Jeppesen Stadium

High school football is everything in Texas. All through the state, the programs and their budgets seemingly get bigger every year. In a way, high school football brought pro football to Houston. Originally built for the area's high schools, Jeppesen Stadium became home to not only the University of Houston but also the AFL's Oilers. This is the story of Jeppesen Stadium.

The Conception

In 1940, the Houston Independant School District (HISD) bought some land with the intention of building a football stadium. By March of the following year, the board coughed up $650,000 to build a venue that could host numerous high schools. Under the guidance of architect Harry Payne, the new stadium sprung up quickly. By September 18, 1942, Houston Public School Stadium was open and ready for business.

The Glory Years

Houston Public School Stadium opened to much fanfare as a capacity crowd of 14,500 was on hand to watch Lamar High School beat Dallas' Adamson High School 26-7 to officially open the city's newest attraction. The University of Houston was less fortunate, losing their first game on September 21, 1946 to Louisiana-Lafayette 13-7.

The Cougars' stay was short-lived. Having played twice at Rice Stadium in 1950, they moved there full-time the next year and wouldn't fully return to their old stomping grounds until 1998. Over their first few years, the University of Houston compiled a respectable 46-38-1 record at Houston Public School Stadium.

In 1958, the HISD Board of Regents renamed the stadium after Board member and longtime advocate of the stadium, Holger Jeppesen. Two years later, pro football came to town when the Houston Oilers beat the Los Angeles Chargers 38-28 at Jeppesen Stadium on September 18, 1960. The Oilers dominated the all-expansion team league those first two years, winning the first two league titles, including the first one at Jeppesen Stadium. George Blanda was sensational on that New Years Day 1961, throwing for 301 yards and three touchdowns while adding a field goal and three PAT's for good measure in the 24-16 triumph over the Los Angeles Chargers.

After the Oilers beat the Chargers at San Diego's Balboa Stadium the following year to repeat as champions, they sought a three-pete in 1962. That year, both they and their in-state neighbors, the Dallas Texans, finished the regular season 11-3 with the teams splitting the regular season series between the two. Two days before Christmas 1962, Jeppesen Stadium was again host to the AFL Championship Game.

After a sluggish first quarter between two of the AFL's best offenses, the Texans zipped their way down the length of the field time and again, ultimately earning a 17-0 lead heading into the half.

But a strange thing occurred once the two teams took the field for the second half. While the Texans tried to milk the clock with time-consuming drives, the Oilers found their groove and picked up the pace. George Blanda got the Oilers on the board early in the third with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Willie Dewveall and brought his team to within seven early in the fourth with a 31-yard field goal. Once Charlie Tolar plunged into the end zone from the one-yard line, the Texans and Oilers found themselves to the most daunting words in sports: sudden-death overtime.

Upon winning the coin toss, Dallas's Abner Haynes made a significant error when he told the official that he wanted to kick the ball towards the clock and towards the wind. While his intentions were good, he had forgotten one small detail: he could only request a kick or the direction, not both. So Houston requested that the ball be kicked with the the wind and away from the clock..

Both teams battled to a stalemate in the first overtime, but by the second the Texans were picking up momentum. Once Tommy Brooker booted a 25-yard field goal to sink the Oilers' hopes for a third straight championship, the game was over and the Texans were at last AFL champions. Shortly after that game, Texans owner Lamar Hunt realized that his team couldn't compete with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. No matter how much they won, the new AFL would remain second fiddle to the old NFL where it mattered most: at the turnstiles. So he packed up his team, moved it to Kansas City and renamed his team "the Chiefs".

With the Astrodome opening up in 1965, the Oilers and the AFL left Jeppesen Stadium but not without a proper sendoff. With 20,000 in attendance, it hosted the 1964 AFL All-Star Game. Although the West was down 24-3 at the half, it roared back in the second, ultimately winning 27-24. Other than a Cowboys and Texans scrimmage in 2002, no pro football game has been played on that site ever since.

After the University of Houston bought the property in 1980, it named the stadium after Athletics Committee chairman Corbin J. Robertson. The aging stadium underwent a modernization before it hosted the NCAA Track and Field Championships in 1983. In that era, Robertson Stadium was a popular spot for some of music's biggest stars. Singers and bands such as Alice Cooper, the Allman Brothers, the Beach Boys and Black Sabbath all played in front of thousands at Robertson Stadium.

By 1998, the University of Houston's football team permanently moved back in after being away for the better part of 48 years. As numerous high school stadium popped up all over Houston, Robertson Stadium quietly began to lose tenants. Still the university remained strong, with a thriving athletic department that offered to regularly bring in large crowds. Although it no longer had the same purpose as it did when it was first constructed, Robertson Stadium was still important to Houston's economy. Still, times were changing and the clock was ticking on the old stadium.

Something Old, Something New

When the MLS Dynamo moved in 2006, Robertson Stadium underwent numerous changes such as a new playing surface, permanent lights (up until then, Robertson Stadium's operators had been making do with portable ones for night games), a new scoreboard and a video-board. While these renovations helped modernize it, it could only do so much. It ws demolished in December 2012 and a new stadium was built in its place. Today, TDECU Stadium stand as a reminder of Houston's first foray into the national spotlight.

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References

1. http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/HoustonOilers/oldindex.htm

2. https://www.rockinhouston.com/venues/jeppesen-stadium/56/

3. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/stadiums/HOU97.htm

4. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196101010oti.htm

5. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196212230oti.htm

6. https://chiefslegacy.com/1962-afl-championship-game/

7. https://fs64sports.blogspot.com/2011/03/past-venue-jeppesen-stadium.html