[Ads-l] Antedating of "Bowl" (Football Stadium)

[Shapiro, Fred]

I can't resist contributing an historical factoid about Ben's alma mater and my employer.  When the Yale Bowl was built it was the largest stadium in the world, the first one in 2000 years larger than the Roman Colosseum.  Yale nowadays is not at all a national leader in athletics, but back then it was, I believe, the preeminent college sports program.  (The explanation of that may be that back then only the wealthy upper classes had the leisure to devote themselves to amateur sports.)

Fred Shapiro



________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2023 11:06 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Bowl" (Football Stadium)

It's worth noting that the two 1903 citations are from articles about
Harvard Stadium, a full decade before the construction of the Yale Bowl.

On Sun, Dec 17, 2023 at 10:58 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 1903 Boston Globe 14 Nov 9/4
>
> Although the "bowl" of the stadium for the most part is now covered with
> temporary wooden seats, the company which has been constructing the stadium
> has placed more than 10 rows of concrete seats on the iron stringers above
> the number expected.
>
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers.com%2Fimage%2F430850298%2F%3Fterms%3D%2522bowl%2520of%2520the%2520stadium%2522%26match%3D1&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cdeb79b44980444ce2eee08dbff7eb63a%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638384691916613293%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=m16M3g5WG1ykH2C33rx3LISYKTpt%2F72nAGIzsHpCfwo%3D&reserved=0<https://www.newspapers.com/image/430850298/?terms=%22bowl%20of%20the%20stadium%22&match=1>
>
>
> 1903 Boston Globe 22 Nov 1/7
>
> Big Stone Bowl Full to Its Rim [subhead]
>
> Tier above tier up the sides of the great stone bowl rose the men and
> women, 37,000 of them, until those close to the rim, which marked the
> horizon for the spectators, seemed to be hung in their places like pictures
> upon a wall. [article text]
>
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers.com%2Fimage%2F430820338%2F%3Fterms%3D%2522GREAT%2520STONE%2520BOWL%2522%26match%3D1&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cdeb79b44980444ce2eee08dbff7eb63a%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638384691916613293%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=O4lqLM9ELHojJf0xSBqan5%2BYg2e8MZjC9elP%2BlSFQ7s%3D&reserved=0<https://www.newspapers.com/image/430820338/?terms=%22GREAT%20STONE%20BOWL%22&match=1>
>
>
> 1904 Boston Globe 20 Oct 8/4
>
> One side of the field will be sold as reserved seats, while admissions
> will admit to the seats at the end of the bowl of the stadium.
>
> https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers.com%2Fimage%2F430883842%2F%3Fterms%3Dbowl%26match%3D1&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Cdeb79b44980444ce2eee08dbff7eb63a%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638384691916613293%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Ucf60V1MRW2HjS1hboSY8rVg2uI9yneKI9F3bq%2FR2YY%3D&reserved=0<https://www.newspapers.com/image/430883842/?terms=bowl&match=1>
>
>
>

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