Vintage Fans: Tell Us a Tulane Stadium Story?

skymike · 03-09-2011, 10:03 AM

Primadox, HouYat, NGU! (and thanks for the Turbo Dogs, Lynwood.)
I knew you Yats wouldnt disappoint. Thanks for popping in & teaching me some things, as well as probably ringing up some real memories for other posters & lurkers.

Honestly, the more I know, the more realize I dont know, and my curiosity
drives me bananas:

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

...that first or second year... the atmosphere was almost like a Super Bowl.... Al Hirt leading the cheers... Mardi Gras Floats and baloons and the pigeons... It was electric...

Did I hear that opposing teams were complaining about Al Hirt? Was he a part owner? And I also heard Pete Fountain was there? I'd like to hear more about Al Hirt & Pete Fountain.

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

Steve Stonebreaker getting into a fight in New York (I know this is about Tulane Stadium.. but hang in there) and when they returned there was a group collecting money outside of Tulane Stadium to pay his fine...

I've heard about Stonebreaker, and I cant remember what was special about the fight. I'll bet there's no video.

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

The debates over Billy Kilmer (who I loved).... Trivia question answer... the first Saint to ever be booed....

I'm sure I would have been Pro-Kilmer. Im usually Pro- whoever everybody else is hating on. except kickers.

Originally Posted by primadox

I remember the Youth tickets that were something like $15 for season tickets...

Can you imagine somebody proposing something like that now?

Originally Posted by primadox

those wonderful, LOUD metal bleachers that burned your butt if it was a sunny day...the stadium swaying...

HAHAHAHA! never thought about that, but I still WANT stompable bleachers back.

--when yall talk about the stadium swaying, you're exaggerating, right?

Originally Posted by primadox

...going to a preseason game against the Lions during a tropical depression (missing the game never crossed our minds)...

Does anyone else remember the Giants game in the 80's as a Hurricane was coming? John Madden does. He was scared, and said he wished see thru the roof, and know what was coming.

Originally Posted by primadox

the beer vendors with the jet packs...

those jet packs again -- we need these now!
... If I owned a bar where Saints fans hung out...

Originally Posted by primadox

Frankly, I think a lot of our fans who have jumped on the bandwagon in the last couple of years would not be willing to brave the elements at Tulane Stadium, especially if the Saints weren't having a great year.

You know I'd be there, regardless. Remember our 2 Reliant tailgates. 1st one cold and rainy. 2nd one 400 degrees. Say hi to Drew!

Originally Posted by HouYat

I'm standing on the field in the northwest corner of the end zone next to one of the cars that Paretti Pontiac had on display right next to the field .

You have to show up on a video somewhere.

Originally Posted by HouYat

...it seemed like we always had 80,000 screaming fans at all the games...

Ah, this brings me to a big architectural question I've had for the longest. This drives my brain bananas.

Take the roof off the Dome, and just show the bowl. (man, I wish there was a way to draw or doodle here) How do you get 80,000 in Tulane Stadium, which appears 50-100 feet shorter than the bowl of the Dome, and the Dome holds 72,000? Even w/o the roof the Dome looks twice as big. I drove by Rice Stadium last week, and thought the same thing. My corner endzone Terrace seats dont even exist in Rice. Its like Tiger Stadium, where the sides go up, but the bowl just has the lower level. boggles my mind.

--and heres another Tulane question: I notice in pictures, Tulane seems to be built in sections, not all at once. Did these sections appear while the Saints played there, or was it all there by the '67? Did they HAVE to put some new sections for the Saints?

Were there bad seats?

Classic posts from classic posters. Thank you much!

nevergiveup3 · 03-09-2011, 10:23 AM

SM,
For some reason the "quote" button is not functioning but you will get the gist of what I am responding to.

The Stonebreaker fight was/is interesting and telling. We were playing in New York and the game was within reach... maybe 27-23 or something like that. We are driving with under 2 minutes to play and Kilmer throws a sideline pass. Our receiver catches the pass and his momentum carries him out of bounds. Some Giant player on the sidelines, not even in the game, lays our receiver out with a forearm. The next thing you see is Stony run completely across the field but does not hit him... You see him pointing his finger in the guys face and the camera catches the guy putting his helmet on, and you knew that was not the end of it... So the game ends, we lose, and Stony, true to his word obviously, runs across the field again and lays the gujy out.. And all hell breaks lose.... John Mecom, all of 30 years old, actually gets involved and breaks his hand punching a Giant player with a helmet..... That should have said something about his intellect...lol.... So we meet the team at the airport and Stony is an instant folk hero.... and like I said they were taking collections to pay his $10,000 fine... I think they collected $50,000... It was all sent to charity...

