The
Cotton Bowl is a
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
which opened in 1932 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former
SMUSouthern Methodist University is a private, coeducational university in University Park, Texas . Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU currently operates campuses in University Park, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico...
running back
Doak WalkerEwell Doak Walker, Jr. was an American football player who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a teammate of Bobby Layne in high school and the NFL. -Early Life and Personal Life:...
drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as
Fair Park Stadium, it is located in
Fair ParkDallas Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex located in Dallas, Texas . The complex is registered as a National Historic Landmark and is home to nine museums, six performance facilities, a lagoon, and the largest Ferris wheel in North America...
, site of the
State FairThe State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas, Texas . The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic Fair Park where it has been held since 1886. The 2009 fair will be held from September 25 to October 18...
in Dallas,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Concerts or other events using a stage allow the playing field to be used for additional spectators. The Cotton Bowl was the longtime home of the annual
Cotton Bowl ClassicThe Cotton Bowl Classic, commonly known as the Cotton Bowl, is a United States college football bowl game that was played annually since 1937 at its namesake stadium in Dallas, Texas. On February 27, 2007, it was announced that the game will move to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, beginning...
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
bowl gameIn the United States, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
, for which the stadium is named; beginning with the January 2010 game, the Cotton Bowl will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
The Cowboys hosted the
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League and are the third-oldest franchise in the NFL.The Packers are the last vestige of "small town...
for the
1966 NFL championshipThe 1966 National Football League Championship Game determined the NFL's champion, which would meet the AFL's champion in Super Bowl I, then formally referred to as the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The NFL Championship Game was held at the Cowboys' home stadium, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas,...
at the Cotton Bowl. Artificial turf was installed in 1970 and removed in 1993 in preparation for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
The stadium has been home to many football teams over the years, including:
SMU MustangsThe SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team that represents Southern Methodist University . The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member Conference USA...
(NCAA),
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team that plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . They are headquartered in suburban Irving, Texas, which lies between Fort Worth and Dallas...
(
NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
; 1960-1970),
Dallas TexansThe Dallas Texans played in the National Football League for one season, 1952, with a record of 1–11.-History:After the 1951 NFL season, Ted Collins sold his financially troubled New York Yanks franchise back to the NFL...
(NFL) (1952),
Kansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
(as the Dallas Texans) (AFL; 1960–1962), and soccer teams, the
Dallas TornadoDallas Tornado were a soccer team based in Dallas that played in the NASL. They played from 1967 to 1981. Their home fields were Cotton Bowl , P.C. Cobb Stadium , Franklin Field , Texas Stadium and Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus...
(NASL; 1967–1968), and
FC DallasFC Dallas is an American professional soccer team based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas that participates in Major League Soccer...
(the Dallas Burn before 2005) (
Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by United States Soccer Federation . The league comprises 15 teams, 14 in the U.S. and one in Canada...
; 1996–2002, 2004–2005). It was also one of the nine venues used for the
1994 FIFA World CupThe 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from 17 June to 17 July 1994. The United States was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1988...
.
History
Construction began on Fair Park Stadium in 1930 in
Fair Park, DallasDallas Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex located in Dallas, Texas . The complex is registered as a National Historic Landmark and is home to nine museums, six performance facilities, a lagoon, and the largest Ferris wheel in North America...
on the same site as a wooden football stadium. Completed that year, the first game in the stadium was between Dallas-area high schools in October 1930. Built for a cost of $328,000, the stadium held 46,200 spectators. In 1936, the name officially changed to the Cotton Bowl.
In the late 1940s, the stadium was decked on both the west and east sides, increasing capacity to 75,504. These decks were added to respond to the demand for fans to watch SMU halfback Doak Walker, lending the Cotton Bowl to be known as "the house that Doak built." The superstructure was also built at this time, creating the distinctive facade for the stadium. In 1968, chairbacks were installed, reducing capacity to 72,032. In 1970, the Cotton Bowl installed an AstroTurf surface, which remained until 1993.
