavily attended event was the [[Roman Catholic Church]]'s Seventh [[Eucharistic Congress]], hosted by the [[Diocese of Cleveland]] in 1935, which attracted 75,000 to a midnight mass on September 24, 1935, and an estimated 125,000 to Eucharistic service the following day.<ref>Toman, ''op.cit''. pp.45-46.</ref> One of the stadium's last events was a [[Billy Graham]] crusade, held in 1994.

==Demise==
[[File:Chief Wahoo (14981728948).jpg|thumb|right|A 28-foot [[Chief Wahoo]] sign that stood atop one of the entrances to Cleveland Municipal Stadium until the Indians baseball team moved to a Jacobs Field in 1994, the sign was restored and installed in the [[Western Reserve Historical Society]]’s lobby in February, 1995.]]
As the stadium aged and maintenance costs increased, the facility became an economic drain on the City of Cleveland, which owned and originally operated it. In 1973, then-Browns owner Art Modell signed a 25-year lease to operate Cleveland Municipal Stadium.<ref name="SIMunson1"/> Modell's newly formed company, Stadium Corporation, assumed the expenses of operations from the city, freeing up tax revenue for other purposes.<ref name=henkel102>{{harvnb|Henkel|2005|p=102}}</ref> Also, Modell would pay an annual rent of $150,000 for the first five years and $200,000 afterward to the city. In exchange, Modell would receive all revenue generated by the stadium. Stadium Corp invested in improvements, including new electronic scoreboards and [[luxury suite]]s.<ref name="SIMunson1">{{cite magazine|title=A Busted Play|first=Lester|last=Munson|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007507/index.htm|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=December 4, 1995|access-date=May 19, 2011|archive-date=November 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104070721/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007507/index.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, the stadium's inadequacy was becoming apparent in any event; chunks of concrete were falling off and the pilings were starting to petrify.<ref>{{cite news |title=Inside the Browns Deal|first=Jon|last=Morgan|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-modell121795,0,7910265.story|newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=December 17, 1995|access-date=July 1, 2008}}</ref>

Modell, mistakenly believing that his revenues were not endangered, refused to participate in the [[Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex|Gateway Project]] that built [[Jacobs Field|a new ballpark]] for the Indians and [[Gund Arena|a new arena]] for the [[Cleveland Cavaliers|Cavaliers]].<ref name=ModellRefuse>{{cite news |title=Art Modell Was Offered a Stadium for the Cleveland Browns and Passed|first=Mark|last=Naymik|url=http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2012/09/art_modell_gateway_stadium.html|newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]]|location=Cleveland|date=September 13, 2012|access-date=October 3, 2012}}</ref> Modell's assumptions proved incorrect, and Stadium Corp.'s suite revenues declined sharply in the [[1994 Cleveland Indians season|1994 season]] without the approximately 81 games the Indians played in the facility each season.<ref name=henkel102/> The following year, Modell announced plans to [[Cleveland Browns relocation controversy|move the Browns]] to [[Baltimore]] after the [[1995 NFL season|1995 season]].