As to bad seats at Tulane Stadium... Our Season Tickets were really good... 30 yard line maybe 25 rows from the field... I do remember getting tickets to a New Years Eve Sugar Bowl.... Alabama (with Bear Bryant coaching) against Notre Dame.... for the NC.. Tickets were hard to come by, there was no internet and Stub Hub at the time... WWL had some guy call in and say he had extras and my dad got them... 50 yard line... no kidding... 1 caviat... It was the very TOP row in the stadium and it was friggin cold... The wind was blowing and if memory serves the back of the top level was a chain link fence.... it was howling and freezing but one of the best NC games I have ever seen....

One other story... SB 4 (didnt use Roman Numerals then, I think), we had tickets because we had Season Tickets... I think the price was $25... The trouble was our seats were in the end zone, not our regular Season Ticket location... my dad was pissed so he sold the tickets for face value and got us sideline tickets for like $15.... Not quite the same demand as now...

Oh and my dad was probably the original ticket broker in front of the stadium... I would go into the stadium and he would "buy cheap-sell high" and make $40 -$50 a game....a ton of money back then....

Good memories.... hope to see more

RaginCajun83 · 03-09-2011, 10:43 AM

Good thread indeed, good to see my dad wasn't the only one to leave the Lions game before Dempsey's kick

skymike · 03-10-2011, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

...Stony is an instant folk hero.... and like I said they were taking collections to pay his $10,000 fine...

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

... SB 4 (didnt use Roman Numerals then, I think), we had tickets because we had Season Tickets... I think the price was $25... The trouble was our seats were in the end zone, not our regular Season Ticket location... my dad was pissed so he sold the tickets for face value and got us sideline tickets for like $15....

Love the Stony story. I wonder how many people on the board here remember that?

And wow, $15 dollars for a Super Bowl ticket. That explains why the halftime show was "Up With People."

I'll bet the crowds back then were much more alive. A lot less "look at me," and a lot more fun.

There sure have been a lot of great stories here, already, and keep em coming. For now, this one kind of sums it up for me:

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

I do love the dome but every now and then when it is 75 degrees and sunny on a Sunday afternoon in late September, my thoughts do drift back.....

foreverfan · 03-10-2011, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by skymike

How do you get 80,000 in Tulane Stadium, which appears 50-100 feet shorter than the bowl of the Dome, and the Dome holds 72,000?

44Champs · 03-10-2011, 09:40 AM

Love this thread!

One more thing, because those bleachers would get so damn hot, we would bring these foldable seats to sit on. There was a a metal part that would slide under the bleachers to keep it in place. I remember that ours had the Saints logo and colors. It would be cool if I could find one of those again.

skymike · 03-10-2011, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by foreverfan

hahahahahaha! your best one of the offseason so far.

OK, that's a new question, and its a big one. Strain your memories here, and be honest:

Which has/had more buttroom?
-an average Tulane Stadium seat?
-or a Terrace seat in the Dome? (non-padded)

Originally Posted by 44Champs

Love this thread!

Originally Posted by 44Champs

One more thing, because those bleachers would get so damn hot, we would bring these foldable seats to sit on. There was a a metal part that would slide under the bleachers to keep it in place. I remember that ours had the Saints logo and colors. It would be cool if I could find one of those again.

Whadya mean "one more thing?" You pile on as many things as you want here, Champs. There all gold to me.

Somebody has to have a foldable Saints logo seat out there.
I'm seriously considering looking online for a Dixie Jet Pack.

nevergiveup3 · 03-10-2011, 04:55 PM

I don't remember anyone complaining about Al Hirt.... may be I just dont remember.... He was on some sort of pla tform during the games and would bellow.. and I mean bellow.... GO SAINTS GO every so often.... and of course would belt out his version of When the Saints go Marching In..

Does anyone remember Charlie Saints Marching Club? We were members even though we lived in lafayette... Since it was a 4.5 hour drive back then and the games started at 1 pm we would normally drive home immediately after the game... But Charlie's Club would have a parade after each victory (I know.... not too many parades back then) around their neighborhood (does anyone remember where the Club was located?)...

