Titus County is, after all, smack-dab in the middle of Northeast Texas. Around here, Friday night football takes on more of a religious fervor than most sports and many religions. Any town without a first-rate football field surely couldn't be a place you'd wanna live, and that's exactly the kind of town Mt. Pleasant was before 1937.
The football field behind the new high school on Riddle Street was low-lying ground, and water stood on the field when it rained. It wasn't fenced, so people could stroll in and out as they pleased without paying. There were no lights, so games had to be held in the afternoon when many fans were at work.
Something had to be done to restore the town's dignity, so with all the government assistance loans around, the Mt. Pleasant ISD applied to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for a loan to improve Tiger Field.
On Tuesday, October 19, 1937, WPA representative C.A. Felker announced that the WPA's district office had issued a work order to begin work on Tiger Field the next Monday morning. Mr. Felker continued that since it had been several months since WPA had done a project in Titus County, the project would probably start on schedule and a large group of men was expected to begin work.
Plans called for leveling the field, cutting down the high bank on the east side behind the school, raising the playing field so it would drain, completely draining the entire grounds, constructing a fence and grandstands to accommodate at least 600 fans, sodding the field, and other improvements. Lighting was not included in the project, but that problem could be solved when the field was complete because Mt. Pleasant had to keep up with other area towns that already had lighted fields.
That night, the Mt. Pleasant City Council loaned Superintendent P. E. Wallace the city's grading equipment and assigned City Engineer Tom Grissom to supervise the engineering. This saved the school board a considerable sum, because they didn't have to purchase equipment.
High School pupils were dismissed and assembled on the field on Monday morning, October 25, for a ceremony celebrating the start of work.
A. T. Kaderli acted as master of ceremonies. He made a short talk on the project's value to the school and introduced George Lilienstern, president of the board of trustees, who turned the ceremonial spade of dirt to initiate work.
School Board members S. H. Spurger and DeWitt Huckabee talked about their pride in starting the project, and appealed to the faculty, students, and businessmen to make Mt. Pleasant schools outstanding in athletics as well as literacy so it could be the best school in Northeast Texas.
Superintendent P. E. Wallace complimented the school board for their efforts in organizing the project and said it would improve the school's athletic program. Dr. Williams Ferguson, representing the Junior Chamber of Commerce, pledged the Jaycees help in installing lights before the next season began.
James Newman, representing the football team, said the improved field would encourage team members to play better.
The Pep Squad then assembled and performed a series of yells celebrating the event.
Jack Strother talked about how the band supported the team at games, and G. W. Cross spoke in behalf of businesses who supported the team in many ways.
Assistant Coach Kelly and instructor D. K. Peel both made short talks urging the Tigers to show their appreciation for the new field by playing their best in the upcoming game against Mt. Vernon on Friday afternoon.
Preliminary work like setting levels, clearing obstructions, and other details began on schedule Monday morning, and completion was expected in no more than sixty working days. Removing all rock along the ditch on the field's west side, removing an old drain pipe, starting ditches, and similar work were started first and required a week to complete.
Leveling the field really got under way Monday morning, November 1, 1937. Ten teams with plows and slips began lowering the hill at the north end of the field and dragging the dirt into low places.
The field's entire east side was to be cut down and extended as far east as possible away from the big ditch that drained Town Branch. Dirt removed was to be used to build up the playing field, whose south end had to be raised at least two and a half feet. The ditch that drained Town Branch was to be moved much further north than its present course. Dirt work to bring the field to the proper level was expected to take at least three weeks.
Meanwhile, a large crew was busy diverting the ditch that entered the school grounds from the east around the football field's north end. It was to be cut ten feet deep in some places, and sloped to the top to about 40 feet wide. Masonry would be installed to prevent erosion.
The project was much bigger than most people realized, but would greatly improve the field's appearance.
The Junior Chamber of Commerce discussed lighting plans at length in their Tuesday night, November 2 meeting. They were afraid that since they adopted this project, they might be asked to produce the equipment before they planned. Local electrician Ewell McClinton explained various field lighting equipment, poles, and other fixtures, and gave approximate costs for the best lights. He urged members to use detailed specifications when selecting fixtures if they were called on to award the contract.
The Jack Jessup Post American Legion had helped the school police the playing ground and take up game tickets for several years. In an early November, 1937 joint meeting with their Auxiliary, the Legion and Auxiliary voted unanimously to purchase materials necessary to build an additional section of bleachers seating about one hundred more people. They anticipated that the school would accept their offer, since the school would only be out labor to erect the bleachers.
Elwyn Quinn of Gilmer's Rotary Club spoke to Mt. Pleasant's Rotary Club on Tuesday, November 16, 1937. He described how Gilmer Rotarians sponsored lighting Gilmer's football field, and how they easily raised money by issuing certificates.
