Foreman Field (1936-Present)

Local architect, Clarence Amos Neff, designed the venue and it opened for business on Saturday, October 3, 1936 with a college football matchup.[3]  Several dignitaries, including Governor George C. Peery and Norfolk City Manager Tommy Thompson (see local wiki: Thompson, Thomas Perrin), watched as in-state foes Virginia Cavaliers and William & Mary Indians battled for four quarters.  The Cavaliers dominated statistically and shut out their upset-minded opponent 7-0.  Hampton native Flash Conner had a 36-yard first quarter run that led to the game’s lone touchdown by Captain Harry Martin.  His short burst into the end zone from a foot away finished UVA’s scoring drive.  Once in the lead, Virginia never relinquished it.  Foreman Field filled to capacity with fifteen thousand fans relishing in this game-day atmosphere.[4]  

The Norfolk Division of William & Mary Braves competed at Foreman Field from 1936-1940 when its football program disbanded largely due to a $10,000 debt.  Nearly seventy years passed before ODU revived football in 2009 and are now known as the Old Dominion University Monarchs.[5]  Since ODU had not fielded a team for decades, Foreman Field faced the prospect of being demolished.  Norfolk State University (NSU) football then stepped into the void.  With no stadium at NSU, the team sought to use Foreman Field and began playing home games there by the early 1970s.  After being established as a tenant, NSU along with ODU and the city of Norfolk, allocated funds toward much-needed stadium renovations.  The Norfolk State Spartans continued hosting games at Foreman Field through 1996.  When their next season kicked off, NSU finally had a brand-new stadium on campus ready for football competition.  Dick Price Stadium opened at the end of August 1997, which ushered in a new era of Spartan football.[6]      

For many years, the annual Oyster Bowl has been a staple of Foreman Field.  First played in 1946 between two high schools, Granby and Clifton, the game served as a fundraiser for the Norfolk-based Khedive Temple of the Shriners.  Proceeds went to support the Shriners Hospitals for Children.  Foreman Field hosted the Oyster Bowl every year from 1948-1995 with more than $3 million going to the Shriners.  With the exception of that inaugural game, it featured a matchup of two Division I college programs, such as Virginia, Duke, Virginia Tech, and Syracuse.  Following the 1995 edition, it went on hiatus for the next three years.  The Oyster Bowl underwent a change in format before resuming in 1999.  It moved to Joseph S. Darling Memorial Stadium in Hampton, Virginia with Division III teams selected to compete.  Bridgewater, Christopher Newport, Catholic, and Ferrum are just a few of those schools who participated.  The event returned to Foreman Field in 2011, as ODU defeated James Madison University (JMU) 23-20.  ODU has played in every Oyster Bowl since then.  In the last game played at the original Foreman Field, ODU coasted to a 77-14 Oyster Bowl win over Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on Saturday, November 17, 2018.  After it was torn down and rebuilt during the offseason, a newly rechristened Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium continued this Foreman Field tradition in November 2019 with Charlotte outlasting ODU by a score of 38-22.[7]   

During its long history, Foreman Field has also hosted several professional football contests.  The Norfolk Neptunes, a minor league team that played in the Continental Football League (COFL) and briefly Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL), called Foreman Field home for seven seasons from 1965-1971.  Fans came out in droves to see the Neptunes whose average attendance exceeded thirteen thousand.  They were the most popular draw in all of minor league football for every year of their short existence.  Foreman Field hosted the 1967 COFL Championship.  In a highly touted game, the Orlando Panthers defeated the Neptunes 21-17.  Norfolk won its only championship during the 1971 season while playing as a member of the ACFL.[8]

Norfolk not only had its own professional team, but the National Football League (NFL) staged exhibitions during the 1960s.  The Kiwanis Bowl took place at Foreman Field in late August/early September every year from 1960-1969 to raise money for needy children.  These annual matchups featured two NFL teams competing in preseason action.  With the Washington Redskins located just a few hours away and the team of choice for local NFL fans, it made sense that they became a regular participant at the Kiwanis Bowl.  The Redskins were featured in the Kiwanis Bowl for nine consecutive years until 1969 when the St. Louis Cardinals came to Foreman Field as a late replacement.  Their opponents included the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, and Pittsburgh Steelers.  In the first Kiwanis Bowl, played on Saturday, August 27, 1960, the Eagles used a 70-yard punt return from Ted Dean as part of a 17-point fourth quarter to trounce Washington 24-6.  More than twenty thousand fans attended this inaugural game.  Four years later, Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen, recently traded from Philadelphia, suited up for the first time as a member of the Redskins at Foreman Field on Saturday, September 5, 1964, and led Washington to a 17-10 win over St. Louis.  He has the distinction of leading two different teams to victory in the Kiwanis Bowl (Philadelphia was the other in 1960).  Sonny had also previously played in the Oyster Bowl while at Duke.  The Skins made four more trips to Norfolk in the ensuing years, but after Washington hired Coach Vince Lombardi in 1969, he decided to make a change in the exhibition schedule.  This resulted in a St. Louis vs. Pittsburgh matchup.  The NFL then ended its involvement with the Kiwanis Bowl following that game.[9]  

