J. Birney Crum Stadium

J. Birney Crum Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the second largest high school stadium in Pennsylvania with a capacity of 15,000 and serves as the home football field for each of Allentown's three high schools: William Allen High School, Louis E. Dieruff High School, and Allentown Central Catholic High School, each of which compete in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

J. Birney Crum Stadium
Allentown School District Stadium
Address2027 Linden St, Allentown, PA 18104
LocationAllentown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°35′46.11″N 75°30′5.67″W
OwnerAllentown School District
Construction
Opened1948
Renovated2002
Tenants
Allentown Central Catholic High School, Louis E. Dieruff High School, and William Allen High School

The stadium opened in 1948 as Allentown High School Stadium. It was alternately referred to as Allentown School District Stadium[1] and ASD Stadium until being renamed in 1982 in honor of J. Birney Crum,[2] a football, basketball, and baseball coach at Allentown High School[3] (present-day William Allen High School) who was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1974.

The stadium was, at one point, the largest high school football stadium in Pennsylvania. But with the removal of the visitor side stands during renovations in 2002, it lost that standing.

Crum is also the home high school playing field for numerous Eastern Pennsylvania Conference football players who went on to careers in the NFL, including Ed McCaffrey of the Denver Broncos and New York Giants, Andre Reed of the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins, and Tony Stewart of the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders. The stadium was renovated in 2002 and FieldTurf was installed to replace the original natural grass surface.

The stadium plays host to a large Fourth of July fireworks display that typically draws tens of thousands of spectators.

In addition, Crum is known as one of the most legendary performance venues in the marching arts. The stadium hosts the annual Drum Corps International Eastern Classic. Formerly the DCI East Championships, this event hosts all of DCI's World Class Drum and Bugle Corps the weekend before DCI World Championships in Indianapolis. The stadium plays host to the Collegiate Marching Band Festival, held in late September/early October each year, which showcases college and university marching bands of all sizes and styles from across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. Crum also is the site of the USBands A Class National Championships, featuring performances of high school marching bands each November.

The stadium is owned by the Allentown School District.

See also

References
  1. Smith, Gordon. "Stoners go after ASL championship", Allentown Morning Call, September 18, 1980.
  2. Gildner, Kevin S. (2006). Allentown. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439617786. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  3. Burian, Evan (2001). Football Legends of Pennsylvania. Evan Burian. ISBN 9780971342507. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
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