# Beaver Field

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Sports field in Pennsylvania, US, 1892–1908

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Beaver Field Old Beaver Field Grandstands of Beaver Field. Interactive map of Beaver Field Full name Beaver Field Location University Park, Pennsylvania Coordinates 40°47′56.4″N 77°51′47.0″W / 40.799000°N 77.863056°W / 40.799000; -77.863056 Owner Penn State University Operator Penn State University Capacity 500 Surface Grass Construction Groundbreaking 1891 Opened 1893 Closed 1909; 117 years ago (1909) Cost $3,000 Tenants Penn State football (1893–1908) Penn State baseball (1893–1908)

**Beaver Field** (1892–1908), was the first official home to the [Penn State](/source/Pennsylvania_State_University) [football](/source/Penn_State_Nittany_Lions_football) and [baseball](/source/Penn_State_Nittany_Lions_baseball) teams in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States. Retroactively known as "Old Beaver Field", it had a capacity of 500 and stood between present-day Osmond and Frear Laboratories, now the site of a parking lot.

## History

Baseball game on the original Old Beaver Field location, ca. 1877–78. Window frame in upper-left corner shows that photo was taken from an upper floor of the Chemistry-Physics Building.

Until the construction of Beaver Field, sports teams of the then Pennsylvania State College, known as the [Nittany Lions](/source/Nittany_Lions), played on the [Old Main Lawn](/source/Old_Main_(Pennsylvania_State_University)), a grassy area outside the main classroom building. Beaver Field served as the first official home for the [football](/source/American_football) and [baseball](/source/Baseball) teams.

The football team moved in 1909 to [New Beaver Field](/source/New_Beaver_Field), which held 30,000 fans and served as Penn State's home stadium until 1959, when it was disassembled and moved to the current location of [Beaver Stadium](/source/Beaver_Stadium) in 1960. After the move to New Beaver Field, the original field became known as Old Beaver Field.

The field had a grandstand that seated 500. This took the form of a [hip-roofed](/source/Hip_roof) building with no side walls, supported by rows of six columns at the front and rear plus one on each side. A gable at the front bore the name "Beaver Field", below it the year, 1893, and "P.S.C."[1]

Beaver Field was named in June 1892 for [James A. Beaver](/source/James_A._Beaver), who was [governor of Pennsylvania](/source/Governor_of_Pennsylvania) from 1887 to 1891. Although the state did not usually fund athletics in its public colleges, leaving that to student fees and alumni gifts, Beaver had a line added to the legislative appropriation for Pennsylvania State College that provided $2,000 in 1891–92 and $1,000 in 1893–94 for improving its athletic grounds. These funds made it possible to lay out a quarter-mile track enclosing baseball and football grounds, tennis courts, and a grandstand.[1] The field opened on November 6, 1893, after a two-day weather delay, with a game against [Western University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pittsburgh) that Penn State won 32–0.[2]

Beaver Field began as a plot of grass on Penn State's campus located in the academic village. The land was designated for athletics by faculty in 1875 with growing demand for sport. By 1890 the grass field had a dirt running track, a baseball diamond and a football field and a set of covered wooden bleachers with a seating capacity of 100.

Calls from students pushed the university to begin exploring its options to expand its athletic facilities. Then university president [James A. Beaver](/source/James_A._Beaver) was able to use his political influence as the former Governor of Pennsylvania to push Pennsylvania's legislature to appropriate funds to build a proper athletics facility.

Penn State received $2,000 (equivalent to $71,667 in 2025) in 1891, and an additional $1,000 (equivalent to $35,833 in 2025) in 1893 to help construct Beaver Field, a stadium with a grandstand, football field, and quarter mile track.[3]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-book_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-book_1-1) Lee Stout; Harry H. West (2017). [*Lair of the Lion: A History of Beaver Stadium*](https://books.google.com/books?id=24owDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP39). University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University. p. 39. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780271077765](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780271077765).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Geoff Rushton (June 13, 2011). ["Beaver Stadium: The Home of Penn State Football"](https://news.psu.edu/story/157346/2011/06/13/beaver-stadium-home-penn-state-football). *Penn State News*. Retrieved April 21, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Lair_3-0)** Stout, Leon J. (2017). *Lair of the lion : a history of Beaver Stadium*. University Park, Pennsylvania. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-271-07776-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-271-07776-5).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher))

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Beaver Field](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Beaver_Field).

v t e Penn State Nittany Lions football Venues Old Main Lawn (until 1891) Beaver Field (1892–1908) New Beaver Field (1909–1959) Beaver Stadium (1960–present) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games Alabama Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota: Governor's Victory Bell Ohio State Old Ironsides Pittsburgh Syracuse West Virginia Culture & lore Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band Uplifting Athletes Joe Paterno statue Something for Joey 1982 Nebraska game White Out Child sex abuse scandal 2016 Ohio State game Paterno 2021 Illinois game People Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders Seasons 1881 1882–1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 National championship seasons in bold

v t e Penn State Nittany Lions baseball Venues Old Beaver Field (1892–1908) New Beaver Field (1909–1959) Beaver Field (1967–2006) Medlar Field (2007–present) People Notable players Statistical leaders Seasons 1875 1881 1882 1889 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 College World Series appearances in italics

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