Years later, as the twenty-first century got underway, there was growing interest to begin a football program at ODU after an absence of several decades.  The announcement came in 2005 and then four years later Foreman Field (renamed Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium) once again became a home for college football.  Back on the gridiron, they welcomed the Chowan University Hawks to Norfolk for their first game on Saturday, September 5, 2009.  Monarch Nation provided homefield advantage with nearly twenty thousand crammed into Foreman Field.  They watched as ODU dominated in a 36-21 victory.  The Monarchs forced five Chowan turnovers while protecting the ball when they were on offense.  When this new era commenced, ODU played as an independent in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) before joining the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference in 2011.  ODU found early success with a 38-10 record during their first four seasons of existence and consecutive playoff appearances (2011-2012).  Foreman Field even hosted an in-city clash between ODU and Norfolk State in an FCS first round playoff matchup on Saturday November 26, 2011.  Behind the right arm and legs of freshman quarterback Taylor Heinicke, ODU rolled to a 35-18 win.  Membership in the CAA lasted just two seasons though.  In 2013, ODU football embarked on a mission to take its program even higher.  With money as the motivating factor, ODU began their transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).  They played in Conference USA (CUSA) from 2014-2021 but have since become members of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).  The Monarchs became bowl eligible for the first time in 2015.  Their first bowl victory came just a year later.  Foreman Field had its largest crowd ever of 20,532 for a football game and its greatest moment on Saturday, September 22, 2018 when ODU scored a surprising 49-35 upset of the 13th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies.  The last game in stadium history was played a few months later on November 17.  Foreman Field closed for the final time a few months later.[10]

As it aged, Foreman Field had become old and antiquated, especially with more recent stadiums being equipped with modern amenities.  After ODU concluded its 2018 campaign, Foreman Field underwent an entire makeover, as construction workers tore down this sports landmark and then rebuilt a new stadium on the same site to open by August 2019.  Moseley Architects of Virginia Beach, Virginia designed it and S.B. Ballard served as the contractor.  Barry Kornblau, an ODU alumnus, provided $3 million for the project, which cost $71 million in total.  When completed less than a year later, Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium had a slightly higher seating capacity of 22,480.  The new stadium debuted on Saturday,

August 31, 2019.  It seemed appropriate that the Monarchs would open their home slate against cross-town rival Norfolk State.  The home crowd expected an easy win, but NSU refused to cooperate and nearly pulled off the upset.  ODU squandered an early 14-0 lead and trailed in the fourth quarter following two interceptions.  In a thrilling finish, Old Dominion marched down the field to reclaim the lead at 24-21 with just over a minute left.  Then the Monarch defense issued a final exclamation point by intercepting an NSU pass, which secured the Opening Day victory.  Some years have been more successful than others, but this new iteration of Foreman Field, now in its sixth season, is set up for many more years of hosting ODU football.[11]                   

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The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), December 8, 1946, p. 1-2.

8.  Harry Minium, “Fans Loved the Neptunes,” The Virginian-Pilot

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9.      “Needy Children to See Game,” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), September 5, 1967, p. 32; 

George McClelland, “Jurgensen to Play 1st Game for ‘Skins in Norfolk,” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), August 30, 1964, p. D3;

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                   Bob Molinaro, “After 69-Year Wait, They Pounced,” The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), September 6, 2009, p. S3;

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 (Norfolk, Virginia), August 31, 2019, p. 1C. 

11.  Ed Miller, “$71 Million Housewarming Party Goes off With a Hitch-Monarchs Get Late TD to Foil Upset-Minded Spartans,” 

The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia), September 1, 2019, p. 1C;

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