Manning Bowl

Manning Bowl is a former American football and soccer stadium located in Lynn, Massachusetts. It was the home stadium for Lynn English, Lynn Classical, Lynn Tech, St. Mary's High School. It also served as a home stadium for the Boston Yanks of the National Football League from 1944 to 1948, the Boston Rovers of the United Soccer Association in 1967, and the Bay State Titans of the Minor League Football System in 1990.

High School Football
The Manning Bowl opened on November 24, 1937 for the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between English and Classical. The stadium was not yet completed and was known only as Municipal Stadium. English defeated Classical 13-6 and Henry Pazik (father of future Major League pitcher Mike Pazik) scored the first touchdown in the stadium's history on a 33-yard pass play from Joe McNulty.

The stadium was completed on June 21, 1938 and named for mayor J. Fred Manning. The first football game held in the completed stadium was a night game between Peabody High School and Classical with Peabody winning 27-7.

In 1948, the city of Lynn became the first to televise high school football due to an arrangement with WNAC-TV in Boston.

The Harry Agganis All-Star Football Classic was played at the Manning Bowl from 1956–1959 and again from 1965-2003.

The final game played in the Manning Bowl was on November 25, 2004 and was the annual Thanksgiving Day game between English and Classical. English won the game 28-8. The final touchdown in Manning Bowl history was scored by Mike Orfanos on a 2-yard run. It was replaced by Manning Field.

Notable high school athletes who played at the Manning Bowl

 * Bill Adams, offensive lineman, Swampscott High School
 * Harry Agganis, Kicker/Halfback, Lynn Classical
 * Mark Bavaro, tight end, Danvers High School
 * Matt Bloom, offensive line, Peabody High School
 * Billy Conigliaro, running back, Swampscott High School
 * Tony Conigliaro, quarterback, St. Mary's High School
 * Boley Dancewicz, Quarterback, Lynn Classical
 * Joe DiVito, quarterback, St. Mary's
 * Richard Fecteau, lineman, Lynn Classical
 * Jim Hegan, Lynn English
 * Dick Jauron, Safety, Swampscott High School
 * Greg Landry, quarterback, Lynn English
 * Steve Lomasney, quarterback, Peabody High School
 * Mike Lynch, kicker/quarterback, Swampscott High School
 * Doug Mackie, offensive line, Saugus High School
 * Mike Pazik, quarterback, Lynn English
 * Art Spinney, guard, Saugus High School
 * Lou Tsioropoulos, kicker/tight end/defensive end, Lynn English

Professional football
From 1944-1948, Boston Yanks games that conflicted with the Boston Red Sox schedule were held at the Manning Bowl.

In 1959, the Chicago Bears defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in the Cardinal Cushing Charity Game. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin started for Philadlephia.

The semi-pro Bay State Titans played their only season here. Defensive Tackle Eric Swann would be selected with the 6th overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft.

College football
The first college football game in the Manning Bowl was a 1953 contest between Holy Cross and Dartmouth.

Concerts
The Rolling Stones kicked off their 1966 North American Tour at the stadium on June 24, 1966. The event was cut short due to rain and police had to use tear gas bombs to quell the angry crowd.

On June 11, 1976, Ray Charles held a charity concert to raise money for the Life Institute for Blind. The Four Tops and Dorothy Moore also performed.

Mötley Crüe drew 15,000 fans during an August 1985 concert.

Aerosmith performed at the stadium during their Done with Mirrors Tour on September 14, 1985.

Other events
The first official event held at the Manning Bowl was a city-wide dance held on a specially made dance area in the end zone. This area was also used to show night time movies during the 1930s and 40s.

The Manning Bowl hosted memorials following the deaths of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.

From 1966 to 1982, The Manning Bowl was home to Drum & Bugle Corps World Open Championship.

The Manning Bowl was the home stadium for the Boston Rovers during the United Soccer Association's only season. The league's first ever game was held here and ended in a 1-1 against the Detroit Cougars.

The first ever Agganis All-Star Basketball Game was played here in 1976.

In 1985, the Manning Bowl hosted 2 World Class Championship Wrestling Events

In 1978, Eddie Feigner hurled one of his 930 no-hitters in a game played on make-shift diamond.