War Memorial Stadium Buffalo

[crazeddaloon]

A lot of the photos in this video, I personaly took.

[bravesoat]

Song Tierra Del Fuego George Lynch

[blakk73]

does anyone know the artist, and the name of the song???

[gbtv2009]

i think this stadium is the most beautiful ballpark i've ever seen. it's got so much character.

[tommerj]

I agree with downtown. That place looks like such a dump it must have been really cool.

[Jskrapper]

What song is this? Great Vid!

[GaryBoy54]

Where was that collapsed roof taken from?

Are there any more pictures of its demolition?

Too bad because it seems the AUD has plenty of pictures of its death while this poor old gal was just put out of her misery in relate quiet without coverage or fanfare.

She deserved BETTER!

[downtownford]

what an ugly ballpark

[broadwayfillmore]

@downtownford Ugly...but COOL!!!!!

[LMT247]

@downtownford Ballpark has charm, tard

[GaryBoy54]

Have been back a few times this year and seen the site of this once great old lady and its sad in some ways that they could have at least saved a portion of the right field bleachers (Best Street side) and keep its spirit alive.

[UncleMikeNJ]

How far was it down the right-field line? It said 310 feet in "The Natural," but it looks a LOT closer, as in Polo Grounds distance, 257.

[BigKwell]

3:16

Robert Redford, during the filming of 'The Natural'.

[flaco171ac]

I went to the last game played there. I was 10 years old.

[GaryBoy54]

Beach Boys- 1987 (when they were still decent) after Bisons game- what a great day and about 37,000 in the place.

Talk about getting your moneys worth- NEVER again to be seen.

What a grand old gal this place was.

[bargaincountertenor]

Saw Johnny Bench play here for the Bisons before he went to the Reds.

[pilarek1]

my dad took me to many bison games when i was small back in the 80s. i used to have a blast at the old rock pile.

[Beatlefreeeek]

This is great. I'm 31. So my memories of the rock pile are pretty fuzzy. I remember The Butcher!!! But who the hell are The Buffalo Blazers.?!?!?

[Hope2009pc]

Soccer team as it clearly states on the sign..

[Beatlefreeeek]

What league did they play in? When? You hear of Stallions and Blizzard, but I have NEVER heard of The Buffalo Blazers in my life...regardless of how clear any sign may be

[GaryBoy54]

I recall getting my friends in HS- Jets fans to trek to the last home opener in 72 and I recall their horror and disgust when their eyes saw this place.

A strange sight was the old swimming pools next to it and I think there were little kids swimming in them.

These spoiled Shea stadium Jets fans-Me? I loved the place and sat there enamored of finally seeing the stadium my beloved Bills were always on NBC game of the week shown in downstate area because of Jets home game blackouts.

[sabresruletheworld]

Does anyone know the name and artist of the music used in this?

[Centaur716]

all high

[LedZepp1193]

i think i played in a diocesan track meet here annually for like 4-5 straight years. ik it was in buffalo and we called it "the rockpile". not sure if its the same thing

[kcmule]

my family and i ate free hot dogs and had a great conversation with the cardboard cutouts next to us while they filmed The Natural :) i was a little kid at the time and i nearly ran smack into robert redford during a postshoot press interview - one of the other baseball players(actors) stopped me just in time!

[GaryBoy54]

Did Redford really hit some of those home runs(he was pretty good)? or did they have someone "fungo" them into the lights above the roof?

[gino454]

wow that stadium was frikin great...was the movie "the natural" really filmed there? i wish i could've seen some games at stadiums like that.just looked at tulane stadium and "the met" in minnesota.now we have domes and stadiums with no personality.just so the bigwigs get their stadium box seats which they sell for an insane amount to people who prolly don't even watch the games

[GaryBoy54]

Yeah saw the Met in Minny too ( Vikes should be playing outdoors) and Tulane Stadium- great places. Go and see if you can also find AFL stadiums like Municipal in KC - I dont think they have anything for Fenway when Pats played there-those must have been great games to see too!

