Collection: Memorial Stadium
The Bakersfield College Memorial Stadium was not an easy feat for those credited with its creation, but certainly a triumph! The stadium was the first structure completed on Bakersfield College’s Panorama campus, and the construction plans were meticulously assembled. It required intensive research and close attention to detail by Theron McCuen, then Superintendent of the Kern County Union High School and Junior College District and its Board of Trustees, and former BC President Ralph Prator, who contributed significantly to realizing Grace Bird’s vision of a college on a hill.
In the early 1950s, District Superintendent T.L. McCuen set his sights on a bold new future for Bakersfield College. He sought to lift the school from its shared space on the Kern County Union High School campus and establish it as an independent institution. His vision led him to the sweeping Panorama Bluffs, where the idea of a college with a view began to take shape. After some careful negotiations, McCuen and the Board of Trustees moved forward with the purchase of 151.68 acres at $625 per acre. On March 12, 1951, the Board officially announced the new site to the Bakersfield community, marking a defining moment in the college’s history.
The decision to choose this location was not based on a whim. It came on the advice and recommendation of the architectural firm of Wright, Metcalf and Parsons, along with their planning consultant, C.A. James. The push for the Bluffs didn’t start there, it was championed early on by two of the college’s most influential leaders: Grace V. Bird, Bakersfield College’s former pioneering head, and Dr. Ralph Prator, former administrator who turned aspirations into action.
According to the BC Archives Newsletter of April 2006, Prator appointed Bakersfield High School Athletic Director, J.B. ‘Cap’ Haralson to coordinate the construction of facilities and fields for physical education and athletics in 1953. With District Superintendent McCuen and Dr. Ralph Prator also at the drawing board, Haralson had formed a visionary team to help create a state-of-the-art stadium for Bakersfield College. The concept of constructing a double-decked stadium began with Theron Taber, then assistant to the Superintendent, who felt inspired by the stadium at Rice University in Houston. Later that year, Haralson recruited his respected friend Gil Bishop, the BC Basketball coach to also help assist with the project.
As the pressures of designing a new campus settled in, conflicts were quick to rise. During the planning stages, Prator entered an intense debate through an exchange of letters regarding the decision to include a track inside the football stadium. As recorded in the Archives Newsletter of Fall 2015, Prator wrote, “the implications (over the inclusion of the track inside the stadium) are far more serious than would permit the justifying of a conclusion on a premise of ‘I prefer it this way.’ If expense were no item, I would favor two and separate stadiums—one for track and one for football.” Ultimately, passion prevailed and the decision to include a track in the football stadium was finalized on May 2nd, 1952.
When disaster struck in 1952, Haralson saw opportunity. The genesis of a first-rate track began with an earthquake that shook the San Joaquin Valley, providing the raw material of brick rubble from a destroyed Kern County downtown building. Haralson, who later became chairman of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Men’s Track and Field Committee, realized his dream of a crushed brick track (later supplemented with volcanic ash), modeled after the historic Olympic Games stadium in Helsinki, Finland. Haralson wouldn’t know it then, but the new track surface, rich with color and unique in components, would come to be recognized as one of the most impressive and iconic training grounds in the nation. Its compelling surface and unconventional composition not only set it apart visually but also laid the foundation for countless athletic achievements and opportunities.
Every detail of Memorial Stadium was carefully considered, not only for aesthetics, but for performance. When planning the layout, designers oriented the stadium with precision, ensuring that normal prevailing northwest winds and the setting sun would rarely interfere with the performance of football players or track and field competitors. The stadium’s field events were strategically placed with the same level of care. The single horizontal jump runway (long jumps and triple jump) stretched along the north side, positioned just beyond the football’s edge. Meanwhile, the single point vault runway claims the south side, also lying just outside the main playing surface.
Memorial Stadium finally reached completion in the Fall of 1955, just before the remainder of the campus opened to accept students in 1956. The total cost of the stadium, according to dates reports dated July 1957, was estimated to be $1,159,569.04 (that is over ten million dollars today). In discussing the naming of the stadium, it was unanimously agreed the name should be “Memorial Stadium” to honor those who had fought and died in our nation’s wars.
The Bakersfield Junior College football team began making waves in the 1920s, and while their name ‘Renegades’ came later, their spirit was there from the start. Their final game on the old Griffith Field was nothing short of triumphant, a fitting farewell to the grounds that had seen so many hard-fought battles for over thirty years. But it was their debut at Memorial Stadium that truly marked a turning point.
The excitement amongst the community for the grand opening of Memorial Stadium reached record-breaking heights across the valley. On September 23, 1955, the Renegades challenged Pasadena City College for a game of football that attracted an audience of over 16,000—the largest crowd to ever watch a junior college game at the time! The Renegade football team charged onto their new home turf with a commanding win, igniting unparalleled fanfare that solidified a reputation that would last decades. With the final plans for the stadium consisting of only 16,546 seats to spare, the rising success of the team left some devoted fans reportedly camped outside the gates just to claim a seat. Though it was their first win in Memorial Stadium, it was far from their first overall, and certainly wouldn’t be their last. Fueled by the roar of a passionate crowd and riding high on school spirit, the Renegades launched into a winning streak that turned heads in the years that followed.
