EAST PROVIDENCE — Truly the "jewel of the city," East Providence's Pierce Memorial Stadium celebrates its diamond anniversary this month.

Seventy-five years ago, on November 30, 1939, the stadium opened to the public with the playing of the Thanksgiving Day football game between then burgeoning rivals East Providence High School and LaSalle Academy. The host Townies, who previously played at Glenlyon Field in the Rumford section of the city, won the  inaugural Pierce outing, 10-0, before an estimated crowd of some 8,500. A smaller, though still robust group is expected to gather Thursday, Nov. 27, when E.P. and LaSalle meet for the 86th time this Thanksgiving.

In between, the venerable 8,000 seat facility has been the site of an eclectic mix of events, from youth and high school sports, to exhibitions of the some of the country's foremost athletes, to rodeos, concerts, social gatherings and fundraisers. In other words, the near full gamut of city's cultural flavor and interests has been on display there.

"It certainly is the crown jewel of the city," Acting City Manager Paul Lemont, an East Providence native and resident, said of Pierce. "It's still one of the best athletic facilities in the state. We've developed so many great football players and other athletes there over the years. It's a vitally important part of the city."

Pierce Stadium is named in the honor of one East Providence's most notable former residents, Walter B. Pierce. According to the city's website, construction on the stadium began in 1934. It was built on a 20-acre parcel with $300,000 through the Works Progress Administration on the site of a once-working mineral pit owned by the J. McCormick Construction Company. Mr. Pierce left the land to the town, at the time, in a trust fund intended for recreational use of the property.

Ironically, a portion of the original vision for the Pierce Stadium grounds, a field house resplendent with a central recreation room, shower and locker facilities as well as office and living quarters for a resident caretaker, failed to materialize. Voters in the city twice (2002 and 2005) passed a ballot referendum to construct a recreation center there, but it, too, has never come to fruition.

In three-quarters of a century, nearly every single athlete of prominence produced in the city, and many more lesser known participants, have played on its revered surface.

"When it was built, during The Depression and by the WPA, it was meant to give the people of the time hope," said Recreation Department director Diane Sullivan. "And through the decades, it's still a place of hope. It really is an anchor of the city."

Besides the Townies-Rams football game, the next event of historical significance took place in September of 1941 when legendary baseball greats Ted Williams and Babe Ruth put on separate hitting exhibitions. That late summer day, September 2, is recognized today by a granite and bronze plaque placed at the main entrance of the stadium.

In the late 1950s, Pierce played host to a boxing world championship fight between Providence's Harold Gomes and Louisiana native Paul Jorgensen, who met in the squared circle for the Super Featherweight title on July 20, 1959. Gomes won the fight and the belt on points after the bout went the then 15-round distance reportedly before an overflow crowd of some 12,000.

Later, as East Providence became home to one of the area's largest Portuguese populations, Pierce, fittingly, became a prominent landing spot for soccer football games and teams. Most notably, the Rhode Island Oceaneers of the old American Soccer League called the facility its home. In the days when Pierce still had wood bleachers, the Oceaneers won an ASL title in 1974 before the franchise moved and the league eventually folded. The other soccer event held there which is fondly remembered occurred when the great Eusébio da Silva Ferreira of Portugal played a match before a 10,000-plus crowd in 1980.

For the last 34 years, Pierce has been the location of the city's largest annual gathering, the Heritage Days Festival. Some of the most renowned and revered musical acts of the 1950s, 60s and 70s have played the Festival during that time, bringing hundreds of thousands of people into and around the stadium proper.

Likewise, thousands gather annually at the stadium, the grounds and the surrounding streets and neighborhoods to view East Providence's Fourth of July fireworks display.

In addition, Pierce was formerly the site of the annual Rhode Island Matadors Invitational, a drum and bugle corps competition, then sponsored by the Rhode Island Matadors Senior Drum and Bugle Corps. Later, the Generations Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps used the stadium for its Ocean State Classic competition.

More recently, Pierce has hosted the yearly fundraising event sponsored by the local chapter of The American Cancer Society, the "Relay For Life." The event, according to the ACS, aims to bring communities together "to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and take action to finish the fight once and for all."

"It's been a big part of East Providence for generations," said Pierce grounds supervisor Joe Medeiros, who has meticulously cared for the complex since 1991. "Parents played there when they were kids. They grew up there. Then they watched their kids play there and now they're watching their grandkids. It's a place almost everyone who has lived in the city has enjoyed and continues to enjoy to this day."

Whatever other activities have taken place there since it open, through the years the one constant, the essence of Pierce Stadium is sports and its history of being an athletics facility.

The stadium continues to serve as the home of the EPHS football team as well as its boys' and girls' soccer programs. The Jr. Townies, an amalgam of the former East Providence Mohawks and Riverside Raiders youth football organizations, plays its games there. Johnson & Wales University, for 17 years in the 1990s and early 2000s, used all aspects of the grounds for its athletics teams. And the Recreation Department holds its summer program at Pierce, which was also once the local hub of the Hershey Youth Track and Field competition.

"It's just an incredible place to have access to," said East Providence Athletic Director Bob Duarte. "When opposing teams comes to Pierce, especially if it's the first time they've been there, they all say how unbelievable it is. We're fortunate to have such a beautiful facility. When you go around the state, you appreciate how nice it really is. People can talk about Cranston Stadium, the turf field there and all the rest, but nothing is better than Pierce Stadium."

Over the decades, the condition of Pierce Stadium has fluctuated. Its grass infield is still one of the best playing surfaces in the area. The bleachers were long ago converted to metal. Through 75 years of near constant use and at the mercy of elements, its concrete bowl remains in surprisingly good shape. Its lighting is old and tired, which will have to be addressed soon, but its press box was recently refreshed with a new coat of "Townie" red paint as it was prepared to be dedicated in the honor of former EPHS coaching and administrative legend Bill Stringfellow and his wife Sheila, an event scheduled for Thanksgiving Day.

"Long term, I'd like for the city to own the entire square (parcel of land)," Mr. Lemont added. "It's an absolute priority that Pierce be maintained for posterity sake. It's just essential that we do it."

— Photos by Richard W. Dionne Jr.