April 13, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford football returns to San Francisco for the first time since 1942 as the program hosts the annual Cardinal & White Spring Game at Kezar Stadium, located on Stanyan Street in the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park.
Gates will open at 1:00 p.m. with kickoff set for 2:00 p.m.
Admission is free, though donations to benefit San Francisco Recreation and Parks Youth Scholarship Program will be accepted at various locations inside the stadium.
Festivities begin at 1:00 p.m. with activity booths such as face painting and football toss, as well as a pre-game autograph session with Stanford football alumni at 1:30 p.m. and a postgame autograph session with the current team.
Concessions will be provided by Gordon Biersch Restaurant and Brewery and a limited edition 2010 Stanford spring game t-shirt will also be available for purchase.
Music will be provided by Live105FM and the Washington High School band of San Francisco.
Parking is available for $10 at the Waller Street lot, located on the northeast side of Kezar Stadium, on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 12:30 p.m. Public parking is also available at the Millberry Union Garage, located at 500 Parnassus Avenue near the UCSF Medical Center, two blocks away from Kezar Stadium. Limited street parking is also available.
Fans are also encouraged to utilize public transportation, including San Francisco MUNI, BART, Caltrain and Golden Gate Ferry service. Kezar Stadium is conveniently accessible from the N-Judah train and the 6, 7, 71 and 43 MUNI bus lines.
From the East Bay, take BART to the Embarcadero Station and then take the N-Judah MUNI train toward La Playa/Ocean Beach to the Carl and Stanyan stop.
From the Peninsula, take Caltrain northbound to the final San Francisco stop at the King/4th Street and Townsend Street Station and then transfer to the N-Judah MUNI toward La Playa/Ocean Beach and exit at the Carl and Stanyan Street stop.
Golden Gate Ferry service is also available.
"We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to play our annual Cardinal and White Spring Game at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco," said Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football and head coach Jim Harbaugh. "Although it has been remodeled over the years, Kezar Stadium is still one of the Bay Area's historic sporting venues. We are also excited for the opportunity to bring Stanford Football to the heart of San Francisco."
"Stanford is one of the nation's premier universities and premier football programs," said Phil Ginsberg, general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. "We're excited to see some of the nation's best scholar-athletes in action and are honored to have the support of the Stanford Athletics department."
Stanford first played a game at Kezar Stadium in 1928, defeating Idaho, 47-0 on October 20. Led by the likes of Frankie Albert, Norm Standlee, Pete Kmetovic and Hugh Gallarneau, Stanford also opened the 1940 season at Kezar with a 27-0 victory over a strong USF team. The win launched a perfect 10-0 season under first-year head coach Clark Shaughnessy, which was capped by a Rose Bowl victory over Nebraska, earning Stanford a second place ranking in the final Associated Press poll.
Stanford's explosive performance against favored USF was so impressive, the team was dubbed as the "Wow Boys," a natural follow up to the "Vow Boys" nickname bestowed on the 1933-35 teams that played in three straight Rose Bowls
The 1940 game against USF at Kezar Stadium also holds historical significance in Stanford lore as it was the first time the team implemented the T-formation under its first year head coach and also marked the unveiling of the team's all-white road uniforms, a look which has carried over to present day.
Stanford played three games during the 1942 season at Kezar, losing to Santa Clara, 14-6 on Oct. 3 and posting wins over USC (14-6) and Washington (20-7) on Oct. 24 and Nov. 7, respectively.
The original Kezar Stadium, located on Stanyan Street on the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park, was built in 1925 and had a capacity of nearly 60,000. It hosted a variety of sporting events, including football, soccer, lacrosse, boxing and rugby. In 1989, the stadium was demolished and a new, more modern facility was built. The new stadium capacity is 10,000.
Kezar Stadium has a rich tradition in football as well as collegiate sports. The original Kezar Stadium was the home stadium of the San Francisco 49ers as well as the Oakland Raiders. Kezar has hosted the annual East-West Shrine Game more than 45 times over the game's history.
The old Kezar was also the home field to St. Mary's College, the University of San Francisco and Santa Clara University. Since 1928, Kezar has hosted the annual city championship game for high school football.
Today, Kezar still hosts collegiate sporting events, most recently a lacrosse game between Brown and North Carolina in October 2009.