History

"From South Side Park to East-West Stadium"
By: George Ramsey

“The stone walls that surround the venerable athletic field imprison a rich and storied athletic history that, when liberated from anonymity, should suffice to elevate that aging sports complex to the pre-eminence of a sort of athletic shrine in the minds of Marion County residents.” -George Ramsey

The history of East-West Stadium, born South Side Park, stretches back across a century.

•  Fairmont fielded a professional baseball team. Traction Park, near Monongah, served as the previous playing site.

1906 the citizens of Fairmont approved a $4,000 bond levy to build a gigantic ball park and athletic field on land purchased from the Fleming farm in the southern part of the city which today is the location of the historic East-West Stadium. When completed, South Side Park stood as the largest and finest athletic facility in the state, and the newly completed baseball park was hailed as the best in the entire country. The directors of the Fairmont Baseball Club were able to entice such professional baseball organizations as the Brooklyn Nationals (Dodgers) and the St. Louis Cardinals to journey to the Friendly City to engage in exhibition games against the Fairmont baseball club.

•  The finest track facility in WV was added to South Side Park and hosted the WV State Track Championship, which brought the track teams of West Virginia University and the other state colleges to the Friendly City for what was billed as the “greatest state athletic event of the year.”

1914-1920 era served as the site for the annual state championship grid battle between West Virginia 's two major university level teams which were West Virginia University and West Virginia Wesleyan College . This battle attracted record crowds in excess of 10,000 fans to the event.

•  The football field was laid out before the grandstand. Sports writers around the state named Fairmont the “top sporting town in the state.”

•  After the West Virginia University and West Virginia Wesleyan game, a prominent sportsman visiting the city called Fairmont “the state's premier football center.”

•  The first East-West game was played October 25, 1921 and South Side Park became the permanent site of the annual East-West game which endures.

•  On October 10, 1930 the first night football game played in West Virginia took place at South Side Park in Fairmont between West Fairmont High and its ancient foe Mannington High.

1931-1932 this season marked the first time the East-West game was played as part of the Armistice Day celebration. It wasn't until six years later, during the 1937-1938 season, that Friday, the traditional day on which the game was played, again fell on November 11 and civic leaders opted once more to make the game a part of the Armistice Day celebration. Therefore, it is 1937, and not 1931, that we historically accept as the beginning of the East-West Armistice Day game.

1934-1935 appears to have been the first year for an organized halftime show.

1936-1937 the first time in its history when the East-West game was played on a site other than South Side Park. This year's game was switched to Fairmont Normal's Rosier Field, while South Side Park was being refurbished. In the mid 1930's the facility was beginning to show its age. The bleachers were becoming ransacked and the wooden fence surrounding the park was so bad that spectators used to climb around the fence so they didn't have to pay admission to get into the stadium.

•  South Side Park was closed and stone walls were put up by the WPA, also known as the Works Projects Administration. The WPA was a United States Government Agency to provide paying jobs for unemployed workers. Most of these workers lost their jobs during the Great Depression. The WPA was part of the New Deal, president Franklin D. Roosevelt's program to economic recovery during the depression. Through the efforts of the WPA, the present stone walls were constructed.

•  The refurbishing of South Side Park was completed and, for the first time, the name East-West Stadium was used in referring to the sports complex. During this season the tradition of playing the National Anthem to begin the game was initiated. Clare Abbot, sports editor of the Fairmont Times, recommended that since it was now an Armistice Day event, that the game should be opened with the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner.” This was carried out by the cooperation of the two high school bands. First, East high band took the field, formed itself into the letter “E”, and played the East Fairmont high fight song. Then, the West Fairmont high band took the field, formed itself into an “F” and played the West High fight song. The bands joined forces to play the National Anthem.

1939-1940 The East-West game and Armistice Day festivities were moved up a day and played on Friday, November 10, to avoid playing the game on Saturday and running the risk of a possible conflict with a West Virginia University game.

1945-1946 the East-West game attracted 10,700 spectators and ranked among the state's half dozen top festivals—on a par with the Strawberry, Forest, and Buckwheat Festivals.

Early 50's the stadium was still primarily a baseball park and it served as the home of Fairmont 's semi-pro team, the Pirates, in the early 1950's.

Mid 50's Maid of Marion and band competitions were established which continued through the next two decades.

Mid 1960's a new track facility was added and the field was transferred to primarily a football stadium.

In the 1970's prior to the advent of North Marion High School, nearly every Marion County high school team played their games there resulting in nearly five games played per week.

In the 1990's a new facilities building

"Now East-West Stadium needs renovation! But still it's a fine facility, faithful fans declare, and when seated on its timeworn bleachers, one is imprisoned in the dust of a century of Marion County's rich athletic history."

- George Ramsey