Rubber Bowl - Timeline

Timeline

  • October 5, 1940
First Akron Zips football game at Rubber Bowl.
  • November 9, 1940
First Akron Zips victory at Rubber Bowl.
  • September 7, 1941
First of two NFL regular-season games hosted by the Cleveland Rams at the Rubber Bowl (1941, 1942).
  • November 27, 1952
In a "home" Thanksgiving Day game for the NFL's Dallas Texans, which was taken over by the league after ownership fell apart, the Texans earned a 27-23 upset victory against the George Halas-coached Chicago Bears, who had started their entire second-string team because Halas was confident of winning. It would be the Texans' only win in their franchise history.
  • September 30, 1961
First Akron Zips sellout crowd at Rubber Bowl.
  • 1971
The stadium was sold to the University of Akron from the City of Akron for one dollar. The city still uses it for various public school functions.

In 1972, the Rolling Stones played at the Rubber Bowl.

  • 1983
New carpet playing surface installed.
  • July 2, 1986
The Rubber Bowl will go down as the site of one of Rock 'N' Roll history's more intriguing moments. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, and The Grateful Dead, were all touring together during the summer of 1986. On this date, during The Grateful Dead's first set Bob Dylan performed live on stage for the first time ever with the Dead. Dylan appeared on stage to play guitar while the Dead covered "Little Red Rooster," their fourth song of the set. Dylan stayed to sing two more songs, his emotional break-up hits, "Don't Think Twice" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."
  • October 16, 1986
Akron Zips make their first appearance on ESPN.
  • 1988
The stadium played host to Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, and Kingdom Come in 1988 on Van Halen's "Monsters of Rock" tour.
  • November 24, 2001
Akron Zips beat Eastern Michigan 65-62; 127 combined points marked the highest scoring game in Rubber Bowl history.
  • 2003
New AstroPlay playing surface installed.
  • September 20, 2003
Akron Zips defeat Howard 65-7; the 65 points registered by the Zips tied the mark for most points scored by Akron at the Rubber Bowl in a single game.
  • November 13, 2008
Zips played their last game in the Rubber Bowl against the University at Buffalo, losing 43-40 after quadruple overtime. The Rubber Bowl was in disrepair and the University of Akron decided instead of renovating the Rubber Bowl, it would be best to build an on campus stadium, InfoCision Stadium/Summa Field.
  • June 28, 2012
Team1 Marketing Group announces the Akron Fire, a team in the new USFL, will begin play in the Rubber Bowl in 2013.

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