Contributed by Teresa Douglass, Genealogy Specialist
Football season is underway, and few could have guessed that the Indiana University Hoosiers would enter it as the defending national champions. Almost no one in 1960 would have predicted it, since the Hoosiers finished that season 1-8, but the fans packed the stadium anyway. The images below show one of the first games held in IU’s newly built Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, when the Hoosiers took on the Spartans of Michigan State University (MSU) on October 22, 1960. That day was both the dedication of the new stadium and IU’s homecoming. Sadly, the Spartans won, 35–0.
Fortunately, the Hoosiers now have Curt Cignetti.
IU and MSU football players line up for a play at the 20-yard line in front of a packed crowd during the October 22, 1960 game. It was one of the first games held in IU’s newly built Memorial Stadium. Construction of the stadium, designed by architects Eggers and Higgins, began in August 1958, and the facility opened on October 8, 1960. The October 22nd game against MSU was the dedication day for the new stadium and also IU’s homecoming.
Indiana University’s football team gathers in a huddle on the field during a game against Michigan State University in October 1960. The game took place in IU’s newly constructed Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana, and drew a large crowd.
Indiana University’s marching band creates the IU symbol as it performs on the football field at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The October 1960 game marked the official dedication of the newly built stadium and the university’s homecoming.
For more images of this and other college football games and marching bands of the era, visit the Walter and Mina Fried Slide Collection and select College Football Games and Marching Bands.
