Honolulu Stadium
Encyclopedia
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in the Moiliili district of Honolulu, Hawai'i
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, at the corner of King and Isenberg Streets. It was opened in 1926 and demolished in 1976. It was the primary sports venue in Hawai'i preceding Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...
. Famous athletes who competed in Honolulu Stadium include Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
(hit a home run out of the park in 1944) and Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
. Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
performed at Honolulu Stadium in 1945. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
performed in 1957 while Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
inspired a sold out crowd a year later. It was the home of the University of Hawaii Warriors football
Hawaii Warriors football
The Hawaii Warriors football team represents the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team, which is currently coached by Greg McMackin, is part of the Western Athletic Conference until 2012, when the team joins the Mountain West Conference.The Hawaii Warriors...
team, the Hawaiians
The Hawaiians
The Hawaiians were a professional American football team based out of Honolulu that played in the World Football League. They played two seasons, 1974 and 1975. Their records were 9-11 in 1974 and 4-7-1 in 1975. Their home stadium was Honolulu Stadium in 1974 and Aloha Stadium in 1975...
of the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
and the Hawaii Islanders
Hawaii Islanders
The Hawaii Islanders were a AAA minor league baseball team, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1961 through 1987. The Islanders were originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics. They played their home games at Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu's Aloha Stadium...
of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
. The stadium was also the venue for the Poi Bowl
Poi Bowl
The Poi Bowl is a now-defunct college football bowl game played in Honolulu, Hawaii at Honolulu Stadium. Played in early January from 1936 to 1939, the Poi Bowl was renamed the Pineapple Bowl in 1940.-Game results:...
and Pineapple Bowl
Pineapple Bowl
The Pineapple Bowl is a now-defunct college football bowl game played in Honolulu, Hawaii at Honolulu Stadium. Played on New Year's Day except in 1950, the Pineapple Bowl succeeded the Poi Bowl. The inaugural game was played in 1940 and the last game was played in 1952. After the bombing of...
, and a number of world championship fights. It hosted Hawaii Islanders' home games from 1961 to 1975. It also served as a venue for stock car racing and high school football. During its final years, the stadium could hold about 25,000 fans.
The stadium, nicknamed the "Termite Palace," was considered outdated in the 1960s and was replaced by Aloha Stadium. A public park, Old Stadium Park, now occupies this location. There is a plaque at the corner of King and Isenberg commemorating the stadium. Some of the property wall which stood behind the first-base stands still remains.