And they would make bus trips to out of town games.... $35 would get you a bus ride to Atlanta, all the Dixie beer you could drink, a ticket to the game and one night in a motel (4 people to a room).... The party would begin in the Club House, onto the chartered bus and would not stop until you passed out on the bus or the bus returned in the wee hours Monday morning... When we would get to Atlanta Saturday afternoon people would take a shower and then we would head down to Underground Atlanta and party all night.... Houston, Memphis (Pre season game), Jackson (also pre season) were some of the other out of town games.... They did a train trip to chicago also, although I didnt make that trip... i heard it was epic

Budsdrinker · 03-10-2011, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by 44Champs

Love this thread!

One more thing, because those bleachers would get so damn hot, we would bring these foldable seats to sit on. There was a a metal part that would slide under the bleachers to keep it in place. I remember that ours had the Saints logo and colors. It would be cool if I could find one of those again.

Today's version.
North Pole 109535 Folding Stadium Seat-Saints

skymike · 03-14-2011, 07:27 AM

Originally Posted by nevergiveup3

...Does anyone remember Charlie Saints Marching Club? We were members even though we lived in lafayette... Since it was a 4.5 hour drive back then and the games started at 1 pm we would normally drive home immediately after the game... But Charlie's Club would have a parade after each victory (I know.... not too many parades back then) around their neighborhood (does anyone remember where the Club was located?)...

And they would make bus trips to out of town games.... $35 would get you a bus ride to Atlanta, all the Dixie beer you could drink, a ticket to the game and one night in a motel (4 people to a room).... The party would begin in the Club House, onto the chartered bus and would not stop until you passed out on the bus or the bus returned in the wee hours Monday morning... When we would get to Atlanta Saturday afternoon people would take a shower and then we would head down to Underground Atlanta and party all night.... Houston, Memphis (Pre season game), Jackson (also pre season) were some of the other out of town games.... They did a train trip to chicago also, although I didnt make that trip... i heard it was epic

$35 for a road-trip, beer, hotel, and party? Man, this is getting amazing. I think I have a girl who remembers this. Let me ring her up.

03-09-2011, 10:03 AM	#11
skymike E. Side Cholo Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Barrio, H-town Posts: 6,089	Primadox, HouYat, NGU! (and thanks for the Turbo Dogs, Lynwood.) I knew you Yats wouldnt disappoint. Thanks for popping in & teaching me some things, as well as probably ringing up some real memories for other posters & lurkers. Honestly, the more I know, the more realize I dont know, and my curiosity drives me bananas: Originally Posted by nevergiveup3 ...that first or second year... the atmosphere was almost like a Super Bowl.... Al Hirt leading the cheers... Mardi Gras Floats and baloons and the pigeons... It was electric... Did I hear that opposing teams were complaining about Al Hirt? Was he a part owner? And I also heard Pete Fountain was there? I'd like to hear more about Al Hirt & Pete Fountain. Originally Posted by nevergiveup3 Steve Stonebreaker getting into a fight in New York (I know this is about Tulane Stadium.. but hang in there) and when they returned there was a group collecting money outside of Tulane Stadium to pay his fine... I've heard about Stonebreaker, and I cant remember what was special about the fight. I'll bet there's no video. Originally Posted by nevergiveup3 The debates over Billy Kilmer (who I loved).... Trivia question answer... the first Saint to ever be booed.... I'm sure I would have been Pro-Kilmer. Im usually Pro- whoever everybody else is hating on. except kickers. Originally Posted by primadox I remember the Youth tickets that were something like $15 for season tickets... Can you imagine somebody proposing something like that now? Originally Posted by primadox those wonderful, LOUD metal bleachers that burned your butt if it was a sunny day...the stadium swaying... HAHAHAHA! never thought about that, but I still WANT stompable bleachers back. --when yall talk about the stadium swaying, you're exaggerating, right? Originally Posted by primadox ...going to a preseason game against the Lions during a tropical depression (missing the game never crossed our minds)... Does anyone else remember the Giants game in the 80's as a Hurricane was coming? John Madden does. He was scared, and said he wished see thru the roof, and know what was coming. Originally Posted by primadox the beer vendors with the jet packs... those jet packs again -- we need these now! ... If I owned a bar where Saints fans hung out... Originally Posted by primadox Frankly, I think a lot of our fans who have jumped on the bandwagon in the last couple of years would not be willing to brave the elements at Tulane Stadium, especially if the Saints weren't having a great year. You know I'd be there, regardless. Remember our 2 Reliant tailgates. 1st one cold and rainy. 2nd one 400 degrees. Say hi to Drew! Originally Posted by HouYat I'm standing on the field in the northwest corner of the end zone next to one of the cars that Paretti Pontiac had on display right next to the field . You have to show up on a video somewhere. Originally Posted by HouYat ...it seemed like we always had 80,000 screaming fans at all the games... Ah, this brings me to a big architectural question I've had for the longest. This drives my brain bananas. Take the roof off the Dome, and just show the bowl. (man, I wish there was a way to draw or doodle here) How do you get 80,000 in Tulane Stadium, which appears 50-100 feet shorter than the bowl of the Dome, and the Dome holds 72,000? Even w/o the roof the Dome looks twice as big. I drove by Rice Stadium last week, and thought the same thing. My corner endzone Terrace seats dont even exist in Rice. Its like Tiger Stadium, where the sides go up, but the bowl just has the lower level. boggles my mind. --and heres another Tulane question: I notice in pictures, Tulane seems to be built in sections, not all at once. Did these sections appear while the Saints played there, or was it all there by the '67? Did they HAVE to put some new sections for the Saints? Were there bad seats? Classic posts from classic posters. Thank you much!
	Last edited by skymike; 03-09-2011 at 10:08 AM..

