Jacksonville State's Long Ballpark Football History
The Gamecocks have barnstormed to various ballparks throughout the South.
On Monday, North Alabama and the Rocket City Trash Pandas announced Toyota Field would host the Jacksonville State-North Alabama game on October 15 in a clash for Yellowhammer State bragging rights.
Jacksonville State is no stranger to the ballpark as they have played 16 games at various diamonds. The Gamecocks played their first game in a ballpark in 1905 when they lost 32-0 to Howard College (now Samford University) at Anniston’s Baseball Park.
The Gamecocks proceeded to play Samford four more times at Anniston’s first ballpark but lost by a combined score of 101-0. The closest they came to victory was in 1926 when they lost to Samford 13-0 with a fourth quarter touchdown sealing the game.
Jacksonville State would also play Alabama Presbyterian (1909), Birmingham Southern, and Bryson College (both in 1924) at the old ballpark before playing a pair of games at Anniston’s new ballpark, Johnston Field in 1929 and 1930. It was against Bryson College that Jacksonville State won their first and only ballpark game with a 35-13 victory.
At Johnston Field, the Gamecocks lost both games as Middle Georgia defeated them 18-7 in 1929 and Samford continued their winning ways with a 21-0 win the next year.
Jacksonville State football wasn’t just relegated to the ballparks of Anniston as they played two games at ballparks in the Magic City. In 1909, they played a familiar foe, Samford, at the precursor to iconic Rickwood Field, West End Park, losing 33-0.
In 1923, the Gamecocks made their debut in Birmingham’s iconic ballpark, Rickwood Field, playing against Birmingham Southern. The two schools played to a scoreless tie, with time expiring with Birmingham Southern at the Jacksonville State 20. Surprisingly, this would be Jacksonville State’s only appearance at America’s oldest professional ballpark.
The Gamecocks also ventured to a pair of ballparks in Florida, Orlando’s Tinker Field and Tallahassee’s Centennial Field. At Tinker Field, the Gamecocks lost a pair of games against Rollins University in 1931 and 1935.
In the first game at Tinker Field, Rollins raced to an 18-0 lead on the way to a 37-14 win. The Gamecocks could not stop Rollins’ Harold M. Young in the second game, as he ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns in an 18-6 for the Tars.
However, they bounced back in the Sunshine State ballpark return in 1947 as they beat Florida State at Centennial Field. Little All-American Johnny Williams scored the only touchdown in a 7-0 victory on his way to a 997-yard season in only nine games.
It would nearly 40 years before Jacksonville State played another ballpark game. In 1986, Jacksonville State traveled to Huntsville to play Alabama A&M at Joe W. Davis Stadium. The Gamecocks lost 14-7 and I wrote more about that game here.
Strangely enough one could consider Jacksonville State’s four games at the venerable Cramton Bowl as ballpark games. Surprisingly, the Cramton Bowl was home to the Montgomery Lions from 1926-1930.
Their first game was a 20-0 loss to Troy in 1932 and their last game was an appearance in the FCS Kickoff against Chattanooga. Roc Thomas ran for 122 yards and a touchdown as the Gamecocks beat the Mocs 27-13 in a nationally televised game.
In between, the Gamecocks played Alabama State twice in 1981 and 2007. The Hornets got the best of the Gamecocks both times winning 20-14 in 1981 and 24-19 in 2007. In 1981, Alabama State stopped the Gamecocks short and held on for a 20-14 win despite being outgained 388-191. 26 years later, Chris Mitchell completed 10 of his 11 passes including the game-winner as Alabama State overcame a 16-6 deficit.
Jacksonville State’s most memorable ballpark game is its most recent one. In 2018, the Gamecocks traveled to Atlanta to play Kennesaw State in the first football game at Truist Park. The fans were not disappointed as the teams played in a five-overtime thriller.
Zerrick Cooper threw for 417 yards and four touchdowns while Kennesaw State’s option scheme ran for 351 yards. In the end, Kennesaw State outlasted the Gamecocks by a score of 60-52.
Jacksonville State’s ballpark history has been filled with plenty of tough luck, but the Gamecocks have a chance to turn a new page in Huntsville this Fall. One thing is certain in that the more things change, the more they stay the same as the Gamecocks return to the diamond.