East Aurora community bids farewell to 96-year-old Roy E. Davis Field

By Jack McCarthy Chronicle Media
: Panoramic view of East Aurora High School’s Roy E. Davis Field.  Lower right, entry to passages at the crumbling stadium are discouraged by yellow cautionary tape. (Photo by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media)

East Aurora High School’s Roy E. Davis Field. Entry to passages at the crumbling stadium are discouraged by yellow cautionary tape. (Photo by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media)

There were no bone-crunching tackles, swift soccer kicks or sideline cheers last Thursday.

On its final night after 96 years of service, Roy E. Davis Field was instead turned over to the East Aurora community for a chance to say goodbye.

A setting sun cast long shadows as several hundred past, present and future Tomcats and friends gathered on the grass field last Thursday for a festive sendoff.

“This is like a 10-0 season,” said one visitor, reunited with friends and ex-teammates for the occasion.

The stadium will be demolished this summer and a modern, $6.6 million facility with a new name — East Aurora Veterans Memorial Stadium — will rise in its place with a targeted completion next year.

The Tomcats will play 2016 home games — including three Saturday night contests — at Aurora Christian High School.

Tee-shirts proclaiming East Side Tomcat pride were so popular that they sold out at last week’s closing ceremony at Roy E. Davis Field. (Photo by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media)

Tee-shirts proclaiming East Side Tomcat pride were so popular that they sold out at last week’s closing ceremony at Roy E. Davis Field. (Photo by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media)

Visitors had a sneak peek at a new stadium rendering along with other construction projects to be undertaken in District 131. But the main focus last week was history, tradition and the long line of Tomcats who played, cheered on or witnessed events in the stadium.

“Tomcat pride is very evident tonight,” said East Aurora football coach Kurt Becker, the ex-Chicago Bear offensive guard and an East graduate. “This is a special time and a special place for East Aurora. We have a lot of great things going on and I’m really excited about about the things we have ahead of us.”

The facility opened in 1920, replacing a central stadium on Hurd’s Island south of downtown Aurora after the Burlington Northern Railroad decided to elevate tracks heading into downtown Aurora.

Concrete stands were built for $2,100. Lights were added in 1929 for $3,200 making East the first school in northern Illinois to offer night football. Temporary stands were erected on the east side in 1939 and more stadium improvements came after World War II, according to a dedication account from 1947.

Participants in last Thursday’s farewell to East Aurora High School’s Roy E. Davis Field had a choice of keepsakes — a piece of turf or an asphalt square from the surrounding track. (Photos by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media).

Participants in last Thursday’s farewell to East Aurora High School’s Roy E. Davis Field had a choice of keepsakes — a piece of turf or an asphalt square from the surrounding track. (Photos by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media).

But on its final night, the crumbling, 4,075-seat stadium was clearly showing its age with rusty seating areas and entryways closed off with bright yellow warning tape.

A substandard track around the field has had little use beyond recreational runners or walkers.

All that will be replaced including the current grass field. An all-weather turf field is planned with an eight-lane track on the perimeter.

Roy E. Davis Field, named for an East Aurora’s football coach and longtime athletic director, was a destination for competitors in the now defunct Big Eight Conference which was created in 1917 and lasted into the 1960s. Charter members included East and West Aurora and public schools in Elgin, Joliet, Rockford and Freeport.

The stadium was also a familiar to non-conference opponents from Wheaton, Naperville and Glen Ellyn who became conference rivals in the 1960s when realignments created more compact regional leagues.

East has had some glory days but recent years have been less kind.

The football program hit hard times in recent decades with only three winning seasons since the mid-1980s and six seasons without a victory since 2007. That has contributed to an overall all-time losing record of 416-460 with 38 ties since 1913.

Several hundred former, present and future Tomcats and friends were on hand to hear football coach Kurt Becker (right) proclaim rising pride on Aurora’s East Side. (Photos by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media).

Several hundred former, present and future Tomcats and friends were on hand to hear football coach Kurt Becker (right) proclaim rising pride on Aurora’s East Side. (Photos by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media).

The Tomcats are coming off a 1-8 season in 2015 with a season-opening win over Chicago Noble and closed the season with a 10-point loss to typically mighty St. Charles East..

The arrival of Becker in 2001 helped fuel optimism as he’s put in building blocks for a turnaround. And a new stadium is among the biggest boosts.

“The pride of the East Side, the pride of East Aurora is going to be on the rise,” Becker said.

 

 

 

 

— East Aurora community bids farewell to 96-year-old Roy E. Davis Field —