Fouts Field Stone Plaques - Denton, TX
N 33° 12.572 W 097° 09.317
14S E 671929 N 3676032
Three stone plaques from the now-demolished Fouts Field are preserved on the rear wall of a Denton County Transportation Authority transfer station at the stadium's former site at the west end of the University of North Texas campus.
Waymark Code: WM12YFN
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2020
Views: 2
These plaques once looked down from above the entrance to the stadium, which faced I-35E. There were a total of nine plaques, with three copies of each, and this set was preserved before this particular section of Fouts Field was demolished in 2013. They were originally placed here when Fouts was constructed in 1951, and when the last remnants were bulldozed in 2018, they were put back on display where you see them now. From south to north, they are:
1) Four football players, one of which is holding the ball. Note the chin straps for the helmets, which lack face masks.
2) An eagle, which has been the mascot of this institution since 1922. It is perched on the inner frame, its wings raised.
3) Four athletes in tank tops, shorts, and athletic shoes, lined up to accept congratulations from an older gentleman who is seated and holding a wreath. The last student is holding something in his right hand, maybe a baton, suggesting this to be a track and field team.
While it does not provide any information about the plaques, a 2019 University of North Texas historical marker here relates some history of this iconic venue:
Opened in 1952, Eagle Stadium was renamed Fouts Field after the death of coach and athletic director Theron J. Fouts. In his 34 years at North Texas, he had built a nationally acclaimed sports and recreation program and initiated the campaign to build the stadium. The first football game played there was a 55-0 victory over North Dakota on Sept. 27, 1952. Fouts Field became home to one of the South's first integrated college football teams in 1956 when African American students Abner Haynes and Leon King joined the freshman squad. In the 1960s, the Mean Green nickname was born at the stadium as fans cheered on the punishing defense. One of the linemen went on to a Hall of Fame career in the NFL, where he acquired a nickname of his own -- "Mean" Joe Greene. Also calling Fouts Field home were track and field teams featuring Olympians Dave Clark, pole vault, 1960; Bill Schmidt, javelin bronze medal, 1972; and Johnny Quinn (also a wide receiver), bobsled, 2014. Iconic football games at Fouts Field included a snowy 1976 contest with Florida State and a 2002 victory over New Mexico State that clinched the conference title and brought the goal posts down. Fouts Field also hosted graduations and fireworks shows and became a TV and film set for The Jesse Owens Story and Necessary Roughness. The last football game was played there in 2010 before the move to Apogee Stadium, and new track facilities in 2019 marked the old stadium's end. As pro football legend Haynes told the Denton Record-Chronicle: "You can look at that field as just dirt and grass, but it was more than that." A marker at the 50-yard line honors decades of UNT memories.