A farewell to Bengal Field

It was on Nov. 12, 1934, that what we now know as Bengal Field was dedicated in an Armistice Day ceremony preceding a Lewiston High football game against Walla Walla.

The fanfare began with an American Legion parade marching 1.7 miles to the field from the Lewis-Clark Hotel. Four bands and the Legion drum corps performed on-site, Dean Ivan C. Crawford addressed what the next day’s Tribune would call a “record crowd” and celebratory fireworks were lit to mark the occasion.

The game itself would prove comparatively short on fireworks, at least insofar as offensive production was concerned. It sat in a scoreless tie for three quarters as the “hopelessly outweighed” Bengals “fought tenaciously against the odds” before the visiting Blue Devils broke through for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to deal the hosts a 13-0 defeat.

Just shy of 90 years later, Bengal Field will see its final contest as Lewiston’s home venue when the Bengals host nonleague foe Hermiston (Wash.) today at 7 p.m. before moving to the field at the new high school for all future games.

Much has transpired there over the intervening decades.

A storied history

For some time, Bengal Field was a multi-sport facility, hosting the Lewiston track and baseball programs before those programs established separate venues. The first lights — with an accompanying curfew to pacify neighborhood residents up-in-arms about the feared glare through their windows — were installed in 1937, while its first electronic scoreboard was added in 1967.

From 1952 through 1974, it served as home to the now-defunct Lewiston Broncs minor league baseball team, which saw the likes of future National Baseball Hall of Fame members Tony La Russa and Reggie Jackson numbered among its roster.

It also once employed future Tribune managing editor A.L. “Butch” Alford Jr. as a bat boy, and the Shriners Circus has established a longstanding tradition of setting up camp there each June.

The one constant through it all has been Bengal football, which has played a total of 442 home games on the field, compiling a record of 290-137-15 including a 14-3 mark there in playoff games, according to statistics compiled by local sports historian Denny Grubb. Armistice Day (now better known as Memorial Day) games were a tradition in the early years, featuring a presentation by the honor guard with a replica Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Thanksgiving Day games were also a feature into the 1950s, with some Lewiston residents (perhaps-jokingly) saying their custom was to put the turkey in the oven, head to the game, and come back home to find the bird cooked.

Lewiston’s highest-scoring home performance over these past nine decades came in a 69-14 win over Moscow in 2015, capping a 6-0 overall start to that season. The Bengals have hosted 60 different teams at Bengal Field, with the most frequent visitor (unsurprisingly) being Clarkston for 53 border battles.

Such sweet sorrow

Dick Riggs, a 91-year-old Lewiston resident and retired historian who would have been very small when Bengal Field was first dedicated, has a lifetime of memories there — none fonder than winning an American Legion baseball state title in 1950. He has watched generations of his descendants engage in sports and other activities there and is “sad to see it go,” but recognizes the logic behind the decision.

“I realize the high school moved to the Orchards, so it’s just natural for (the field) to move up there,” Riggs said.

Lewiston High School principal Kevin Driskill echoed Riggs’ sentiments.

“It’s bittersweet,” Driskill said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of history and tradition at that field, but at the same time, there’s a lot of excitement about opening up this stadium up here as well.”

While the high school team will no longer compete on it, Bengal Field remains a viable venue for middle school football, circuses and other events.

Fields past and future

Many readers may not realize that the Bengal Field we know is not the first of its name. The original Bengal Field opened in 1904, was known simply as Lewiston’s “athletic field” until the student body voted to adopt the Bengal moniker in 1924. Before being supplanted in 1934, it sat on soil now partially covered by the old Lewiston High tennis courts along 11th Avenue.

The current field has thus had a tenure three times that of its predecessor. How long will Lewiston’s newest venue stand?

Currently referred to as the P1FCU Sports Complex (joining multiple other local arenas sponsored by Potlatch First Federal Credit Union), it sits on the east side of the gymnasium at the new Lewiston High campus on Cecil Andrus Way. Like Bengal Field in its early years, it will serve as a multi-sport facility, according to Driskill.

“(It’s) not just a football stadium; not just a track stadium,” he said of the complex, which has a distinctly more modern feel. “Our band kids, our soccer kids will be up there. We plan to host a nighttime volleyball game up there as well.”

The first football game at the P1FCU facility is scheduled for Oct. 18 against Lake City of Coeur d’Alene. Before that, the Bengals bid farewell to their old home today, and the occasion will not go unmarked.

“Our PA guy is going to first of all recognize all the alumni in attendance during the game,” Driskill said. “We’ve asked them to come in their Bengal swag.”

Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.