[gridjid]

I went to a few Bisons games there, including the opener in '79, and a few of the things that stick out in my memory are the fake seats painted out in center field, the cardboard people they used in The Natural (I think they're Lions fans now), the scariness of the nosebleed seats, and the scoreboard that was supposed to say "hey hey hey" but the bottoms of the y's were cut off so it said "hev hev hev." My brother and I still say hev hev hev to each other.

[johnny10301968]

A year before the Bills left for Orchard Park(Rich Stadium) the stadium was a piece of shit to play in.

[Mandysplenda]

I'll always miss this! Memorial service tomorrow as said of by wgrz..

[cobra012297]

I went there for a Bison's game in 86 or 87 when I was only 5 or 6. I really remember it being very odd looking and kind of a dump, hence the name "Rockpile". Anyway, its one of those things that bites you in the ass later in life when you realize what's gone. Like another said, at least they kept the facade entrance!

[slamoslut]

Dennis Shaw is buried where east end zone was

[GaryBoy54]

That was probabably during a game- The man had no blocking!

[johnny10301968]

Really?

[Hope2009pc]

No he is not buried there.

[flaco171ac]

I remember going to the last game the Bisons played there.

Thanks.

[GaryBoy54]

The shame is that in about 4 years we will be watching the demolition video of Ralph Wilson Stsdium after the Bills leave for Toronto!

[mikebordon]

And then we root for the Browns.

[BuffaloBiscuit]

awesome! thanks!

[jespo26]

is that in southpark

[m64h]

No, it was at the corner of Jefferson Ave. and Best streets, in the Masten Park area {it was not that far from what is now City Honors School} . . .

I only went inside the 'pile once, for a Buffalo Blazers {soccer} game, long after the Bills abandoned it . . . great memories, passing by it on the way downtown . . . but it outlived its usefulness long ago, and at least they kept the facade . . .

[GaryBoy54]

It was the best! I went to some Bills games(71/72)and I live in Rockland County downstate and nothing beat it.

Went to some 87 Bison games and then it was gone.

It was and is a place never to be seen or felt again no matter if it was ancient and in a bad neighborhood-the place had charm despite its warts (troughs to pee into).

The pillars and that huge roof were the images that stick most with me.

Its a sad shot being demolished and I too wish I had a seat from it.

LONG LIVE THE ROCKPILE!

[opnsgreg]

oops, meant "roof", not "foof"

[opnsgreg]

Never got to see the Rockpile, although I wanted to before it was torn down (was a student at UB @ the time). Watching The Natural, this montage explains some of the architectural features seen in the film that I never totally understood (particularly the foof placements; makes sense when viewing from the air and seeing it's an oval, not a baseball only stadium).

[stadiumseatman]

WHAT A GREAT OLD STADIUM ! ! ! It's a shame that an old stadium, with so much GREAT history is gone. It is one of the reasons that I enjoy watching "The Natural". The movie was filmed in that stadium. If anyone knows how to obtain some seats from the stadium, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ! ! ! I'd really love to get one as a souvenir of a wonderful reminder of a GREAT PIECE OF HISTORY ! ! !

[buffalobraves9]

Great memories especially the locker rooms which we shared with the Bisons. All you could think about was Kemp, Gilchrist, Bench, Easter and all the other stars who used it. When they filmed "The Natural" they used us for batting practice shaggers. It's a damn shame that all the seats were sold off to a minor league team, those should have been sold off here in Buffalo. I do have 2 seats however.

[buffalobraves9]

I played College Baseball there (81-85) for Canisius College as this was our home field. The echoes were amazing for hits w/ a wooden bat, you don't hear that anymore in newer parks.

[kyeo138]

I've been to many a bison game there. Sucked if you got stuck behind one of the pillars!

[jimcove]

Cool montage, but there should be more Bills pics.

[pdcdsabres]

That was one cool looking stadium