A Child's First Visit to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a piece of history. Most people think the stadium was created for the 1932 Olympics but actually it was built originally in the roaring '20s as a memorial to World War One veterans. The University of Southern California (USC) Trojans (who are across the street) agreed to play their home football games there, which made the investment worthwhile. More seats were added along with other extras for the '32 Olympics.

Being fairly young at the time (early years of grade school), I don't remember a lot during the carefree year of 1966. I was a Cub Scout, went to my first baseball game (Dodgers - they beat the Cubs), rode my bicycle a lot ... and went to my first Los Angeles Rams football game at the Coliseum.

Professional football in 1966 was to see the eventual champions of the NFL and AFL play each other in the Coliseum for the "First AFL-NFL World Championship Game", which was the predecessor to the Super Bowl. A little irony for me was the fact the Green Bay Packers won that game in the Coliseum and I would eventually be a huge fan of the Packers.

The Players

I started following football and the Rams around the age of five, listening to them on the radio. In '66, they had a new coach in George Allen (who was an assistant with the Chicago Bears the year before). I knew the players very well: Dick Bass (who became a friend of both my father and myself), Roman Gabriel, Eddie Meador, Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen. I also knew the Chicago Bears' key players including Gale Sayers (who I would meet a few years later), Dick Butkus and Richie Petitbon (who would later play for the Rams). The great George Halas was in his waning years as coach of the Bears.

My dad took me to the game and I had no idea what to expect in my first visit but was about as excited as a kid could get. Going to the famous Coliseum in itself was thrilling. You don't usually park in a normal parking lot when going to the Coliseum so we parked on the other side of USC (yet another organization I became fanatically interested in as recent articles attest to) and walked through the school. Wow, that was a treat! Then as we approached the stadium, I could see through the trees - a giant building, a girth of size I'd never seen before.

Grand Canyon

We went through the turnstiles and now all I could see was this huge concrete and ivy covered mass in front of me. We purchased a program and looked for our section. We walked through a tunnel and as we exited the other end, there it was. I was breathless and could hardly believe what I was looking at. The sheer dimensions, sound and color were almost too much for this little kid to comprehend. Do you ever remember that first time you saw the Grand Canyon? This was the same feeling of awe.

My dad and I found our seats and watched the game which seemed anti-climatic at this stage. The Bears were known for their defense but so were the Rams. Los Angeles hadn't had the greatest teams in the world but I think George Allen finally got them on the winning trail. The night game was back and forth as I remember but then the second half was controlled by the Los Angeles defense. The Rams won and we went home with a program in hand and a lifetime of memories.

The Coliseum is still a grand place to visit. The Olympics came back in '84 (the only stadium in history to host two Olympics) and as many times as it's been talked about as being too old, etc, there it still stands with its infamous peristyle end and burning torch, as ageless as the day it was built. After that nighttime extravaganza of exhilaration, I would go back numerous times over the years and it's special every time. As a standing monument to history, this kid can attest - the Coliseum is something everyone should see.

Additional source - NFL, L.A. Times