MacLean Field was an outdoor athletic

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, located on the campus of the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

. The venue opened in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

and closed in 1966; its uses included

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, and

military drill A drill is a tool or machine for cutting holes in a material. Drill may also refer to: Animals * Drill (animal), a type of African primate * Oyster drill, a type of snail Military * Military exercise * Foot drill, the movements performed on a m ...

. Directly west of the

Administration Building Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

, it originally extended west to Primary seating at MacLean was in the wooden grandstand along its east bank; the Memorial Gymnasium (1928) was to the northwest and the Shattuck Arboretum bounded it on It was named for James MacLean, the

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

from 1900 to 1913, and the approximate

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

is above

Multi-sport

MacLean's football field was conventionally oriented north-south, with the west sideline approximately aligned with the Memorial Gym's In its early years, the grandstand on the east berm had limited seating, between the 40-yard-lines. By the late 1920s, permanent seating extended to the end zones and the west sideline had temporary seating along much of its length. Prior to 1914, the football team played in north Moscow, at the southwest corner of Main and E streets. The baseball infield was originally all-dirt and in MacLean's southwest corner, near Rayburn Street, with the Mem Gym as a left field The running track, a rounded square around the football field and adjoining practice field, ran through portions of center and right field. The approximate location of home plate was Due to poor field conditions in the spring of 1932, the infield was temporarily moved to the southeast corner, with the Mem Gym framing

Baseball only

MacLean Field was the primary outdoor venue for the university until the addition of

Neale Stadium Neale Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Opened in 1937 for college football, it was used for over three decades, through the 1968 football sea ...

in autumn

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...

. Football moved to the new stadium to the west, and the baseball infield was relocated from MacLean's southwest corner to the opposite northeast corner for the 1940 season, with the east grandstand along its third base line. The southern portion of the permanent football seating, adjacent to left field, was excess capacity for baseball and was removed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Track and field continued at MacLean until after the war. The new alignment had abundant foul territory, especially along the third base line. Other than a backstop, there was little foul territory fencing, except to protect a parking lot to the right; it also went without dugouts, as the teams sat on open benches. Later seasons employed a low temporary outfield fence, and tennis courts (mid-1950s) in right field provided a higher permanent barrier; the distance down the left field line in 1959 was The approximate location of home plate was (). A multi-purpose fieldhouse was constructed on the old southwest infield in the late 1940s; it was razed after the enclosure of the

Kibbie Dome The William H. Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center (commonly known as the Kibbie Dome) is a multi-purpose indoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. It is the home of the Idaho ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, and is now the site of outdoor tennis courts (south). In the new baseball alignment, it was in deep right center the left field backdrop to the south was Shattuck Arboretum, and the berm between it and the outfield provided an elevated seating area.

Final season

The successful

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

baseball season was the last at MacLean Field, and the Vandals were in the regular season. Led by future major league pitcher Bill Stoneman, they advanced to within a round of the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

. In the

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, Idaho traveled to Greeley and eliminated

Colorado State College The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

and but then fell to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

of the WAC at

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

in the District 7 finals, today's Super-Regionals (Sweet Sixteen). The final varsity baseball games at MacLean were on Saturday, May 14; the Vandals swept a doubleheader with

Montana State Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 field ...

to finish at in conference play and secured a second Big Sky title in three

Move to Guy Wicks Field

Construction of the new College of Education building commenced behind home plate, and the baseball field was moved to the northwest area of just south of Paradise Creek (and Pullman Road) (). Aligned southeast and first used as "University Field" in it became during the

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. After fourteen seasons on the new field, baseball was discontinued as an intercollegiate sport at Idaho after the

Present day

MacLean Field is the current site of the Education Building (1968) on the east and Women's Physical Education Building and indoor swimming pool (1970) on the west. The remaining open grass area is MacLean's southeast corner; this was the southern portion of the football field and left field for baseball

References

External links

Campus aerial photo (circa 1940)
– from east *
from southwest
{{Idaho Vandals football navbox Defunct college football venues Defunct college baseball venues in the United States Demolished sports venues in the United States American football venues in Idaho Baseball venues in Idaho Idaho Vandals football venues Buildings and structures in Latah County, Idaho Defunct sports venues in Idaho Demolished buildings and structures in Idaho Sports venues demolished in 1966 1914 establishments in Idaho 1966 disestablishments in Idaho