On this day in 1946, Rip Payne took in a ball game at Lambeth Field. The stadium, constructed in 1911 by Robert E. Lee Taylor, was
intended to be the ‘finest athletic stadium in the South and one that compares very favorably with the stadiums at Syracuse and Harvard.’
Named in honor of Dr. William A. Lambeth, the director of athletics at the time, it served as the football stadium until 1931, when Scott Stadium was constructed. The field continued to serve other sports, including baseball, for many years hence. In addition to being the premier athletic field of its day, Lambeth also became well-known for hosting, perhaps, one of the first flights to which Charlottesville bore witness (in 1912).
In researching this entry, I came across the following discussion on cvillenews.com regarding Charlottesville businesses (including Keller & George, whose sponsorship is advocated in Payne’s photos), the city/county border, and blogging ethics. Which has still left me to wonder… what is the oldest Cville business? In other news, George Reed, who serves as the managing director of Monticello Media (which, consequently, owns WCHV, the radio group picture above) recently wrote an article discussing the Keller Radio Talent Institute at Appalachian State University. App State, in turn, is the home to History Matters, a historical publication in which my undergraduate thesis was published. Whoa… that’s a lot of coincidences for one day.
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