03-09-2011, 10:23 AM	#12
nevergiveup3 100th Post Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 101	SM, For some reason the "quote" button is not functioning but you will get the gist of what I am responding to. The Stonebreaker fight was/is interesting and telling. We were playing in New York and the game was within reach... maybe 27-23 or something like that. We are driving with under 2 minutes to play and Kilmer throws a sideline pass. Our receiver catches the pass and his momentum carries him out of bounds. Some Giant player on the sidelines, not even in the game, lays our receiver out with a forearm. The next thing you see is Stony run completely across the field but does not hit him... You see him pointing his finger in the guys face and the camera catches the guy putting his helmet on, and you knew that was not the end of it... So the game ends, we lose, and Stony, true to his word obviously, runs across the field again and lays the gujy out.. And all hell breaks lose.... John Mecom, all of 30 years old, actually gets involved and breaks his hand punching a Giant player with a helmet..... That should have said something about his intellect...lol.... So we meet the team at the airport and Stony is an instant folk hero.... and like I said they were taking collections to pay his $10,000 fine... I think they collected $50,000... It was all sent to charity... As to bad seats at Tulane Stadium... Our Season Tickets were really good... 30 yard line maybe 25 rows from the field... I do remember getting tickets to a New Years Eve Sugar Bowl.... Alabama (with Bear Bryant coaching) against Notre Dame.... for the NC.. Tickets were hard to come by, there was no internet and Stub Hub at the time... WWL had some guy call in and say he had extras and my dad got them... 50 yard line... no kidding... 1 caviat... It was the very TOP row in the stadium and it was friggin cold... The wind was blowing and if memory serves the back of the top level was a chain link fence.... it was howling and freezing but one of the best NC games I have ever seen.... One other story... SB 4 (didnt use Roman Numerals then, I think), we had tickets because we had Season Tickets... I think the price was $25... The trouble was our seats were in the end zone, not our regular Season Ticket location... my dad was pissed so he sold the tickets for face value and got us sideline tickets for like $15.... Not quite the same demand as now... Oh and my dad was probably the original ticket broker in front of the stadium... I would go into the stadium and he would "buy cheap-sell high" and make $40 -$50 a game....a ton of money back then.... Good memories.... hope to see more
nevergiveup3 100th Post Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 101

03-10-2011, 09:14 AM	#14
skymike E. Side Cholo Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Barrio, H-town Posts: 6,089	Originally Posted by nevergiveup3 ...Stony is an instant folk hero.... and like I said they were taking collections to pay his $10,000 fine... Originally Posted by nevergiveup3 ... SB 4 (didnt use Roman Numerals then, I think), we had tickets because we had Season Tickets... I think the price was $25... The trouble was our seats were in the end zone, not our regular Season Ticket location... my dad was pissed so he sold the tickets for face value and got us sideline tickets for like $15.... Love the Stony story. I wonder how many people on the board here remember that? And wow, $15 dollars for a Super Bowl ticket. That explains why the halftime show was "Up With People." I'll bet the crowds back then were much more alive. A lot less "look at me," and a lot more fun. There sure have been a lot of great stories here, already, and keep em coming. For now, this one kind of sums it up for me: Originally Posted by nevergiveup3 I do love the dome but every now and then when it is 75 degrees and sunny on a Sunday afternoon in late September, my thoughts do drift back.....
	Last edited by skymike; 03-10-2011 at 09:20 AM..

03-10-2011, 09:31 AM	#15
foreverfan 12,000 BS Posts Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Metairie, LA Posts: 13,457 Blog Entries: 5	Originally Posted by skymike How do you get 80,000 in Tulane Stadium, which appears 50-100 feet shorter than the bowl of the Dome, and the Dome holds 72,000?