Almost all heavy excavation and dirt moving at the new football field was complete by Thursday morning, December 9, with only a small area left to be excavated. The crew would begin smoothing and leveling the field on Monday. After the field was smoothed, topsoil and grass could be laid.
Lumber had been bought and was on the ground ready to begin constructing grandstands on the east side of the field, and fence posts had also been purchased and were ready to be set.
The diversion ditch around the field's east and north sides was almost finished except for rip-rapping. When rip-rapping started, it was to extend to the main west drainage ditch.
While lots of finish work was still to be done, by January 9, 1938 the field was shaping up and people could visualize how it would look when completed.
Most grading had been done, with only smoothing the field remaining before topsoil and sod could be laid. Workers feared it would be hard to find enough Bermuda grass to sod the whole field because soil conservation work in the area had used most of it.
Sides of the drainage ditch on the west side of the field that swings around to the east side were to lined with rock and concrete applied in the bottom. All of the rock had been laid, and about four more days were needed to complete the entire project
Lots of dirt had been moved to fill several places east of the field, leveling the surface considerably and adding greatly to its appearance.
Nine sections of five tier high stands running a total of two hundred feet in length had been built and painting them was almost complete, but seat planks had not been laid due to a change of plans. Instead of having movable stands, twenty feet of seating could be gained by placing the stands thirty inches apart and nailing them together with the flooring extending from one to the other.
On Friday, June 24, 1938, the Jaycees submitted two plans to the school board to finance lighting the field. Plan one was for the school board borrow or appropriate the money, then let the Jaycees repay it from increased gate receipts. Plan two was to issue non-interest-bearing bonds to be retired in numerical order by gate receipts that exceeded the last three-year game average.
School board member J. R. Hart said either plan was more or less acceptable to the board, but the Jaycees would be responsible for buying the lights and seeing they were properly installed.
The Jaycees also announced plans to sell tickets for the opening game at one dollar each with the understanding that 40c was a gate fee, and the remaining 60c was an outright donation.
Final light installation began at Tiger Field on Friday morning, August 12, 1938. Workmen installed Giant Electric Company reflectors that afternoon. The field would be complete as soon as all of the reflectors were installed and the wiring was connected to power.
The lighting contract called for nine poles, each equipped with two reflectors. One of the poles would hold the electric transformers. Some people were upset about the location of the pole that held the transformers. To eliminate a tenth pole, the contractor set it at the end of the field directly south of the goal post, and it was supported by guy wires. Coaches Baze and Pirkey said the pole and guy wires prevented the south end of the field from being used for preliminary practice and scrimmage.
Southwestern Gas & Electric Company set a pole beside West First Street just outside the field and ran power from the high tension power line to the lighting transformers on Monday morning, August 15. Workers installed bulbs in the reflectors as soon as power was available, completing installation except for minor adjustments.
Gates to the field were locked to prevent the public from interfering with work. The lights were tested and focused Tuesday evening, August 16, and the lights proved highly satisfactory to players and spectators alike. Power was switched on at 8 o'clock and the entire playing field was uniformly lit sufficiently to play night games. The lights were said to equal those at the Teachers College at Commerce (now Texas A&M - Commerce).
Mt. Pleasant's two coaches and Coach Kirby of Talco were present during the test, and had no complaints. A large number of spectators were well pleased, too. Everybody looked forward to Mt. Pleasant's opening game on Thursday night, September 22nd when Mt. Pleasant faced Talco.
Game night finally arrived and Tiger Field was formally opened to the public during half-time of the Talco-Mt. Pleasant game.
Ewell McClinton set up an public address system, and Mayor Ben Patrick called everyone's attention Mt. Pleasant's wonderful recreation center. Mr. Patrick said Mt. Pleasant should be proud of Tiger Field, and recognized the School Board, the Athletic Council, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and everyone else who was instrumental in securing the field and lighting.
Texarkana Junior Chamber of Commerce manager Wilbur Smith was introduced and spoke briefly to congratulate Mt. Pleasant on its athletic field, saying that football is great entertainment and future games would be a big asset to the school, not only providing recreation but bringing Mt. Pleasant closer to other area towns.
The Talco band and cheer leaders marched on the field, followed by the local band and cheer leaders. A thousand to twelve hundred people were present.
Just as Mr. Smith said, the lighted football field proved a big asset for the school. Many more people could attend night games than attended afternoon games. The new lights almost tripled game attendance that fall.
Tiger Field's success encouraged the Cubs, Mt. Pleasant's semi-pro baseball team, to want lighting for their field in January, 1939.
Even though Tiger Field had been leveled and lighted, it still wasn't complete.
The WPA began erecting rock bleachers on the east side of Tiger Field in February, 1940. A crew of about twenty-five men squared and cemented native rock to build the stands. By February 25, three tiers of native rock and cement seats almost a hundred yards long were finished, with seven more tiers to be built.
Over two years after the project began, Mt. Pleasant could finally hold its head high because Tiger Field was now one of Northeast Texas' most modern football stadiums.
