By: Joey Mullins
Samford Assistant AD for Communications

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Legion Field opened its gates nearly 91 years ago. Its long and storied history is well documented. Everyone knows about the Iron Bowls, SEC Championship Games and Bowl Games that have been played in the facility. What a lot of people don't know, however, is the part Samford played in the history of what was once referred to as the Football Capital of the South.
 
On Nov. 19, 1927, Legion Field hosted its first football game. The contest featured rivals Samford (then Howard College) and Birmingham-Southern. Samford won that first matchup by a score of 9-0. Billy Bancroft, a member of the 2018 Samford Athletics Hall of Fame class, had a hand in all of the offense that day. He threw a touchdown pass and kicked a field goal in leading Coach Chester "Chet" Dillon's team to victory.
 
The game was played as a joint homecoming game for both teams. A crowd of 16,000 witnessed the historic meeting between the old rivals in the then 21,000-seat stadium. The 1927 season was a successful one for Samford in more ways than one. In addition to the win at Legion Field, the Bulldogs earned an impressive 52-0 win at Miami, and fought to a 9-9 tie with Auburn at Rickwood Field.
 
That first Legion Field contest was just the beginning of Samford's games in the facility. Over the years, Samford posted a record of 34-17-3 in the stadium.
 
The following season, Samford played five games at Legion Field, going 2-2-1 in those contests. Samford and Birmingham-Southern played there every year from 1927 until BSC dropped football following the 1939 season. In those 13 games, all joint-homecoming contests, Samford held a 7-5-1 advantage over its cross-town rival.
 
Samford played at least one game at Legion Field every year from 1927 through 1944, with the exception of 1942 when the school did not field a team. The team also played at Legion Field in 1950 and again in 1955.
 
The 1955 game was an especially significant contest. Samford hosted the National University of Mexico on Oct. 22, 1955, with the Bulldogs falling, 41-13. The contest was a return game from the previous season when Samford traveled to Mexico City to take on the National University team, falling by a score of 13-6. The programs also met in 1963 in Mexico City, with Samford picking up a 26-14 victory.
 
In all, Samford has played 25 different schools in games at Legion Field. Other than the 13 games against Birmingham-Southern, the opponents Samford played the most in the stadium were Spring Hill (3-1), Chattanooga (2-2) and Millsaps (2-1-1).
 
The last time Samford played a game at Legion Field was in the 1990 season opener. The Bulldogs took on the Alabama State Hornets, with the game ending in a 24-24 tie in front of 10,500 fans.
 
Prior to Seibert Stadium opening in 1958, Samford played its home games at a number of locations. The Bulldogs have hosted games at the old East Lake campus practice field, Legion Field, Rickwood Field, West End Park, the old Shades Valley High School, Woodlawn High School, Fairfield High School, Hewitt-Trussville High School, Tarrant High School and the Alabama State Fairgrounds.
 
None of those, however, has the historic significance of playing that first game at Legion Field in 1927.