Portsmouth Gets New Stadium

by Jeff Fisher
Ohio High School Football Huddle
On the surface, the story that Portsmouth High is getting a new football stadium this year, wasn't a big deal. I was just going to post it and move on.

Then I did a little research, and I found a story that I believe will all of the Ohio Huddle readers will like.

Portsmouth is a proud football town in southern Ohio. On September 5th, the brand new $10 million Clark Athletic Complex will be christened when the Trojans host Portsmouth West. However, the stadium that is being left behind, is what I find the most interesting part of the story.

For years the Portsmouth Trojans played at historic Spartan Stadium that was built in 1930. It was the home field of the NFL's Portsmouth Spartans from 1930-33. The original name of the field was Universal Stadium.

While Green Bay is the last small town standing in the NFL, Portsmouth in the 30's had that professional football feel until the team was sold and was moved to Detroit in 1934 to become the Lions. In fact, in my research I found an interesting tie between Portsmouth and the Packers.

On December 4, 1933, the Spartans beat the world champion Packers 19-0 in what is considered the most famous game at Universal Stadium. What made it great was the fact that Portsmouth only had only eleven players. The game became simply known at "The Iron Man Game".

I bet you didn't know this!

To learn more about the old stadium, click here to read a story about its historical designation in the state of Ohio.

Below is video from a July 14th naming ceremony. The athletic complex was made possible by a generous grant from the Clyde and Maycel Foundation.