View source for Cramton Bowl

{{Short description|American stadium}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox venue
| stadium_name      = Cramton Bowl
| image             = Cramton Bowl Feb 2012 03.jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Cramton Bowl in 2012
| location          = 1022 Madison Avenue,<br />[[Montgomery, Alabama]] 36107
| coordinates       = {{coord|32.37949|-86.293002|type:landmark_scale:10000_region:US|display=it}}
| pushpin_map         = USA Alabama#USA
| pushpin_relief      = 1
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Alabama##Location in the United States
| opened            = 1922
| owner             = City of Montgomery
| operator          = 
| seating_capacity  = 25,000
| surface           = UBU Speed S5
| tenants           = {{unbulleted list
 |[[Salute to Veterans Bowl]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|FBS]]) (2014–present)
 |[[FCS Kickoff]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|FCS]]) (2017–present)
 |[[Montgomery Bowl]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|FBS]]) (2020)
 |[[Blue–Gray Football Classic]] (1939–2001)
 |[[Montgomery Public Schools]]
 |[[Alabama State Hornets football|Alabama State Hornets]] ([[Southwestern Athletic Conference|SWAC]]) (1923–2012)
 |[[Faulkner University|Faulkner Eagles]] ([[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]]) (2007–2012)
 |[[Alabama Crimson Tide football|Alabama Crimson Tide]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]) (1922–1954)
 |[[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn Tigers]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]) (1922–1953)
 |[[Chattanooga Lookouts]] ([[Southern Association|Southern League]]) (1943)
 |[[Montgomery Rebels]] ([[Southeastern League]]) (1938–1949)
 |[[Montgomery Bombers]] ([[Southeastern League]]) (1937)
 |[[Montgomery Grey Sox]] ([[Negro Southern League (1920–1936)|Negro Southern League]]) (1932)
 |[[Montgomery Lions]] ([[Southeastern League]]) (1927–1930)
 |[[Philadelphia Athletics]] ([[American League|AL]]) (spring training) (1923–1924)
 }}
}}
'''Cramton Bowl''' is a 21,000-seat [[stadium]] located in [[Montgomery, Alabama]]. Cramton Bowl opened in 1922 as a [[Baseball park|baseball stadium]] and has been home to [[Major League Baseball]] [[spring training]] and to [[minor league baseball]]. Today, however, its primary use is for [[American football]].

It is the host of the annual [[Salute to Veterans Bowl]] (formerly the Camellia Bowl) for the [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision]] (FBS); the [[FCS Kickoff]], an annual season-opening game in the Division I [[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|Football Championship Subdivision]]; and of Montgomery's five high school squads. It was previously home to the former [[Blue–Gray Football Classic]], a [[College football|collegiate]] all-star game usually played on Christmas Day, the [[Alabama State Hornets football]] team, and hosted the first ever football game played under the lights in the South.<ref>[http://www.montgomeryal.gov/index.aspx?page=188 City of Montgomery, website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721050054/http://www.montgomeryal.gov/index.aspx?page=188 |date=2011-07-21 }}</ref><ref name=ESPNNewCB>{{cite news|last=McMurphy|first=Brett|title=Bowl created for MAC, Sun Belt|work=ESPN.com|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/9581531/espn-creates-bowl-mac-sun-belt-teams|access-date=August 20, 2013|date=August 19, 2013}}</ref>

==Stadium history==
[[File:Cramton Bowl 1921.png|thumb|left|An architect's sketch of Cramton Bowl in 1921]]
Cramton Bowl is named for Fred J. Cramton, a local businessman who donated the land on which the stadium is built.<ref>"City Dads Accept Cramton Bowl Gift", ''Montgomery Advertiser'', February 9, 1921.</ref> After a conversation with friends about the need for a baseball stadium, Cramton donated his sanitary landfill to the city so a facility could be constructed there. The city held the land for a time and then returned it, stating that Cramton's stadium idea was too big of a project for the city to undertake. Cramton then decided to take matters into his own hands; with the help of the [[Junior Chamber of Commerce]], Cramton raised $33,000 to build the sports venue.<ref name=Conversion>{{cite web
 | url = http://mymaxmore.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120:the-cramton-conversion&catid=1:current&Itemid=32
 | title = The Cramton Conversion
 | access-date = 2011-05-10
 | author = Fields, Tommy
}}</ref>

[[Seating capacity]] was expanded in 1929 to 7,991. More additions were made in 1946, increasing the seating capacity to 12,000.<ref name=baseball/> East stands were added in 1962 bringing the seating capacity up to 24,000. After new renovations were completed in July 2011 the capacity was reduced to 21,000.<ref>[http://alsportscapital.com/facility/cramton_bowl Central Alabama Sports Commission] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811093838/http://alsportscapital.com/facility/cramton_bowl |date=2011-08-11 }}</ref> The stadium's modern boundaries are Madison Avenue (north); Hall Street (east); Pelham Street (south); and buildings and Hilliard Street (west).

