The names of football stadiums always have a story. Well, most of them do. I know two of them.

The Texas A&M Aggies-yep, I’m an Aggie-don’t play in a stadium. They play at Kyle Field. It seems back in 1904 athletic contests were held on a drill field at what was then called Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College. Edwin J. Kyle, a young ag instructor, had been given a larger portion of college land for horticultural experiments than he needed. Realizing that future athletic events needed a place of their own, Mr. Kyle bought lumber and fencing materials “on account” and constructed two bleachers that would seat about 500 people. Games were then played on that extra land and fans sat in those bleachers. In 1906, the Corps of Cadets met in the chapel to thank him. So Aggies ever since then have played on Mr. Kyle’s Field. Never mind that TV game commentators call it Kyle Stadium from time to time…apparently they don’t do all their homework. A&M’s board of directors officially named it Kyle Field in 1956. And Kyle Field it will always be. *

The Muleshoe Mules play in Benny Douglas Stadium. Benny Douglas would have been a senior the next school year, 1950-51. He and two friends were coming home from Clovis, New Mexico, on Highway 84. In those days, it was called Killer 84 and had lots of curves on its narrow two lanes. There was a terrible wreck; three kids, all fellow students, were critically hurt. Benny was killed. He was on the varsity football team, a popular student, his parents were prominent in the community, and he was the first student from the school to be lost in such a tragic accident. So it seemed a fitting tribute to name the stadium after him. The sign is gone now, but everyone still calls it Benny Douglas Stadium. Legend has it that Benny’s ghost lurks about the old locker room and the football field, leaving cool chills on the backs of people as he passes.

*Chapman, David L. “The Kyle Field Chronicle: In the Beginning, Part 1.” Texas A&M Cushing Memorial Library and
Archives.
http://libraryasp.tamu.edu/Cushing/collectn/univarch/texag/articles/96/april.html