Here is the 1926 Longhorn's summary of the early history of Kyle Field
Early games were played on the Drill Field. This photo shows game action, with the Assembly Hall (Hart Hall was built on that site when it was demolished) in the background.
When Prof. Kyle set aside part of his horticulture garden (about 6 acres) for athletics, the football field was not located in quite the same spot that it is now. The area that became known as Kyle Field included the future locations of Deware Fieldhouse, Downs Natatorium, and what is now the A football parking, in addition to the current stadium structure. Here is a photo from a football game in 1906 on "Kyle Field" which you can tell from the photo was configured in an East/West direction (the Old Main building is behind the north sideline) as opposed to the field we are all familiar with, which runs North/South.
Prof. Kyle later arranged the purchase of the covered grandstand from the Byran fairgrounds, and this became the center of the seating at Kyle Field for not only football, but baseball and track as well.
However, even with additional bleacher seating, the sips refused to come to College Station (the teams used to split the gate evenly back then, so money was a factor in this decision). When relations between the schools broke down over how Charlie Moran ran the program, the logjam was broken by formation of the Southwest Conference in 1915. A&M agreed to get rid of Moran, but the sips had to agree to come to College Station. Recognizing the need for larger fan capacity, A&M moved the football field over to what is approximately its current location.
The following photo shows the new field in about 1919 (Guion Hall and Bizell Hall had been built)
Initially, the track and baseball fields remained at the old location (with the old covered grandstand). In fact, as was the practice at the time, the track contained a 220 yard straightaway that extended well beyond the rest of the track oval, running immediately behind and parallel to the back line of the North endzone of the new football field. The following photo shows action from a 1924 game against Tarleton.
With the opening of Memorial Stadium in Austin in 1924, it became apparent that the wooden bleachers of Kyle Field simply wouldn't do, even with bleachers in the endzone as seen in this photo of the 1925 t.u. game.
So, a plan was developed to build a proper stadium. The baseball grandstand (which had been rebuilt in 1923) was moved to the Southwest corner of Kyle Field (basically, the south half of today's A lot), and the track was moved to the football field. The West side of the horseshoe was built in 1927, and the remainder in 1929.
Nothing changed until 1954, when an extension that ran between the 40s was built along the West side, including a new press box.
For some reason, when the decision was made to expand again in the 1960s, the stands of the 1953 structure were covered over, and a second deck was built which still utilized the 1953 press box in 1967 (East side upper deck was not completed until 1968).
The history from there is familiar to most of us: 3rd decks constructed on the East and West sides in 1979-80, construction of the North endzone stands in 1999, and the major rebuild in 2014-15. The only thing that remains from the 1967 photo is the center section of the East upper deck.
Edit: I decided to add a few more photos to complete the evolution:
Early games were played on the Drill Field. This photo shows game action, with the Assembly Hall (Hart Hall was built on that site when it was demolished) in the background.
When Prof. Kyle set aside part of his horticulture garden (about 6 acres) for athletics, the football field was not located in quite the same spot that it is now. The area that became known as Kyle Field included the future locations of Deware Fieldhouse, Downs Natatorium, and what is now the A football parking, in addition to the current stadium structure. Here is a photo from a football game in 1906 on "Kyle Field" which you can tell from the photo was configured in an East/West direction (the Old Main building is behind the north sideline) as opposed to the field we are all familiar with, which runs North/South.
Prof. Kyle later arranged the purchase of the covered grandstand from the Byran fairgrounds, and this became the center of the seating at Kyle Field for not only football, but baseball and track as well.
However, even with additional bleacher seating, the sips refused to come to College Station (the teams used to split the gate evenly back then, so money was a factor in this decision). When relations between the schools broke down over how Charlie Moran ran the program, the logjam was broken by formation of the Southwest Conference in 1915. A&M agreed to get rid of Moran, but the sips had to agree to come to College Station. Recognizing the need for larger fan capacity, A&M moved the football field over to what is approximately its current location.
The following photo shows the new field in about 1919 (Guion Hall and Bizell Hall had been built)
Initially, the track and baseball fields remained at the old location (with the old covered grandstand). In fact, as was the practice at the time, the track contained a 220 yard straightaway that extended well beyond the rest of the track oval, running immediately behind and parallel to the back line of the North endzone of the new football field. The following photo shows action from a 1924 game against Tarleton.
With the opening of Memorial Stadium in Austin in 1924, it became apparent that the wooden bleachers of Kyle Field simply wouldn't do, even with bleachers in the endzone as seen in this photo of the 1925 t.u. game.
So, a plan was developed to build a proper stadium. The baseball grandstand (which had been rebuilt in 1923) was moved to the Southwest corner of Kyle Field (basically, the south half of today's A lot), and the track was moved to the football field. The West side of the horseshoe was built in 1927, and the remainder in 1929.
Nothing changed until 1954, when an extension that ran between the 40s was built along the West side, including a new press box.
For some reason, when the decision was made to expand again in the 1960s, the stands of the 1953 structure were covered over, and a second deck was built which still utilized the 1953 press box in 1967 (East side upper deck was not completed until 1968).
The history from there is familiar to most of us: 3rd decks constructed on the East and West sides in 1979-80, construction of the North endzone stands in 1999, and the major rebuild in 2014-15. The only thing that remains from the 1967 photo is the center section of the East upper deck.
Edit: I decided to add a few more photos to complete the evolution:
