The Hollywood Legion Stadium was a major boxing venue in Los Angeles, California, United States that operated from August 12, 1921,
History
Hollywood Post 43 of the
American Legion bought the land with the profits from an all-star staging of the play
Arizona at the Philharmonic Auditorium.
Originally an open-air venue with a little clubhouse where the boxers changed, the venue was roofed in early 1922.
Manager Si Masters came up with the idea creating ringside boxes for celebrities, which in turn attracted press attention, and before long "Crowds began to flock to Hollywood. The $35,000 deficit disappeared. Walls went up on the stadium, camp chairs were replaced by regular seats. The dirt floor disappeared under cement. It became harder and harder to get seats at the fights—the Legion Stadium was by way of becoming a howling success..."
Hollywood Legion Stadium made an appearance in the 1922 promo short
Hollywood Snapshots, with intertitles stating that
Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charles Ray were known to attend the fights.
Later,
Lloyd Underwood of KNX began broadcasting the fights over the radio, which resulted in another boost in popularity for the venue.
From 1921 until 1938, the seating capacity was a little over 4,400.
The venue remained open the night of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, and when the crowd was rocked by an
aftershock, the band started playing and the audience sang along, to sooth everyone's nerves.
punched out
Walter Winchell at the stadium (in an informal capacity) on July 31, 1933, due to Winchell allegedly having insulted Jolson's wife
Ruby Keeler.
The original building was condemned in 1938.
Gallery
See also
-
1914 California Proposition 20
-
1924 California Proposition 7
