They were married Sept. 16, 1916 by J. Willis Hamblin pastor of the
Cass City Presbyterian Church. Note: At the time of their marriage, George E.
lists his residence as Princeton, MA.
In 1902, Detroit native Dexter M. Ferry donated 21 acres of land to the
University, stretching from South State Street to the railroad tracks. This
donation united the land which now comprises the athletics campus of the
University of Michigan. In honor of this gift, the University Regents
renamed the entire complex as Ferry Field. Despite the name change, the
stadium still only had room for a small number of fans. As Fielding Yost's
"point-a-minute" teams continued to win games, Ann Arborites, Michiganders
and people from around the nation came to see the "Champions of the West."
Realizing the need to accommodate more people, the Regents approved the
building of a new football field. The new complex was to continue under the
name Ferry Field and would be located closer to campus at the site where
the Michigan outdoor track now lies. But while the name stayed the same,
much else about the new field was different. Unlike the old field, which
was home to the football, baseball and track teams, the grass on Ferry
Field was for football use only. Michigan had built separate practice
fields so that use of Ferry Field could be restricted to game days only. In
addition, Ferry Field had the capacity to seat 18,000 fans. To facilitate
media coverage, Ferry Field included a press box on the Hoover Street side,
where the Intramural Sports Building now stands.
After compiling a record of 87-2-3 at Regents Field, many wondered whether
the new field could offer such great success. Michigan quickly answered
that question in its new setting. On Oct. 6, 1906, Johnny Garrels scored
the first touchdown en route to a 28-0 victory over Case.
As Michigan continued to win at home and fans lined up to pay $1 to see a
Michigan home football game (conference rules required that students pay no
more than 50 cents), Fielding Yost saw the need to increase the seating
capacity of Ferry Field. In 1921, Yost's wish was granted as temporary
wooden bleachers were added to both ends of the stadium to almost double
capacity from 21,000 to 40,000. This substantial increase in stadium
capacity was not enough and Yost soon asked the Regents for approval to
build a new stadium.
The "Roaring '20s" were a great time for stadium building. In the previous
five years, Michigan had already played in the dedication game of the home
stadiums for Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Michigan State and Illinois. In
addition, conference foes Minnesota, Northwestern and Purdue had each
erected new facilities.
Fielding H. Yost envisioned a stadium that would seat between 100,000 and
150,000 people for each Michigan home game. Because of the recent expansion
of Ferry Field, the Regents were reticent to approve Yost's request. Once
word of Yost's idea reached the public, the debate raged in the Ann Arbor
community. Some contended a new stadium with twice the capacity would
create no serious evils and would provide greater convenience to the
students, alumni and general public. However, others believed the new
stadium would injure the University academically, socially and
intellectually.
As Fielding Yost's "Point-A-Minute" teams gained fame and popularity,
Michigan's regents approved a new football complex. Ferry Field, completed
in 1906, could seat 18,000 fans and offered a press box to facilitate
growing media coverage.
Furthermore, it was stated that the large stadium would inevitably increase
student attention to football in conversation, publications, and in
attendance at practice. The increased interest would become a detriment to
the community as it would overshadow academic and scholastic honors, and
the building of a new stadium would be a permanent and undeniable
concession--set in concrete for years to come--to the notion that "college
is nothing more than a Roman holiday."
Through Yost's dogged perseverance, the Regents approved the new stadium on
April 22, 1926. Although Yost originally wanted to build the new stadium
where the Michigan Golf Course is now located, that plan was denied.
Instead, this new structure was to be built on land the University had
purchased in 1925, land that at one time had been home to a barn, a
strawberry patch and an underground spring. This underground spring had
been capable of delivering 300 gallons of water per minute, which had
served the University's water needs in the early years. The water posed a
problem to the construction, as the land had to be lowered to take care of
a large underground lake. The underground lake also led to a surface which
nearly resembled quicksand. It was this moist ground that during
construction, engulfed a crane which remains under the stadium today. The
high water table also led to nearly three-quarters of the stadium being
built below ground level.
After much debate, the Regents, the University of Michigan and Fielding
Yost reached an agreement by which the stadium would seat 72,000. However,
Yost was able to influence the plans so the stadium could be expanded to
seat more than 100,000. The construction would be financed not by the
taxpayers of the state of Michigan, but by the sale of 3,000 $500 bonds.
These bonds would entitle the bondholder to buy season tickets (guaranteed
to be between the 30-yard lines) for every season from 1927 until the bonds
would be retired in 1936 (due to the Great Depression, not a penny was paid
on these bonds between 1931 and 1936, and they were not completely retired
until October 15, 1947).
With Yost's successful promotion, the bonds sold (although slowly at first)
and construction began. Fashioned after the Yale Bowl, 440 tons of
reinforcing steel and 31,000 square feet of wire mesh went into the
building of the 44-section, 72-row, 72,000-seat stadium a cost of $950,000.
The original seats consisted of 22 miles of California Redwood and the 360
x 160 foot grass playing field included the planting of one four leaf
clover. Despite the grandeur of the new home, doubt still existed, as it
was written in an article on the last game at Ferry Field, "Ferry Field
passed on as the home of Michigan Football Saturday to give place to a
larger, possibly better field..." Again the question of home field success
arose, as Michigan had gone 88-14-2 in games played on the new Ferry Field.
As the stadium neared completion, Yost requested an addition of 10,000
temporary seats for the concourse at the top of the stadium. This request
was passed, and Michigan Stadium opened at the corner of Main Street and
Stadium Boulevard with a capacity of 84,401--the largest college owned
stadium of any team in the nation.
Concrete stands were constructed for Ferry Field in 1914 and in 1921.
Temporary wooden bleachers were added to both ends as seating was gradually
increased to 40,000.
On Oct. 1, 1927, Michigan played Ohio Wesleyan in the first game at
Michigan Stadium. The game was a successful one as Michigan started the
scoring on a 28-yard pass from Louis Gilbert to tight end Kip Taylor, and
prevailed easily, 33-0. Dedication of the new stadium came three weeks
later, Oct. 22, 1927, against Ohio State. The Buckeyes came into Michigan
Stadium seeking to get revenge for a game five years earlier, when the
Wolverines spoiled the dedication of Ohio Stadium with a 19-0 victory.
However, Michigan was not to be denied on its big day, and the Wolverines
blanked the Buckeyes 21-0 before a capacity crowd of 84,401. Before the
1927 season ended, Michigan shattered its own attendance mark again,
drawing 84,423 to a game against Minnesota.