==Baseball==
[[File:Cramton Bowl baseball.jpg|thumb|left|Cramton Bowl during a baseball game in the 1920s or 1930s]]
The first baseball game played on the new field was in May 1922 between [[Auburn Tigers baseball|Auburn University]] and [[Vanderbilt Commodores baseball|Vanderbilt University]]. Shortly after its completion in 1922, the [[History of the Philadelphia Athletics|Philadelphia Athletics]] decided to move their spring training operations from [[Eagle Pass, Texas]] to Montgomery. They used the facility for their 1923 and 1924 spring training and exhibition games before moving to a newer stadium in [[Fort Myers, Florida]].

After the departure of the Philadelphia Athletics spring training, [[Minor League Baseball]]'s newly formed [[Southeastern League]] placed a team in Montgomery which became known as the [[Montgomery Lions]]. The Lions played in Cramton Bowl from 1926 to 1930. There was no team from 1931 to 1936 due to problems within the Southeastern League and the ongoing negative economic effects of the [[Great Depression]]. The team returned for the 1937 season as the [[Montgomery Bombers]] and garnered their first [[major league baseball]] affiliation with the [[Cleveland Indians]]. The Indians pulled out for the 1938 season and were replaced by the [[Philadelphia Phillies]]. After one season the Phillies dropped their affiliation; the team became a co-op franchise and were renamed the [[Montgomery Rebels]]. In 1943, the Rebels would disband due to the manpower shortage caused by World War II. On July 11 of that year, the [[Chattanooga Lookouts]] moved their home games to Cramton Bowl to play out the rest of the season.<ref name="Lookouts move from Chattanooga to Montgomery">{{cite web|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20Sun/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201943/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201943%20-%200568.pdf|title=Senators shift Lookout franchise|last=The Old Scout|date=July 16, 1943|publisher=New York Sun|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> The Lookouts managed to move back to Chattanooga and reverse the trend of declining attendance sometime later in the 1940s. The Rebels returned in 1946 through 1949 before moving to the newly constructed [[Paterson Field]] located just across the street.<ref name=baseball>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/park.cgi?id=AL031 Baseball-Reference]</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080317133248/http://www.digitalballparks.com/Southern/Cramton.html Digital Ballparks]}}</ref>

The eighth and deciding game of the [[1943 Negro World Series]] was held at the Cramton Bowl, with the [[Homestead Grays]] defeating the [[Birmingham Black Barons]], 8–4.

==Football==
On September 23, 1927, Cramton Bowl became the site of the first game played "under the lights" in the South with Cloverdale taking on Pike Road High School. Former superintendent D. H. "Sarge" Caraker remembers fondly, "[We] used dishpans for reflectors and sent to California for the lamps. We drew 7,200 people from all over the South to see it."<ref name=Conversion/>

===College football===
Cramton Bowl was host to all home games for [[Alabama State Hornets football]] prior to ASU's construction of [[ASU Stadium (Alabama)|an on-campus stadium]] in 2012 and was the host to all home games for the [[Faulkner University]] Eagles football team until 2012 when Faulkner University constructed its own facility. It was also home to the [[Turkey Day Classic]] and in 2009 hosted the inaugural [[Historically black colleges and universities|HBCU]] [[All-star]] Bowl.

Cramton Bowl also provided a location for [[Alabama Crimson Tide football]] home games in the capital city. The Crimson Tide played home games at Cramton Bowl in the [[1922 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|1922]] through [[1932 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|1932 seasons]], in [[1934 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|1934]], from [[1944 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|1944]] through [[1946 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|1946]] and again from [[1951 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|1951]] through [[1954 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|1954]]. Alabama's all-time record at Cramton Bowl was 17 wins and 3 losses.<ref name="Results">{{cite web
 | url = http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/m-footbl-results-archive.html
 | title = All-time Football Results
 | access-date = 2009-01-02
 | author = University of Alabama Sports Information
}}</ref>

Cramton Bowl probably achieved its greatest fame as the home of the [[Blue–Gray Football Classic]], an annual [[college football]] [[all-star]] game which was held there each December from 1938 until 2001.