In 1950, as a way to break the
Texas LeagueThe Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a AA league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1890...
record for opening-day attendance, Richard Burnett got permission to play in the Cotton Bowl, which at the time could hold as many as 75,000. In order to draw a big crowd, he wanted a lineup of former stars to don Dallas Eagles uniforms and face one Tulsa hitter in the top of the first inning. Most of the retired stars were cool to the idea, except for then-current Dallas Eagles manager
Charlie GrimmCharles John Grimm , nicknamed "Jolly Cholly", was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Chicago Cubs; he was also a sometime radio broadcaster, and a popular goodwill ambassador for baseball...
. When the legendary
Ty CobbTyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was a baseball player and is regarded by some historians and journalists as the best player of the dead-ball era, and is generally seen as one of the greatest players of all time.In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the...
agreed to come to Dallas, the others followed his lead. Preceding the game was a parade through downtown Dallas. "It was the pre-game show that got 'em," bellowed Dizzy Dean by way of self congratulation. "Cobb, Cochrane, Home Run Baker, Speaker, and Ol' Diz in Dallas duds." The 54,151 who showed up were lucky enough to see Ty Cobb hit several balls into the stands, just to show he could still handle the bat. The Kilgore Rangerettes drill team performed on the field prior to the game. Texas governor
Allan ShiversRobert Allan Shivers was a Texas politician who led the conservative faction of the Texas Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s...
threw out the first pitch. Defensively, the old-timer lineup of the Eagles were:
Duffy LewisGeorge Edward "Duffy" Lewis , born in San Francisco, California, was a left fielder and left-handed batter who played Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees and Washington Senators...
in left field, Cobb in center field, Texas native
Tris SpeakerTristram E. Speaker , nicknamed “Spoke” and “Grey Eagle” , was an American baseball player known as one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in history...
in right field, Frank "Home Run" Baker at third base,
Travis JacksonTravis Calvin Jackson was a Major League Baseball player during the 1920s and 1930s. His exceptional range at shortstop led to the nickname "Stonewall"....
at shortstop,
Charlie GehringerCharles Leonard Gehringer , nicknamed “The Mechanical Man,” was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played nineteen seasons for the Detroit Tigers...
at second base, manager Grimm at first base,
Mickey CochraneGordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a catcher and manager in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers. New York Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was named after Cochrane...
at catcher, and former
Houston BuffaloesThe Houston Buffaloes or Buffs were an American minor league baseball team that played in the Texas League from 1907-58 and in the American Association from 1959-61. The team's home was Buff Stadium, built in 1928.From 1921-58, the Buffaloes were an important farm team of the St...
star pitcher
Dizzy DeanJerome Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball, and was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....
on the mound. Dean walked the leadoff batter for Tulsa, Harry Donabedian, on a 3-2 count, and then the regular Dallas players took the field. Dean got into an orchestrated rhubarb and was tossed from the game. The attendance figure still stands as the largest in Texas League history and second largest in the history of the minor leagues.
The Cotton Bowl hosted six matches of the 1994 World Cup. In preparation for these games, the stadium field was widened, and the press box was enlarged.
In the 2000s, the renewed dominance of both the
Oklahoma SoonersThe University of Oklahoma features 17 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
and the Texas Longhorns created a new interest in their rivalry, and the stadium. Temporary stands were erected in each end zone to increase seating for these games.
In November 2006, the city of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas finally agreed on funding for a long-planned $50 million renovation, with $30 million of this amount from a city bond.. Thus, in April 2007, the schools signed a contract to play at the Cotton Bowl through 2015, coupled with a $57 million fund for upgrades and improvements to the aging stadium.. The 2008 game was held on October 11.
