Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium located in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, California, near the campus of the University of Southern California. It is sometimes nicknamed The Grand Old Lady.

Related Topics:
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - Stadium - Exposition Park - Los Angeles, California - University of Southern California

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Originally built in 1922, the Coliseum served as the primary track and field venue and site of the opening and closing ceremonies of both the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games. The Olympic torch which burned through the Games remains above the peristyle at one end of the stadium as a reminder of this, as do the Olympic rings symbols over one of the main entrances. A pair of life-sized bronze statues of male and female athletes atop a 20,000 pound (9,000 kg) post-and-lintel frame formed the Olympic Gateway created by Robert Graham for the 1984 games. The statues, modeled on a waterpolo player and a sprinter who participated in the games, were noted for their anatomical accuracy.

Related Topics:
1922 - 1932 - 1984 - Olympic Games - Bronze - Statue - Robert Graham - 1984 - Waterpolo - Sprint

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Olympic Torch is lit during football games, and other special occasions. In 2004, the torch was lit non-stop for seven days in tribute to Ronald Reagan, who passed away; and was lit again in April 2005 following the death of Pope John Paul II, who held mass at the Coliseum during his visit to Los Angeles in 1987. The torch was also lit for over a week following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Related Topics:
Ronald Reagan - Pope John Paul II

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many other events have been held at the Coliseum over the years, and only a few are listed here. For many years, it served as the home football stadium for both the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans, although in 1982 UCLA moved its home games to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. USC's agreement to play all its home games at the Coliseum was a contributing factor to its construction. The former Cleveland Rams of the National Football League relocated to the Coliseum in 1946, becoming the Los Angeles Rams; but the team later relocated again, first to Anaheim in 1979, then to St. Louis, Missouri in 1995. In 1960 the American Football League's Los Angeles Chargers played at the Coliseum before relocating to San Diego the next year. In 1982 the Rams were temporarily replaced as tenants by the former Oakland Raiders, however this team subsequently returned to Oakland in 1995, leaving the Coliseum without a professional football tenant for the first time since the close of World War II. The most recent pro football tenant has been the short-lived Los Angeles Xtreme, the first and only champion of the XFL. The Coliseum was also the site of the very first NFL-AFL Championship Game in January 1967, an event since given the modest name of the Super Bowl. It also hosted the Super Bowl in 1973.

Related Topics:
UCLA - Rose Bowl - Pasadena - Cleveland Rams - National Football League - 1946 - Anaheim - 1979 - St. Louis, Missouri - 1995 - 1960 - American Football League - Los Angeles Chargers - San Diego - 1982 - Oakland Raiders - World War II - Los Angeles Xtreme - XFL - 1967 - Super Bowl

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other sporting events held at the Coliseum over the years have included Major League Baseball, which was held at the Coliseum when the former Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League relocated to Los Angeles in 1958. The Dodgers played here until Dodger Stadium was completed in time for the 1962 season, despite the fact that the Coliseum's one-tier, oval bowl shape was extremely poorly-suited to baseball. Although ill-suited as a major league baseball field, with its left field line at 251 feet (77 m) and power alley at 320 feet (98 m), it was ideally suited for large paying crowds. Each of the three games of the 1959 World Series drew over 92,000 fans, a record unlikely to be challenged anytime soon, given the smaller seating capacities of today's baseball parks. A May 1959 exhibition game between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees in honor of legendary catcher Roy Campanella drew 93,103, the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in the Western Hemisphere. The Coliseum also hosted the second 1959 MLB All-Star Game.

Related Topics:
Major League Baseball - Brooklyn Dodgers - National League - 1958 - Dodger Stadium - 1962 - Baseball - 1959 - World Series - New York Yankees - Roy Campanella - MLB - All-Star Game

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Coliseum was also the site of John F. Kennedy's memorable acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic Convention. It was during that speech that Kennedy first used the term "the New Frontier."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~