Any conversation about New Orleans’ football history begins Uptown on the Mississippi River. Away from the nightlife of the French Quarter, a small greenspace tucked away in the heart of the Tulane University campus next to some dorms. On any given day you’ll find students cutting through here on the way to class. Students playing soccer, reading and tossing frisbees most unaware of the significance of the ground they’re standing on. This is all that remains of Tulane Stadium, an 80,000-seat concrete and brick structure so grandiose it was nicknamed the “Queen of the South”.
(Above: this greenspace takes up partially where the field would have been. Dorms provide the backdrop to the south. While the campus recreation facilities takes up the view to the north.
The “Mighty Queen” opened in 1926, over 40 years before the Saints and 40 years before the words ‘Who Dat’ would become synonymous with the city. It sat just a few blocks from the Mighty Mississippi. When built the brick and concrete stadium had a bowl with seating for 35,000 and was about as nice as they come for college football stadiums as the home to the Green Wave football. The annual New Orleans New Years Day tradition of the Sugar Bowl also began here in 1935 and hosted the game until the 1974 game, becoming one of the most anticipated bowl games of the season.
But it was the events that would unfold on “All Saints Day” Nov 1, 1966, that would catapult New Orleans to the big leagues, when the city was awarded an expansion team in the NFL. Coincidentally enough, named the New Orleans Saints. Who would play their first 8 seasons outdoors at the “The Mighty Queen” on the Mississippi. The Saints wouldn’t have very many memorable moments here. But the NFL record for longest kick was broken here in 1970, when Tom Dempsey kicked a 63 yarder with a half of a foot. Archie Manning also began his career here. He didn’t win many games here, but his long association and love for New Orleans carries over to this day as he still lives less than a mile from the Tulane campus. Maybe the Manning Family dynasty wouldn’t be around today if Archie hadn’t gotten drafted number 2 overall by a lowly Saints franchise in 1971 and fell in love with the city. Over the years the stadium would be expanded to over 80,000 people, making it a prime spot for big-time football games and hosting three of New Orleans’ record 11 Super Bowl games.
While in town for the week for Super Bowl LIX festivities, the city’s record tying 11th time hosting the game. I decided to go Uptown to visit the site of “Birthplace of football in New Orleans”. Of course, being in New Orleans I had to get the authentic experience by taking a streetcar Uptown past all the Garden District mansions along Saint Charles Ave, including the Manning family home.
The streetcar parks in front of campus in between Audubon Park and the giant almost 200-year-old buildings that make up Tulane University. A brass band plays in the park as it only reminds me of how vibrant and full of character the city is. I begin the walk to the back side of campus past the campus classrooms that remind me of medieval castles. I stop at the famed Mardi Gras bead tree, which is covered in Mardi Gras beads from Christmas to Fat Tuesday every year. I cross two streets and then Tulane’s new on-campus football home Yulman Stadium comes into view, blocked by some campus residence halls. The greenspace sits between the residence hall and Yulman Staidum. When Tulane Stadium was knocked down in 1980 it was replaced by campus dorms on the side closer to the River and the Tulane athletic offices on the other side. The little field that now sits there would have been around where the 50-yard line of the famed site would have been located.
(Above: Mardi Gras bead tree on campus; Above that: Tulane campus arial view)
I ran out on the little field while the students playing soccer were probably wondering what I am doing. I sit and reflect on all the historic moments that have taken place on this grass. Like Super Bowl IV in January 1970, the first Super Bowl in the Crescent City. That day the Chiefs would have better luck during their first Super Bowl in New Orleans than their latest as they beat the Vikings in front of over 80,000 fans. Before Patrick Mahomes there was another Chiefs Quarterback named Len Dawson who would win MVP honors during that game. A much different halftime show took place during that day as the Southern University marching band re-enacted the “Battle of New Orleans.”
Two years later the NFL’s ultimate game would return to New Orleans with Super Bowl VI in 1972. The Cowboys would win their first of five Super Bowls behind the arm of Roger Staubach. The halftime show would include a touching tribute by Ella Fitzgerald for New Orleans’ favorite son Louis Armstrong, who passed away the year before.
New Orleans, LA 1/16/1972
The final game to take place in Tulane Stadium was Super Bowl IX on January 12, 1975. Louisiana’s own Terry Bradshaw would win his first of four Super Bowl rings on that day, a fitting way to close the stadium. Other than hosting a few high school games the stadium would sit unused until being demolished in 1980, and the Mighty Queen would be no more
(Above photos: Before and after: Steelers running back Franco Harris takes a handoff from Terry Bradshaw in the final game played at Tulane Stadium. After: A photo from around the exact spot that hand off would have taken place almost 50 years to the day.)
(Above photos: Before: Tulane Stadium in 1974 from Calhoun Street. Bottom photo: View as it looks today from that same spot on Calhoun Street.)
But when one chapter of New Orleans’ sports history closes, another chapter would open with a gold-colored dome in the city’s Central Business District that would open later that year in 1975. The iconic Dome would become the Caesars Superdome, a staple of the New Orleans skyline, and would welcome fans and big-time events for the over the next 50 plus years, with no signs of slowing down.
(Caesars Superdome during Super Bowl LIX; the city’s record tying 11th time hosting the Super Bowl).
8 more Super Bowls, 7 Final Fours, multiple concerts and world class events would take place at the Dome making New Orleans a world class city for hosting big time events and big time football games. But it was the stadium that was once located around the tiny green space on Tulane University that laid the foundation for the birth of football in the city. Who knows what New Orleans’ sports scene would look like today If it wasn’t for the Mighty “Queen Stadium of the South” on the Mississippi River.
(The Superdome under construction lurks in the distance of Tulane Stadium in 1975. An iconic photo of the passing of the torch between two historic sports venues.)
(Super Bowl LIX between the Chiefs and Eagles inside the Caesars Superdome. 2/8/25).
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