The 2008 renovations include the expansion of the
seating capacitySeating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, either in terms of the physical space available, or in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that...
of the stadium from 76,000 to 92,100, mostly through the complete encircling of the second deck (as seen here in September 2008 photos
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2838537892_a6611e9370_o.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/2838538826_55a0543bcd_o.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/2837704155_621d6b1222_o.jpg), new media and VIP facilities, a new scoreboard and video screen, updated restrooms and concession areas, lighting, utility and sound upgrades and the replacement of all the stadium's seats. A new record for attendance was set when 92,182 fans attended the
2008 Texas vs. Oklahoma football gameThe 2008 Oklahoma vs. Texas football game, played October 11, 2008, was the 103rd meeting between the University of Oklahoma and The University of Texas at Austin in a college football game. The annual game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners is called the Red River Shootout...
.
Red River Rivalry
The annual college football game between the
University of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas, United States, and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol...
LonghornsThe Texas Longhorns football team is the intercollegiate football team at The University of Texas in Austin, Texas. On November 27, 2008, the Longhorns passed Notre Dame as the second winningest college football team, having won 832 games to Notre Dame's 831. However, another source that takes into...
and
University of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. As of 2007, the university has 29,931 students enrolled, most...
SoonersThe Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The Oklahoma Sooners are a perennial powerhouse. As of 2008, ESPN ranked the Oklahoma Sooners as the most prestigious college football program since 1936...
, also known before 2005 as the Red River Shootout, is played at the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas, instead of on either school's campus. Ticket sales are equally divided between the two schools, and the fans are split on the 50-yard line. The Longhorns have a record of 57-40-5 against the Sooners.
State Fair Classic
In addition to the Red River Shootout, the
Grambling State UniversityGrambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail....
TigersThe Grambling Tigers represent Grambling State University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Grambling's sports teams participate in Division I as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference...
and the
Prairie View A&M UniversityPrairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System...
Panthers play each other at the Cotton Bowl in the State Fair Classic. This game often occurs the weekend before the Texas-OU Red River Rivalry game. It is a neutral site for both teams; Grambling State is located in northern Louisiana and Prairie View A&M is located about northwest of Houston, Texas. The halftime show, the "Battle of the Bands," is arguably more eagerly anticipated than the game itself. The State Fair Classic is heavily marketed in the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex, with local
hip hopHip hop as a cultural movement "manifest in B-boying , graffiti writing, DJing and eMCeeing/rapping – is an artistic commitment to seize freedom from oppressive social conditions...
stations encouraging a large turnout among the region's African-American community.
Cotton Bowl Classic
Since 1937, the Cotton Bowl has hosted the Cotton Bowl Classic, an annual
bowl gameIn the United States, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
that will be played at Cowboys Stadium beginning in 2010. From 1941 to 1994, the Southwest Conference champion would play in the bowl game; since 1997, the first postseason of the
Big 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of twelve schools located mostly in the central United States. It is a member of the NCAA's Division I for all sports; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
, its second-place team has competed against an
SECThe Southeastern Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in , which operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I in athletic competitions; for football, it is part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
team in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
SMU Mustangs
The Cotton Bowl served as the home for the SMU Mustangs football team for two periods in the program's history. SMU played at least a few games at the Cotton Bowl from 1932 to 1947, and moved there permanently in 1948 due to
Doak WalkerEwell Doak Walker, Jr. was an American football player who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a teammate of Bobby Layne in high school and the NFL. -Early Life and Personal Life:...
's popularity. The Mustangs played at the Cotton Bowl until 1978, when they moved to
Texas StadiumTexas Stadium is a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...
. The Cotton Bowl also served as home to SMU in the 1990s, after the team served the NCAA death penalty and played at
Ownby StadiumOwnby Stadium was a stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It was the home of the Southern Methodist University Mustang football team.Named for Jordon Ownby, the stadium was built at the south end of the campus...
on campus. Games moved back to campus in 2000 with the completion of
Gerald J. Ford StadiumGerald J. Ford Stadium is a stadium in University Park, Texas, one of the two "Park Cities" that form an enclave of Dallas. The stadium is used primarily for football, and it is home to the Southern Methodist University Mustangs and is frequently used for local high school football games...
