Phillips Field was the hotspot for University of Tampa Spartans, other football colleges and local segregated Tampa high schools in the 1930’s to late 1970’s. Sunday, An Historic Marker Dedication was last Sunday Sponsored by the Hillsborough County Historical Advisory Council, in which I am a sitting board member, dedicated the site west of the downtown Hillsborough riverfront site for local historic recognition. A lot of people attended remembering the famous football field and three local high football teams came for the event. On the panel was the leading champion in recognizing the local historical significant location, community promoter Fred Hearns. Also events held at the old football field were car races and boxing events!
Other celebrity guest speakers included Tampa City Councilman Frank Reddick, Hillsborough Cty Commissioner Les Miller, Tampa City Clerk Shirley Foxx-Knowles, NNR Sports Radio Broadcaster & Host Mitchell Mick, Tampa & Hillsborough Cty Historian Dr. Robert Kerstein, Julian J Lane, son of former Tampa Mayor Julian Lane and riverside park that was named after the former mayor and Carroll “Buddy” Phillips, son of W. Phillips which the historical football field was named after.
Some Interesting Historical Facts About Phillips Field.
Phillips Field was a medium-sized stadium (maximum capacity approximately 20,000) located just north of Plant Field between Cass Street and the current location of Interstate 275 on the west bank of the Hillsborough River. It served as the home for the University of Tampa’s football team from 1936 to 1967 and was named after I.W. Phillips, a local businessman who donated the land to the school so that the Spartans would not have to share Plant Field.
Besides “Tampa U”, Phillips Field occasionally hosted other football teams. It was the site of the Cigar Bowl, the area’s first college bowl game, from 1946 to 1954, and the Florida Gators scheduled a home game in the facility almost every season from the late 1930s through the 1940s. Local high school rivalry games that attracted crowds too large for the participants’ smaller stadiums were played in Phillips Field until the late 1960s. Phillips Field was also the site of well-attended NFL preseason contests in the mid-1960s that helped Tampa earn an eventual expansion franchise.
The stadium could also be configured for baseball, and the Tampa Smokers of the Class C Florida International League played most of their home games at Phillips Field from 1946 to 1954.
The city gave nearby Plant Field to University of Tampa after Tampa Stadium was built in 1967. Phillips Field fell into disuse and was razed in the early 1970s. Tampa Preparatory School and Julian Lane Riverfront Park were built at its former location.