Modell's move of the Browns breached the team's lease, and the City of Cleveland sued.  As part of the settlement, the city agreed to demolish Cleveland Stadium and build a new stadium on the same site. Modell agreed to leave the Browns' name, colors, and history in Cleveland, and the NFL agreed to have a resurrected Browns team by 1999, either by relocation or expansion. Demolition on Cleveland Stadium began in November 1996 and was completed in early 1997. {{Convert|15000|ST}} of demolition debris was dumped into Lake Erie to create three [[artificial reef]]s for fishermen and divers, offshore of Cleveland and neighboring Lakewood. Construction on the new stadium began later in 1997 and it opened in August 1999 as [[Cleveland Browns Stadium]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Ohio Coastal Atlas |url=https://coastal.ohiodnr.gov/portals/coastal/pdfs/atlas/CH1_introduction.pdf |publisher=[[Ohio Department of Natural Resources]] |access-date=October 4, 2016 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Stadium finds new life as a lake reef |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/08/19/loc_stadium_finds_new.html |newspaper=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] |author=Wendling, Mike |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=August 19, 1999 |access-date=October 4, 2016}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
Several scenes for the motion picture, ''[[The Fortune Cookie]]'', were filmed during the game between the Browns and the visiting [[Minnesota Vikings]] on October 31, 1965. Much of the 1949 movie ''[[The Kid from Cleveland]]'', in which [[Bob Feller]], [[Lou Boudreau]], [[Bill Veeck]] and [[Satchel Paige]] played themselves, was filmed there. Despite being set in the stadium, the 1989 motion picture ''[[Major League (film)|Major League]]'' was not filmed in the stadium. While aerial distance shots of the stadium were used, [[Milwaukee County Stadium]], whose grandstand interior looked similar to that of Municipal Stadium, was used for filming.<ref>[http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2008/03/a_partial_list_of_films_shot_i.html A partial list of films in Greater Cleaveland]</ref> Some scenes in the 1991 made-for-TV biopic ''[[Babe Ruth (film)|Babe Ruth]]'', starring [[Stephen Lang]] as Ruth and with a cameo by [[Pete Rose]] as [[Ty Cobb]], were filmed there.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Creamer |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Creamer |date=September 30, 1991 |title=The Babe Goes Hollywood |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1991/09/30/125014/the-babe-goes-hollywood-the-bambinos-biographer-visited-the-set-of-a-television-movie-to-see-the-legend-come-to-life |access-date=May 10, 2014 |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Henkel|first=Frank M.|year=2005|title=Cleveland Browns History|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=Mount Pleasant, South Carolina|isbn=978-0-7385-3428-2 }}
*Leventhal, Josh.(2000) ''Take me out to the ballpark: an illustrated tour of baseball parks past and present''. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc. p.&nbsp;59.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/ClevelandBrowns/oldindex.htm Cleveland Municipal Stadium at Ballparks.com]
*[http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CMS5 Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry]
*[https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4084cm.g4084cm_g06648195201A/?sp=25&st=image 1952 Sanborn map showing the stadium]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box 
 | title = Home of the [[Cleveland Indians]]
 | years = 1932–1993 (shared with League Park from 1932–1933 and 1936–1946) 
 | before = [[League Park]]
 | after = [[League Park]]<br />[[Progressive Field|Jacobs Field]]
}}
{{succession box 
 | title = Home of the [[Cleveland Browns]]
 | years = 1946–1995
 | before = first stadium
 | after = [[Huntington Bank Field|Cleveland Browns Stadium]]
}}
{{succession box 
 | title = Home of the [[Cleveland Rams]]
 | years = 1936<br />1939–1941
 | before = first stadium<br/>[[Shaw Stadium]]
 | after = [[League Park]]<br />[[League Park]]
}}
{{succession box 
 | title = Host of the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]]
 | years = {{baseball year|1935}}<br />{{baseball year|1954}}<br />{{baseball year|1963}}<br />{{baseball year|1981}}
 | before = [[Polo Grounds]]<br />[[Crosley Field]]<br />[[Wrigley Field]]<br />[[Dodger Stadium]] 
 | after = [[Braves Field]]<br />[[Milwaukee County Stadium|County Stadium]]<br />[[Shea Stadium]]<br />[[Olympic Stadium (Montreal)|Olympic Stadium]] 
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Host of [[AFC Championship Game]]
 | years = 1987
 | before = [[Miami Orange Bowl]]
 | after = [[Mile High Stadium]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Cleveland Guardians}}
{{Cleveland Browns}}
{{Los Angeles Rams}}
{{Case Western Reserve Spartans football navbox}}
{{Cleveland Indians (NFL 1931)}}
{{Defunct NFL stadiums}}
{{Defunct MLB Ballparks}}
{{AFL II}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1931 establishments in Ohio]]
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[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1931]]
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[[Category:Case Western Reserve Spartans football|Category:Case Western Spartans Football]]
[[Category:Cleveland Browns stadiums]]
[[Category:Cleveland Guardians stadiums]]
[[Category:Cleveland Rams stadiums]]
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[[Category:Defunct college football venues]]
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[[Category:American Football League (1936) venues]]
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[[Category:History of Cleveland]]
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[[Category:Sports venues in Cleveland]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio]]
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[[Category:Music venues in Cleveland]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums]]
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