It became clear that the college’s team would grow to become a highly successful and beloved program in the Kern County community. The excitement only escalated when the first Metropolitan Conference game held at Memorial Stadium ended in victory for the home team that fall, setting the tone for seasons to come. In 1969, that growing momentum translated into a national record for JC season football attendance, with over 100,000 fans packing the stands throughout the season to support their local team. Between 1922 and 1978, the Bakersfield College football team had amassed 147 Metropolitan Conference victories, 10 Championship wins, 7 Potato Bowl titles, and 1 State Playoff win. And yet, those extraordinary feats were just the beginning of a legacy that was far from finished.
Time and time again, opposing teams found themselves consistently “outplayed, outmatched, and outfought” by a team that had already begun carving its reputation into the very walls of their new home. But it wasn’t the new stadium that made the team great, it was the players wearing the jerseys who built the college’s legacy through hard work, resilience, and an unshakeable sense of pride by pushing themselves to new limits. Guided by a lineage of highly-respected coaches, whose leadership and ability to inspire left an indelible mark on generations of players, the team’s spirit and discipline became just as legendary as their victories.
Over the decades, succeeding players and coaches helped define what Memorial Stadium would come to represent: Home of the Renegades, a unifying force for the community, a place where families gathered, traditions were passed down, and a shared sense of identity was strengthened under the Saturday night lights. The very qualities that made it a fortress for the gridiron, its masterful design, its powerful energy, and the sheer willpower it seemed to inspire, soon began attracting athletes from other arenas as well.
Soon after its grand opening, Memorial Stadium saw its first world record broken in 1956 when Mike Agostini, of the West Indies and Fresno State College, ran the 220-yard dash in 20.1 seconds. Impressed with the unique qualities of the running surface, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) selected Bakersfield to host five National AAU Track and Field Championships. By 1970, approximately ten world records, twenty-five meet records and four American records had been broken, and five more world records were equaled under the lights of Memorial Stadium for the 110-meter run, hammer throw, 440-yard dash, and the mile run.
As the decades rolled by, time and traffic inevitably left their mark on Memorial Stadium. But rather than fade into disrepair, the beloved landmark saw a spirited revival. The very stadium that had once witnessed world records and unforgettable championships was now poised for a new chapter. From 1971 to 1989, a series of renovations transformed the facility. Seating was upgraded, the field was completely rebuilt and re-sodded, and stadium lights and an electronic scoreboard were added. Over $717,000 was invested in revitalizing the Stadium, restoring its sense of grandeur and ensuring it remained a proud stage for future generations of champions.
As news of the achievement at Memorial Stadium spread, fame and support increased for the college, and soon the stadium would come to host a series of exciting events and games. Some events of note include: the Kern County Shrine Potato Bowl game, the annual Jr. Rose Bowl Game, and a professional football game (featuring the Dallas Cowboys), which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities. In 2015, BC played host to much more than football and track, when for the first time in stadium history , an intercollegiate soccer team played all its home games on the football field-turned-soccer pitch. Then, in 2017, the stadium traded the turf for ice to host its first Winter Classic with the Bakersfield Condors. The two-day event began with an alumni-celebrity hockey game featuring several television stars, hockey legends, and musicians. The next day, the Condors braved heavy rains to take on the Ontario Reign for a riveting outdoor hockey game.
As times change, so do the standards for competition surfaces. In April of 2019, the Stadium faced its next set of renovations with funding through Measure J which included updates to the main playing surface. The original grass surface was replaced with a fast Bermuda grass turf and the track was upgraded with a new synthetic surface. In addition to the changes made to athletic fields, there were other cosmetic improvements to remain modern and competitive.
These physical upgrades not only enhanced the performance, safety, and aesthetics of the stadium, but also served as a reminder of its lasting significance to the community. By modernizing the facilities while preserving the competitive spirit of the original design, the renovations helped ensure that the stadium could continue to host the wide range of events that helped shape its legacy. More than a sports venue, it has become a cherished landmark where memories are made, and deep-rooted traditions can thrive. While expressing his thoughts in a letter addressed to Dr. James Young in 1993, Gil Bishop said it best: “there are too many interesting events that would not have been held had there been no Memorial Stadium.” Mr. Bishop’s words still ring true today as we continue to prosper and strengthen our community through countless celebrations, traditions of grandeur, and championship battles.
“Thus, it becomes obvious that to outline the history of Bakersfield’s Memorial Stadium would take reams of paper, but just what we’ve touched upon emphasizes the need to preserve what well might be Bakersfield and Kern County’s most noted structure,” Bishop expresses. “Standing where it does, overlooking the city, it must always reflect the pride that has caused more than one proud citizen’s first words to a visitor to be ‘Come and see our stadium!’”
