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By Andy Baeuerle
Nestled back into the midst of hospitals and schools in Jackson is an essential part of Mississippi football history. It’s not a college or a museum—just a stadium. Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium has hosted some mighty big football games in the 73 years the stadium has been operational.
Constructed in 1950, War Veterans Memorial Stadium (its original name) was built as a 21,000-seat municipal stadium, with many different schools using the stadium as an alternate or neutral site. On December 9, 1950, the first-ever game in the new stadium featured a matchup between the Holmes Junior College Bulldogs and the Kilgore College Rangers. In front of a crowd of 18,000, Holmes JC got dominated by the Rangers 32-13. While that was a junior college game, the stadium would host its first Division-I game on November 22, 1952, when the Louisville Cardinals traveled to face the Mississippi Southern Southerners (Southern Miss Golden Eagles today.) The 8-1 Southerners thumped the 3-4 Cardinals 55-26. Ole Miss would hold their first game in the stadium the following year, when the Rebels beat the Chattanooga Mocs (Mockingbirds) by a score of 39-6. Halloween day of the same year saw Mississippi State host their first game when they were beat 27-20 by the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Many upgrades and changes came to the venue between 1961 and 2011. In 1961, the stadium was upgraded from a capacity of 20,000 to 46,000 and the first game played in the new stadium was Ole Miss’s 1961 season opener. The #9 Rebels narrowly beat the Arkansas Razorbacks in front of a nearly full stadium by a score of 16-0. Also in this time, the stadium was renamed “Hinds County War Memorial Stadium.” Twenty years later, in 1981, the stadium was upgraded to 62,512, but following major renovations, the capacity was lowered to its current, sitting at 60,429, and its iconic horseshoe appearance. The largest crowd ever at the stadium would occur the same season as this expansion, where 64,112 people watched Southern Miss narrowly escape the Mississippi State Bulldogs by a score of 7-6. In 1995, the name was changed yet again to “Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.”
For 44 years, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss held many games at Memorial Stadium as an alternate site. In fact, all three teams would meet nearly every year and compete to see who was truly the best team in Mississippi. From 1973 to 1990, the stadium also hosted the Mississippi State and Ole Miss rivalry, also known as the Egg Bowl. In this 17-year period, the Rebels held a 12-5 lead over the Bulldogs. Many notable games were played here, and I’ll list them down below, but these games forever live in Southern Miss, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State’s traditions as football powerhouses.
The Jackson State Tigers played their first game at the stadium in 1967 when they took on fellow SWAC member Grambling State in front of 20,000 fans. JSU left the stadium with a win and a future with the stadium; in just a few short years, the stadium would become the home of the JSU Tigers football team.
By the 1980s, Southern Miss and Mississippi State returned to their home fields, while Ole Miss waited until 1996 to make their final move back home. In 1996, Jackson State was able to claim the stadium all to themselves, as well as occasional SWAC Championships and MHSAA Football Championships.
Today, Memorial Stadium is a significant component of the Jackson, Mississippi, skyline and can be seen from many different parts of the city. The stadium’s future is still being determined, as Jackson State has tried for many years to get an on-campus stadium built. Memorial Stadium is located nearly 10 minutes from the university itself. The stadium is also near UMMC, which employs thousands of Mississippians and always needs more parking. Talks have been happening to tear down the stadium and build more parking areas for the hospital complex for years, but they have yet to last – creating a very cloudy future for the sports icon.
Here are a few stats about the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium:
- Mississippi State Record: 32-46-1 (40.5% Winning Pctg)
- Ole Miss Record: 54-40-2 (56.2% Winning Pctg)
- Southern Miss Record: 17-8-1 (65.4% Winning Pctg)
- Top 5 Largest Crowds
- 11/7/81: Mississippi State vs. Southern Miss (64,112)
- 11/4/84: MS Valley State vs. Alcorn State (63,808)
- 9/26/81: Ole Miss vs. Arkansas (63,522)
- 11/22/80: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State (62,520)
- 11/23/96: Jackson State vs. Alcorn State (62,512)
- 11/19/94: Jackson State vs. Alcorn State (62,512)
Notable Games at Memorial Stadium
- 11/5/63: Mississippi State 13, #5 Auburn 10
- Following a late interception, the unranked Bulldogs pulled off an upset win over the #5 Tigers. Auburn went on to lose to #6 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, while State finished the season with a WL record of 7-2-2 (4-1-2 SEC.)
- 9/17/77: Ole Miss 20, #3 Notre Dame 13
- The Rebels take down the Fighting Irish in an upset win in Jackson. This was Notre Dame’s only loss that season, and the Irish became the 1977 Consensus National Champion after defeating undefeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
- 11/1/80: Mississippi State 6, #1 Alabama 3
- In their 128-year history, the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team has proved they can take down big teams, and this was no different in 1980. Bear Bryant’s #1 Crimson Tide came to Jackson looking to dominate the unranked Bulldogs, but it was no easy game. Alabama fell in this heartbreaker, and Mississippi State gained bragging rights.
- 11/7/81: #20 Southern Miss 7, #14 Mississippi State 6
- In one of the closest games between these two teams, Bobby Collins and his Golden Eagles took down Emory Bellard’s Bulldogs in Jackson. This game also set the attendance record at the stadium, which has never been broken.
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