Boone Pickens Stadium, Oklahoma State’s football home, is now far removed from the original Athletic Field that opened in 1913. The Cowboys’ first football field gained its first permanent seating in 1920 and was repositioned from north-south to east-west to “avoid the prevailing strong winds.”

The stadium was originally named after Laymon Lowery Lewis, the popular dean of veterinary medicine in the early 1900s. In addition to his duties as dean and instructor at A&M, Lewis served as the school's acting president in 1914. He was instrumental in the development of experimental stations around the state and, under his brief administration, A&M established the first school of commerce and marketing in the nation.

The first major addition to the stadium came in 1924 with the steel and concrete portion of the south stadium. During the 1929-30 seasons, 8,000 permanent seats were built on the north side to bring the capacity to 13,000.

In the 1940‘s, the Cowboy football team first rose to national prominence under the tutelage of coach Jim Lookabaugh, and Lewis Field expanded right along with Oklahoma A&M’s gridiron success. The Works Projects Administration aided in the growth of Lewis Field’s north stands, building a dozen new rows of seats to the top of the north stands in the fall of 1940. A dormitory was also constructed under the bleachers, providing sleeping, dining, and study hall space for eighty student-athletes.

After the unprecedented success of the 1945 Cotton Bowl and 1946 Sugar Bowl championship seasons, fans were more than eager to see the Aggies play. However, with the stadium seating only 13,000 and the bleachers 6,000, Lewis Field was in need of another expansion campaign to handle the growing demand of fans in post-World War II Oklahoma.

When Oklahoma A&M’s forty-sixth year of intercollegiate football opened in 1947, work was nearing completion on a greatly enlarged stadium seating 28,000. The south stands were upped to hold 20,000, including press box seating, with sixty-three rows and widened by one-half bay on each end. The seating total included end zone bleachers. Prepared by A&M architect Phil Wilber, the plans indicated the 8,000-capacity north stands would later grow to handle 20,000.

The projected press box seating ninety, with eight radio booths on the second deck and an enclosed spot for photographers on the top deck was in the works. Other improvements scheduled included a refreshment room, first aid room, private entrances to radio booths, permanent wire installations to make game-day hookups available quickly, and good views from all working positions.

Keeping pace with A&M’s growth under Dr. Henry G. Bennett, Lewis Field had undergone final work on the north side prior to the 1950 season. After 10,600 more seats were added to the north stands, it now matched the south in size and increased stadium capacity to 39,000.

NEXT >