Balboa Stadium
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1405 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92103
Balboa Stadium is located in San Diego, California and was built in 1914 as part of the many buildings erected for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition located in Balboa Park. Originally called City Stadium, it is located behind San Diego High School and was the home of the American Football League's San Diego Chargers' from 1961-66. The stadium originally had a seating capacity of approximately 34,000.
Balboa Stadium witnessed the Chargers' glory years, which featured such players as John Hadl, Lance Alworth and Ernie Ladd, and hosted the 1961, 1963, and 1965 American Football League championship games, as well as the 1961, 1962, and 1963 AFL All-Star games. In their six seasons here, head coach Sid Gillman's club finished with a combined record of 28-12-2, winning four Western Division titles and one league crown. In 1967, the team left Balboa for new San Diego Stadium (now Qualcomm Stadium) in Mission Valley, where the club's glory slowed and the titles stopped (although they did win several American Football Conference Western Division titles) until they won the AFC championship after the 1994 season.
The stadium also hosted local amateur and professional baseball contests in the period prior to the establishment of the Pacific Coast League Padres in 1936.
On September 19, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson spoke in front of over 50,000 people in Balboa Stadium in support of the creation of the League of Nations. This was the first presidential speech to use an electronic voice amplification system. This system was invented by Edwin S. Pridham and Peter L. Jensen. They called their invention the "Magnavox" ("Great Voice") moving coil device. The two would go on to found the Magnavox company.
The NCAA football Harbor Bowl was held there from 1947 to 1949. The San Diego East-West Christmas Classic was held here in 1921 and 1922.
The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles and Neil Young have all performed at Balboa Stadium. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, and Satchel Paige played in this stadium.
Current Use
Today the stadium has a much smaller seating capacity than at the time it housed the Chargers. The stadium is home to the San Diego Pumitas minor league soccer club of the National Premier Soccer League as well as being used by the San Diego High School for local high school sporting and other events. The stadium is owned by the city of San Diego and leased to the San Diego Unified School District, which is responsible for its maintenance. An article in the San Diego Union-Tribune from November 27, 2006 highlighted the state of disrepair the stadium is in. The field is covered in artificial turf installed in 2001 that is torn and rippling, and the track surrounding the field has some dangerous depressions that could cause injury.
Past Performers
- The Beatles
- Jimi Hendrix Experience
- The Doors
- James Brown
- Neil Young
- Peter Frampton
- Aerosmith
In The Blogosphere
| Balboa Stadium - Google Blog Search |
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Balboa Stadium 5678
mliu92 posted a photo:. Balboa Stadium 5678. The former home of the Chargers (the seating has been mostly removed since then). |
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Balboa Park
It was a boring drive to be honest, we did see Angel Stadium and Disneyworld in Anehiem on our way up (from the highway that is). Once in, we headed Downtown to look at some of the highrises and then finished up at Universal Studios to ... |
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After Morrison died the Doors returned to Balboa Stadium for a ...
Pink Floyd at Jack Murphy Stadium quot. Awakened North Ridgeville prepaid cellular phone company aghast because dekalb county georgia real estate companies fly flot ssfly. . Best reviews of the day: Colitis. |
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Balboa Stadium open for runners:
How available is the track at Balboa Stadium to runners in general during the course of a week, especially around 5 pm and later. But, does San Diego High School keep things at the track pretty locked up to prevent anyone from running ... |
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Re: Balboa Stadium open for runners:
The stadium had homeless folks camped out and kids would vandalize the place. The good old days of open track facilities are gone, but you can still get in there most evenings w/oa problem. The stadium is used almost everyday by some ... |
