J. Birney Crum Stadium
Allentown School District Stadium
Address2027 Linden St, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18104, U.S.
LocationAllentown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°35′46.11″N 75°30′5.67″W / 40.5961417°N 75.5015750°W / 40.5961417; -75.5015750
OwnerAllentown School District
OperatorAllentown School District
Construction
Opened1948
Renovated2002
Tenants
Allen, Central Catholic, and Dieruff

J. Birney Crum Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium which is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is the largest high school stadium in Pennsylvania and the 14th largest in the nation with a capacity of 15,000.

This stadium serves as the home football field for each of Allentown's three high schools: William Allen High School, Louis E. Dieruff High School, and Allentown Central Catholic High School, each of which compete in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, one of the premiere high school athletic conferences in the nation.

History

A helicopter landing at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown prior to Allen High School football game on Thanksgiving Day in 1948

The stadium opened in 1948 as Allentown High School Stadium. It was alternately referred to as Allentown School District Stadium[1] and ASD Stadium until being renamed in 1982 in honor of J. Birney Crum,[2] a football, basketball, and baseball coach at Allentown High School[3] (present-day William Allen High School), who was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1974. The stadium was renovated in 2002 and FieldTurf was installed to replace the original natural grass surface.

The stadium is also the home high school playing field for numerous Eastern Pennsylvania Conference football players who went on to careers in the NFL, including Ed McCaffrey of the Denver Broncos and New York Giants, Andre Reed of the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins, Tony Stewart of the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders, and others.

The stadium hosts a large Fourth of July fireworks display that typically draws tens of thousands of spectators.

Crum is also marching arts performance venue. The stadium hosts the annual Drum Corps International Eastern Classic. Formerly the DCI East Championships, this event hosts all of DCI's World Class Drum and Bugle Corps the weekend before its world championships, which are held in Indianapolis.

This stadium also hosts the Collegiate Marching Band Festival, which is held in late September or early October and showcases college and university marching bands of all sizes and styles from across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. Crum also is the site of the USBands A Class National Championships, featuring performances of high school marching bands each November.

The stadium is owned by the Allentown School District.

References

  1. ↑ Smith, Gordon. "Stoners go after ASL championship", Allentown Morning Call, September 18, 1980.
  2. ↑ Gildner, Kevin S. (2006). Allentown. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439617786. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Burian, Evan (2001). Football Legends of Pennsylvania. Evan Burian. ISBN 9780971342507. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
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