.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys also called the Cotton Bowl home for 11 years, from the team's formation in 1960 until 1971, when the Cowboys moved to
Texas StadiumTexas Stadium is a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...
.
Dallas Football Classic
Starting in January 2011, the Cotton Bowl will be home to the Dallas Football Classic bowl game. The new game will feature teams from the
Big Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its eleven member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Iowa and Minnesota in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
and
Conference USAConference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
.
Dallas Burn
FC Dallas of MLS called the Cotton Bowl home for its first 7 seasons, between 1996 and 2002, as well as for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, before opening their own stadium,
Pizza Hut ParkPizza Hut Park is a soccer-specific stadium with a 20,500-seat capacity, built and owned by the suburb of Frisco in Collin County, Texas. Its primary tenant is Major League Soccer team FC Dallas, which relocated from the Cotton Bowl in central Dallas to the fast-growing suburb...
, in
FriscoFrisco is a city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and a wealthy and rapid growing suburb of Dallas. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 33,714, while according to 2008 city and census estimates, the city's population has surpassed 100,000. Frisco has been and...
.
Concerts
The stadium has also been a venue for a number of historic concerts, most notably that which featured then 21-year-old
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
, which took place on October 11, 1956, and attracted what was then the largest audience in Texas history for an outdoor concert, in excess of 27,000.
Many consecutive summers of huge concerts featuring several bands began in July 1978 with the 1st annual
Texxas JamThe Texxas Jam was the informal nickname of an annual summer arena rock concert called the Texxas World Music Festival . It was held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas and in Houston, Texas at either the Astrodome or Rice Stadium on the campus of Rice University.Artists who performed at the Texxas...
, which sold out with over 80,000 attendees. Over the years the
Texxas JamThe Texxas Jam was the informal nickname of an annual summer arena rock concert called the Texxas World Music Festival . It was held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas and in Houston, Texas at either the Astrodome or Rice Stadium on the campus of Rice University.Artists who performed at the Texxas...
featured some of the top-billed headliner bands of the day, including
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
,
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band...
,
AerosmithAerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and seen by some as America's greatest rock and roll band. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues,, and has...
,
HeartHeart is a rock band whose founding members came from Seattle, Washington, USA in the early 1970s. Going through several lineup changes, the only constant members of the group are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as...
,
Deep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford, Hertfordshire in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members have tried not to categorise themselves as any one genre. The band...
,
BostonBoston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists...
,
JourneyJourney is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco, California with former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases, but its strongest commercial success came in the late 1970s to the early 1980s...
,
Ted NugentTheodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American hard rock guitarist and vocalist from Detroit, Michigan. He originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes...
,
ScorpionsThe Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hanover, Germany, probably best known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and their singles "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel, "Still Loving You", and "Wind of Change"...
,
LoverboyLoverboy is a Canadian rock group formed in 1980 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Throughout the 1980s, the band accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records...
,
Cheap TrickCheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1974. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
,
Van HalenVan Halen is a hard rock band formed in , USA in 1974. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007, Van Halen has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
,
Blue Öyster CultBlue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed in New York in 1967 and still active in 2009. The group is especially well known for songs including " The Reaper", "Astronomy", "Godzilla", and "Burnin' for You". They have sold over 14 million albums worldwide, including 7 million in the U.S.A...
,
Sammy HagarSamuel Roy "Sammy" Hagar , known as "The Red Rocker", is an American rock singer, guitarist, composer and solo artist. Hagar was one of the three singers for Van Halen, as well as of the early 1970s rock band Montrose. On March 12, 2007, Hagar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a...
,
NazarethNazareth is a Scottish rock band that had several hard rock hits in the mid 1970s, including the Felice and Boudleaux Bryant penned ballad, "Love Hurts".-Career:...
,
StyxStyx is an American rock band. Their hit songs have included "Come Sail Away", "Lady", "Mr. Roboto", "Renegade", "Babe", "Blue Collar Man" and "The Best of Times"...