Beginning in 2014, Cramton Bowl began hosting the [[Salute to Veterans Bowl|Camellia Bowl]], a college football [[bowl game]] with tie-ins with the [[Sun Belt Conference]] and [[Mid-American Conference]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/8/19/4636402/montgomery-bowl-game-sun-belt-mac |title = Camellia Bowl name of Montgomery, Alabama's new bowl game - SBNation.com| date=19 August 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/19/newly-created-camellia-bowl-will-feature-mac-sun-belt-teams/ |title = Newly created Camellia Bowl will feature MAC, Sun Belt teams - NBC Sports College Football| date=19 August 2013 }}</ref> The game was renamed the [[Salute to Veterans Bowl]] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stephenson |first=Creg |date=2024-10-15 |title=Montgomery’s bowl game gets new name, title sponsor |url=https://www.al.com/sports/2024/10/montgomerys-bowl-game-gets-new-name-title-sponsor.html |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=al |language=en}}</ref>

In 2017, the stadium became the regular host of the [[FCS Kickoff]], a season-opening Division I FCS game operated by [[ESPN Events|ESPN]] and nationally televised on [[ESPN College Football|one of ESPN's networks]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://espnevents.com/blog/press/guardian-credit-union-joins-fcs-kickoff-title-sponsor/|title=Guardian Credit Union Joins FCS Kickoff as Title Sponsor|date=March 21, 2017 |publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=May 7, 2017}}</ref>

In October 2020, Cramton Bowl was announced as the host stadium for the [[Montgomery Bowl]], a one-off bowl game played in December 2020, during the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.alabamanews.net/2020/10/30/montgomery-hosting-two-college-football-bowl-games-this-year/ |title=Montgomery Hosting Two College Football Bowl Games This Year |website=alabamanews.net |date=October 30, 2020 |access-date=October 30, 2020}}</ref>

===High school football===
Several area high schools call Cramton Bowl home including the [[Johnson Abernathy Graetz High School|Johnson Abernathy Graetz Jaguars]], [[Dr. Percy L. Julian High School|Percy Julian Phoenix]], Park Crossing High School Thunderbirds, and [[George Washington Carver High School (Montgomery, Alabama)|Carver Wolverines]]. In July 2011, Cramton Bowl hosted the [[Alabama High School Athletic Association]] Alabama All-Stars Sports Week football game.

==2011 renovations==
By the start of the 21st century, Cramton Bowl was widely regarded as being functionally obsolete for major sporting events. The stadium's relatively small capacity was not a concern as much as its age and condition. The stadium was not well maintained for most of its history, and by the dawn of the new millennium, it was actually crumbling. These issues were factors, although not the predominant ones, in the Blue-Gray Game not being held in 2002 and its subsequent relocation in 2003 to [[Troy University]]'s [[Veterans Memorial Stadium (Troy University)|Veterans Memorial Stadium]], about 50 miles (80&nbsp;km) from Montgomery.

In mid-2010 the City of Montgomery approved a measure for a $10 million renovation and addition to Cramton Bowl. The renovations planned for Cramton Bowl were a unique mix of the old and the new. The old structure was revamped and updated with four entrances, a state-of-the-art press box, an aesthetically enhanced plaza area, and a "Walk of Fame," which celebrates Montgomery's sports history and houses various articles of historic sports memorabilia. Perhaps the most important and impressive addition was the {{convert|90,000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} multi-purpose sports facility.<ref name=Conversion/> Demolition of the north end zone and press box began in late November 2010, which was phase one of the project. Phase two began in early January 2011 as crews removed an existing brick wall from the south end zone and dismantled the scoreboard to make way for the new multi-purpose sports facility. Work on the stadium was completed in 2011 while the new multi-purpose facility was finished in 2012.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20101128/SPORTS0403/11280347/1002/rss03
 | title = Cramton Bowl to get a facelift: Stadium to be joined by an indoor arena
 | access-date = 2010-11-28
 | author = Gayle, Tim
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130208121159/http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20101128/SPORTS0403/11280347/1002/rss03
 | archive-date = 2013-02-08
 }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110127/SPORTS/101270341/1002/rss03
 | title = Cramton Bowl renovation work reveals hidden rooms
 | access-date = 2011-01-27
 | author = Gayle, Tim
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110219202324/http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110127/SPORTS/101270341/1002/rss03
 | archive-date = 2011-02-19
 }}</ref>

==References==
{{commons category}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Alabama State University}}
{{Alabama State Hornets football navbox}}
{{Southwestern Athletic Conference football venue navbox}}
{{Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox}}
{{Alabama college football venues}}
{{Salute to Veterans Bowl navbox}}
{{NCAA Division I FBS bowl game stadium navbox}}
{{Athletics (baseball)}}

[[Category:College football venues in Alabama]]
[[Category:High school football venues in Alabama]]
[[Category:Alabama State Hornets football]]
[[Category:Faulkner Eagles football]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Montgomery, Alabama]]
[[Category:Alabama State Hornets and Lady Hornets sports venues]]
[[Category:Negro league baseball venues]]
[[Category:1922 establishments in Alabama]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1922]]