Vaught-Hemingway Stadium: 100 Years

Sept. 9, 2015

By Adam Kuffner, Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations

Story Featured in the Ole Miss vs. UT Martin Football Game Program (Sept. 5)

As we celebrate the first 100 years of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, we are given a reminder regarding the past from Oxford's own William Faulkner.

"The past is never dead. It's not even past."

Archie Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play at Ole Miss, but his first memory of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was as a fan.

"It was 1960 when I saw my first game in what was then Hemingway Stadium. Ole Miss and LSU played to a 6-6 tie," noted Manning. "It was such a thrill that from that moment on all I wanted to do was play football at Ole Miss."

Manning, who still holds the school record for total offense in one game (540 yards), not only thought back to the first game he attended at Ole Miss, but he also remembers his first game lacing up the cleats and taking the field for the Rebels, although it was as a member of the freshman team.

"My first time playing in the stadium was against the LSU freshmen in 1967. Freshmen were not eligible to play with the varsity in those days," mentioned Manning.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, nicknamed "The Vaught" by many fans, has been the home of Ole Miss Football for the past century. The home of the Rebels was named after Judge William Hemingway in 1947 and later joined by Coach John Vaught. Hemingway was a professor of law on campus as well as the longtime chairman of the University's Committee on Athletics. Vaught's name was added to the stadium in 1982. He is the winningest coach in Ole Miss history and led the Rebels to three national championships. Hollingsworth Field was named for Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth in 1998, in recognition of his continuing generous support to Ole Miss Athletics.

Ole Miss students helped construct a grandstand on-site in 1915, and Rebel fans have continued to pack the stadium on fall Saturdays ever since. The electric atmosphere provided by the fans has given the Rebels a true home-field advantage as Ole Miss boasts an all-time record of 258-93-8 (.730) at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Deuce McAllister, the career leader in both rushing yards and all-purpose yards at Ole Miss, also reflected on what it was like to play in front of the Rebel faithful at Vaught-Hemingway.

"Playing at home in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is just unreal, especially on a Saturday night when you are facing teams like Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn and Mississippi State. The whole day, beginning with the walk through The Grove, is electric," remarked McAllister.

McAllister rushed for 3,060 yards during his four-year career, racking up a total of 4,889 yards as a Rebel. Ole Miss fans may remember the speedy running back returning a kickoff 100 yards versus Arkansas, Nov. 6, 1999. Hearing the crowd roar while running down the field was a fond memory for McAllister.

"The support given to the players by our fans packing the stadium is amazing. It's something I'll never forget," McAllister said. "I'm also happy that the guys on the current team can experience the thrill of playing for Ole Miss."

With 359 games played on the Ole Miss campus, there are certainly many memorable ones. The Rebels won a program-record 21 straight home games from 1952-59. After defeating Chattanooga 58-0 in the last home game of the 1959 campaign, the Rebels won at Tennessee and at rival Mississippi State before a 21-0 victory in the Sugar Bowl gave Ole Miss its first national championship in school history.

Along with hundreds of wins, there were heartbreaking games that will stick in the minds of fans. The Rebels came out on the wrong side of a marathon game against Arkansas in 2001 that went into an NCAA-record seven overtimes. In 1989 against Vanderbilt, the entire nation felt the impact of the tragic hit that left Chucky Mullins paralyzed.

However, there have been more positive memories than negative ones in Oxford. That's what happens when winning roughly 73 percent of home games over the course of history. Who could forget last year's contest versus No. 1 Alabama? ESPN's College GameDay came to Oxford for the first time, Katy Perry showed up as the newest member of Rebel Nation, and the football team did not disappoint on the field that Saturday afternoon. The 23-17 win over the Crimson Tide was the program's first victory over a No. 1 team. Fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts to parade around The Square in downtown Oxford. October 4, 2014 will always be a special day in the hearts of Rebels throughout the country. It was an even more special day for the 61,826 fans that filled Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to cheer Ole Miss to victory.

There's nothing like beating your rival, especially at home in front of your fans. The first Battle of the Golden Egg took place in Vaught-Hemingway during the 1927 season, with Ole Miss claiming a 20-12 victory over in-state rival Mississippi A&M College, now known as Mississippi State. In recent history, the Rebels have played well in their home stadium with the Golden Egg up for grabs. Since the turn of the century, Ole Miss has won seven of the last eight Egg Bowls played in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, including last season's 31-17 win over the No. 4 Bulldogs.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has seen its share of talent take the field over the past century. There were the 1959, 1960 and 1962 national championshions and six SEC championship teams that played in the stadium. Elite Ole Miss quarterbacks made play after play inside the old stadium such as the likes of Charlie Conerly, Jake Gibbs, Archie Manning and Eli Manning. In total, 56 first team All-Americans spent their collegiate careers playing in front of the Ole Miss faithful at The Vaught, including six Heisman Trophy finalists.

Despite the stadium's age, renovations have been made over the years to keep it alive and well. While the field has been in the same location since 1915, the permanent foundation was not built until 1939. When it was finished in 1941, the capacity was 24,000. That number reached over 50,000 before the 1998 season. Capacity went over 60,000 in 2002, and a Vaught-Hemingway Stadium crowd of 62,657 watched the Rebels face Alabama during the 2009 campaign.

The field itself has changed multiple times over the years, starting out as natural grass. Astroturf, the popular surface in the 1970s, emerged before The Vaught went back to the natural surface in 1985. The Rebels now have the most popular surface in college football, using FieldTurf.

The stadium is still undergoing renovations to enhance the gameday atmosphere for fans. The west suites were updated following the 2014 season. This season, the south end zone will see an addition of 30 luxury suites and 770 club seats. In 2016, the north end zone will be closed off with additional seats. Meanwhile, a plaza and a bell tower on the outside will serve as the "front door" of The Vaught. All of these renovations are being made into a reality thanks to generous donations through the Forward Together campaign.

"I still get so excited every time I walk into Vaught-Hemingway," said Manning. "It's a special place to play, and I have so many fond memories of my time at Ole Miss."

Looking back through history, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has been a place for the Ole Miss family to come together as one, watch the Rebels and inspire them to victory. It is a place where some of the loudest "Hotty Toddy" cheers are heard echoing throughout the stadium. With stadium renovations continuing now and into the future, it is a safe bet that Ole Miss football will play at Vaught-Hemingway for years to come, maybe 100 more.

"The past is never dead. It's not even past."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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