03-10-2011, 09:40 AM	#16
44Champs Site Donor Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 2,589	Love this thread! One more thing, because those bleachers would get so damn hot, we would bring these foldable seats to sit on. There was a a metal part that would slide under the bleachers to keep it in place. I remember that ours had the Saints logo and colors. It would be cool if I could find one of those again.
44Champs Site Donor Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 2,589

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03-09-2011, 10:43 AM	#13
RaginCajun83 Hou Saints Fan Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Houston, Tx Posts: 5,050	Good thread indeed, good to see my dad wasn't the only one to leave the Lions game before Dempsey's kick

03-10-2011, 10:14 AM	#17
skymike E. Side Cholo Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Barrio, H-town Posts: 6,089	Originally Posted by foreverfan hahahahahaha! your best one of the offseason so far. OK, that's a new question, and its a big one. Strain your memories here, and be honest: Which has/had more buttroom? -an average Tulane Stadium seat? -or a Terrace seat in the Dome? (non-padded) Originally Posted by 44Champs Love this thread! Originally Posted by 44Champs One more thing, because those bleachers would get so damn hot, we would bring these foldable seats to sit on. There was a a metal part that would slide under the bleachers to keep it in place. I remember that ours had the Saints logo and colors. It would be cool if I could find one of those again. Whadya mean "one more thing?" You pile on as many things as you want here, Champs. There all gold to me. Somebody has to have a foldable Saints logo seat out there. I'm seriously considering looking online for a Dixie Jet Pack.

03-10-2011, 04:55 PM	#18
nevergiveup3 100th Post Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 101	I don't remember anyone complaining about Al Hirt.... may be I just dont remember.... He was on some sort of pla tform during the games and would bellow.. and I mean bellow.... GO SAINTS GO every so often.... and of course would belt out his version of When the Saints go Marching In.. Does anyone remember Charlie Saints Marching Club? We were members even though we lived in lafayette... Since it was a 4.5 hour drive back then and the games started at 1 pm we would normally drive home immediately after the game... But Charlie's Club would have a parade after each victory (I know.... not too many parades back then) around their neighborhood (does anyone remember where the Club was located?)... And they would make bus trips to out of town games.... $35 would get you a bus ride to Atlanta, all the Dixie beer you could drink, a ticket to the game and one night in a motel (4 people to a room).... The party would begin in the Club House, onto the chartered bus and would not stop until you passed out on the bus or the bus returned in the wee hours Monday morning... When we would get to Atlanta Saturday afternoon people would take a shower and then we would head down to Underground Atlanta and party all night.... Houston, Memphis (Pre season game), Jackson (also pre season) were some of the other out of town games.... They did a train trip to chicago also, although I didnt make that trip... i heard it was epic
nevergiveup3 100th Post Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 101

03-10-2011, 10:00 PM	#19
Budsdrinker A Cajun Transforming TX Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: The Woodlands, Texas Posts: 2,787	Originally Posted by 44Champs Love this thread! One more thing, because those bleachers would get so damn hot, we would bring these foldable seats to sit on. There was a a metal part that would slide under the bleachers to keep it in place. I remember that ours had the Saints logo and colors. It would be cool if I could find one of those again. Today's version. North Pole 109535 Folding Stadium Seat-Saints

03-14-2011, 07:27 AM	#20
skymike E. Side Cholo Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Barrio, H-town Posts: 6,089	Originally Posted by nevergiveup3 ...Does anyone remember Charlie Saints Marching Club? We were members even though we lived in lafayette... Since it was a 4.5 hour drive back then and the games started at 1 pm we would normally drive home immediately after the game... But Charlie's Club would have a parade after each victory (I know.... not too many parades back then) around their neighborhood (does anyone remember where the Club was located?)... And they would make bus trips to out of town games.... $35 would get you a bus ride to Atlanta, all the Dixie beer you could drink, a ticket to the game and one night in a motel (4 people to a room).... The party would begin in the Club House, onto the chartered bus and would not stop until you passed out on the bus or the bus returned in the wee hours Monday morning... When we would get to Atlanta Saturday afternoon people would take a shower and then we would head down to Underground Atlanta and party all night.... Houston, Memphis (Pre season game), Jackson (also pre season) were some of the other out of town games.... They did a train trip to chicago also, although I didnt make that trip... i heard it was epic $35 for a road-trip, beer, hotel, and party? Man, this is getting amazing. I think I have a girl who remembers this. Let me ring her up.