Municipal Stadium

Municipal Stadium, originally named Muehlebach Field for Kansas City business owner George E. Muehlebach, was built in 1923 as the home of the minor league Kansas City Blues and the negro league Kansas City Monarchs. During its 49-year history, it was also home to the NFL's Kansas City Blues/Cowboys from 1924 to 1926, MLB's Kansas City Athletics from 1955 to 1967, the AFL/NFL's Kansas City Chiefs from 1963 to 1971, the NASL's Kansas City Spurs from 1968 to 1969, and MLB's Kansas City Royals from 1969 to 1972. Originally a one-level stadium, it was renovated in 1955 with a second deck that expanded capacity to 30,000 for the arrival of the Athletics from Philadelphia. The stadium hosted major moments in sports history, including the first Negro League World Series game in 1924, when the Monarchs defeated Philadelphia's Hilldale Club, and Jackie Robinson's Negro League career before he broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. It later hosted four Negro League World Series, the 1960 MLB All-Star Game, one NFL playoff game, and a stop on the Beatles' first U.S. tour. On Christmas Day 1971, the Chiefs and Miami Dolphins played there in the longest game in NFL history, ending after 82 minutes and 40 seconds when Garo Yepremian kicked a 37-yard field goal for a 27-24 Miami win in the second overtime. In 1939, the New York Yankees played an exhibition there against the Blues before a record crowd of 23,684, and Lou Gehrig appeared in his final game in a Yankees uniform less than ten days before retiring after his ALS diagnosis. The stadium was demolished in 1976.

Kansas City, Missouri · United States