NEW YORK—This is the 11^th story in a #CUFootball150 feature series on Top-10 Historical Lists for Columbia Football. Today we look at where Columbia Football played its home games through the years.
 
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SOUTH FIELD, MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS (1915-22)
Before the acquisition of Baker Field, Columbia played its home football games at South Field. South Field initially opened as a practice field when the University moved to Morningside Heights in 1897. The current lawns in the middle of Columbia's Morningside Heights campus once formed a contiguous strip of grass upon which football games, practices, and other sporting events were held. A football field was set up in the fall, and Lou Gehrig played baseball there in the spring. Before the first game at South Field in 1915, Columbia's field sports played their home games at the "Columbia Oval" in Williamsbridge, Manhattan Field, and the Polo Grounds "Columbia Field." Columbia had to resort to rotating its sports around the cramped South Field, ship its athletes to the northern Bronx, or shell out money to rent a stadium. The current location of South Field is now referred to as the "South Lawn" on Columbia's campus. As part of tradition established in 2015, Columbia's current football team conducts its annual pre-game walk-through there on Fridays before home games.
 
Stadium Facts
Year Opened/Capacity: 1897/8,000
Surface/Structure: Natural Grass/Wooden seats
First Game/Opponent: October 15, 1915/St. Lawrence (Win, 57-0)
Location/Address: Columbia Campus/3030 Broadway
Neighborhood: Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City
 
BAKER FIELD (1923-83)
The original tract of land on which the current Baker Athletics Complex stands was given to Columbia and purchased for $700,000 on December 31, 1921 by financier and banker George F. Baker. The 26-acre area was dedicated in April 1922 and hosted spring football practice that same year. In the fall, Columbia's football team continued to practice uptown, but played its games at South Field on the Morningside Heights Campus. The first stadium at the site, then known as the Columbia Football Stadium at Baker Field, opened in the fall of 1923 with 15,000 seats in temporary stands. Five years later in 1928, the University built the 32,000 wooden-seat stadium that served Columbia fans for 55 years, until the spring of 1983. Through the years, Columbia hosted 16 football games that surpassed 30,000 fans in attendance.
 
Stadium Facts
Year Opened/Capacity: 1923/32,000
Surface/Structure: Natural Grass/Wooden seats
First Game/Opponent: September 29, 1923/Ursinus (Win, 13-0)
Location/Address: West 218th St. at Park Terrace West
Neighborhood: Inwood, Manhattan, New York City
Original Cost: $700,000 in 1921
Stadium/Field Named For: George F. Baker, financier who was known as the "Dean of American Banking." Baker was closely associated with financier JP Morgan.
 
ROBERT K. KRAFT FIELD AT LAWRENCE A. WIEN STADIUM (1984-CURRENT)
Located on the banks of the Hudson and Harlem Rivers and within Columbia University's 27-acre Baker Athletic Complex, Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium (pronounced WEEN) is the cornerstone of an impressive collection of facilities for Columbia Football. One of the most modern football stadiums on the East Coast featuring beautiful views of the Hudson River and fall foliage from adjacent Inwood Hill Park, Lawrence A. Wien Stadium was described by Sports Illustrated as "one of the most beautiful places in the country to watch a football game." In its fourth decade as the official Lions' Den, the stadium also boasts a 400-meter outdoor track and turf field. It is both the largest multi-purpose stadium and the only regulation-sized football stadium with a capacity of 10,000 or more on the island of Manhattan.
 
Stadium Facts
Year Opened/Capacity: 1984/17,000
Surface/Structure: Field Turf (2015)/Concrete-based stadium
First Game/Opponent: September 22, 1984/Harvard (Lost, 35-21)
Location/Address: West 218th St. at Park Terrace West
Neighborhood: Inwood, Manhattan, New York City
Original Cost: $7 million in 1983
Field Named For: Robert K. Kraft, owner New England Patriots (2007)
Stadium Named For: Lawrence, A. Wien, former Columbia trustee, prominent philanthropist, lawyer and entrepreneur
 
OTHER LOCAL HOME VENUES
 
POLO GROUNDS 1, 2, 3
Located in Upper Manhattan, just north of Central Park, and bound by 110^th and 112^th Streets to the east and Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) Avenues to the west, the Polo Grounds served as Columbia Football's home field from 1880-1903 and then as a special venue from 1920-28. Columbia's final game played at the Polo Grounds was a 1934 Rose Bowl rematch with Stanford, which the Lions ended up winning 7-0.
 
YANKEE STADIUM
Through the years, Columbia has played two games at Yankee Stadium. The Lions defeated Princeton 13-0 in a postseason charity game on Dec. 9, 1931, and then lost to Army 27-16 on Oct. 10, 1936.
 
GIANTS STADIUM
In its history, Columbia has played four games at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Those games include an Oct. 23, 1976 matchup against Rutgers, an Oct. 18, 1978 vs. Rutgers, and two games in 1983 vs. Penn for Homecoming (Sept. 30, 1983) and vs. Dartmouth (Nov. 5, 1983). Due to construction of Lawrence A. Wien Stadium, Columbia was not allowed to play at Baker Field.




 
AMERICAN LEGION PARK
In 1904 and 1905, Columbia hosted games at American Legion Park. Also known as Hilltop Park in Upper Manhattan, the field was bound by Broadway Avenue, 165^th, Fort Washington Avenue and 168^th Street.
 
MANHATTAN FIELD
For two seasons in both 1889 and 1890, Manhattan Field served as the home of Columbia Football. Manhattan Field was renamed the Polo Grounds.
 
HOBOKEN, N.J.
Ironically, when Columbia Football began regularly playing "home" games, the Lions hosted matchups in Hoboken, N.J.
 
TREMONT GROUNDS/BROTHERHOOD PARK
Columbia's first "home" match was played on Nov. 2, 1872 vs. Rutgers at Tremont Grounds in Central Park. The game was a rematch of Columbia's first-ever football game at Rutgers on Nov. 12, 1870.