,
FoghatFoghat are a British rock band who had their peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. Their style can be described as "blues-rock," dominated by electric and electric slide guitar. The band has achieved five gold records...
,
SantanaSantana is a band consisting of a flexible number of musicians accompanying Carlos Santana since the late 1960s. The range of these artists has varied greatly. Just like Santana himself, the band is known for helping make Latin rock famous in the rest of the world.-Overview:The band was formed in...
,
EaglesEagles is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California during the early 1970s. The group chose the name Eagles as a nod to The Byrds...
,
TriumphTriumph is a Canadian hard rock band that was popular in the late 1970s through the 1980s. Eight of the band's albums were certified gold or higher, and Triumph was nominated for multiple Juno Awards, including Group of the Year Award in 1979, 1985, 1986 and 1987.Like their fellow Canadians Rush...
, and others. Each
Texxas JamThe Texxas Jam was the informal nickname of an annual summer arena rock concert called the Texxas World Music Festival . It was held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas and in Houston, Texas at either the Astrodome or Rice Stadium on the campus of Rice University.Artists who performed at the Texxas...
had a unique lineup of major artists chosen by the promoter. The annual events came to an end in the summer of 1988, when
Van HalenVan Halen is a hard rock band formed in , USA in 1974. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007, Van Halen has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
headlined the "Monsters Of Rock" tour. Since then, the stadium has continued to be used as a major concert venue;
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
notably held his first massive 3-day
Crossroads Guitar FestivalThe Crossroads Guitar Festival was a music festival and benefit concert first held in 2004 and again in 2007. The festivals benefit the Crossroads Centre founded by Eric Clapton, a drug treatment center located in Antigua. The concerts are also intended to be a showcase for a variety of guitarists...
there in 2004.
U2U2 are a rock band that formed in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr...
chose the Cotton Bowl as the site of its Dallas-area
PopMartThe PopMart Tour, often referred to as simply PopMart, was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 1997 album, Pop, the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks from 1997 through 1998...
show. The Cotton Bowl Stadium was also the site for the 1991 Drum Corps International World Championships.
In popular culture
- The stadium was featured in a 1981 episode of Dallas
Dallas is an American prime-time television soap opera that originally ran from 1978 to 1991. It revolved around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries...
where J. R. Ewing meets Dusty Farlow.
- The rock band Journey
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco, California with former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases, but its strongest commercial success came in the late 1970s to the early 1980s...
recorded two videos in the 1980s in the Cotton Bowl.
- The rock band Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and seen by some as America's greatest rock and roll band. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues,, and has...
recorded their first live concert at the Cotton Bowl in the late 1980s.
- The daytime scenes from the video I Won't Forget You
"I Won't Forget You" is the 4th single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.Released as a single in 1987 on the Enigma label of Capitol Records, and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard hot 100.-Albums:...
by the rock band Poison were recorded during the 1987 Texxas Jam on June 20, 1987.
- The 2009 television reality series 4th and Long
4th and Long is a reality television series hosted by Michael Irvin that premiered on Spike on May 18, 2009.The winner of the show earned a spot at the Dallas Cowboys training camp - with a shot of making the roster. The show pits six wide receivers against six defensive backs...
filmed the majority of its material at the Cotton Bowl.
- In the 1984 Emmy Award winning made-for-TV film "The Jesse Owens Story" done by Paramount Pictures, the Cotton Bowl was used as the Berlin Olympic Stadium for the 1936 Olympics. A local flag maker had to make large Nazi Flags and banners to cover up Cotton Bowl emblems and other Texas State Fair items and such to give the impression that the film took place in Berlin, Germany in 1936.
Sources
- "Baseball in the Lone Star State: Texas League's Greatest Hits," Tom Kayser and David King, c.2005
- "Storied Stadiums: Baseball History Through Its Ballparks," Curt Smith, c.2001
External links