A photographic history with cited opening dates, collection history and individually credited images. Historic views, later photographs and illustrations are dated separately. This is a selected collection, not an exhaustive inventory.
The story in pictures
Yale Bowl in 1936
1936
Carl Van Vechten photographed the Bowl more than twenty years after its opening. The empty curves of seating make the stadium’s continuous shape especially clear.
A Bain News Service portrait of Yale player Richard M. Scovil, made before the Bowl’s official opening game. The catalog’s spelling is retained in the original source record.
A Yale Press action photograph identifies J. D. Thomason carrying the ball against Yale. The retained printed caption belongs to the period publication.
A period photograph follows Cagle during a 51-yard run against Yale. The printed image captures movement across a field often seen only in panoramic stadium views.
Panoramic image of Yale Bowl, the Yale University football field. Yale/Cornell football game, September 28, 2019. View from home stands; scoreboard at left.
On November 21, 1914, Yale and Harvard played the opening game in a stadium unlike the familiar grandstands of earlier football grounds. The seating curved around the whole field. From outside, much of the stadium’s scale remained hidden; through its entrances, spectators emerged into an enormous bowl. Yale’s own history identifies it as the first football venue with seating completely surrounding the playing surface. [SGC89-S1]
The photographs bring that first era down to human scale. Glass negatives show players and coaches in 1914, while later action pictures follow runners and kickers across the field. They belong beside the sweeping stadium views: the same place could feel like a sea of people from above and an intensely physical contest at ground level. Candel’s pre-opening panorama records a scrimmage, not the official first game. [SGC89-S2]
The Bowl’s public life extended beyond college football to professional football, international soccer, concerts and the 1995 Special Olympic World Games. Entrances, seating and the surrounding athletic grounds changed, but the encircling shape remained its signature. The gallery pairs period photographs with dated recent views so visitors can compare the stadium’s enduring form with the changing crowds and city around it. [SGC89-S1]
Key dates
November 14, 1914 — Copyright deposit date for the first-scrimmage panorama. SGC89-S2
November 21, 1914 — Official opening game against Harvard. SGC89-S1
1995 — Special Olympic World Games among the Bowl’s wider uses. SGC89-S1
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Includes source text where acquired. Source websites require an internet connection. OCR may contain errors; verify names and dates against the scan.
16 catalog entries
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SGC89-S1 · Historical sources · Source dates described in record
Yale Athletics: Yale Bowl history
Official opening date, stadium design, historic uses and dimensions.
Linked source. Photographs and documents at the publisher retain their individual rights.
Credit: Library of Congress: First scrimmage in the Yale Bowl. Cite SGC SGC-89, SGC89-S2, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-66209592 · Photographs · 1936
Yale Bowl in 1936
Carl Van Vechten photographed the Bowl more than twenty years after its opening. The empty curves of seating make the stadium’s continuous shape especially clear.
Reproduced from the credited source. Source image retained without generative alteration. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 1cf6cd56210391070c02ac15b90f354e01f60fcd0d7c0e94e7d3bcd05a543f5c.
Credit: Carl Van Vechten; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-66209592, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-46546396 · Photographs · 1924
Yale Bowl from the air, 1924
A period aerial view shows the stadium, surrounding fields and roads. The Bowl opened a decade earlier, in November 1914.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: c390c65a59edcd798bb040d477e54824a6531a99185d3ed5682a27a64b042609.
Credit: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-46546396, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-67280592 · Photographs · November 7, 1914
Richard M. Scovil in Yale’s opening season
A Bain News Service portrait of Yale player Richard M. Scovil, made before the Bowl’s official opening game. The catalog’s spelling is retained in the original source record.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 5e3e422d2f01cfaac64e540e8eac4beb55bfd254f52a6f839b84af9ec9253dba.
Credit: Bain News Service, publisher; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-67280592, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-67280633 · Photographs · November 7, 1914
Brann of Yale, 1914
Bain News Service’s portrait identifies the player as Brann. The stands behind him connect an individual athlete with the new stadium’s first season.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: b4215b9c7f310e27abee91eeacf541849b03446f9b3c7211650c877b9fcf1f2e.
Credit: Bain News Service, publisher; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-67280633, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-67280626 · Photographs · November 5, 1914
Carroll W. Knowles, Yale football
A glass-negative portrait of Carroll W. Knowles, photographed shortly before the new Bowl’s opening game.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 1d023bc070398c30bb4c87987a6b140a2a35cfd2290243969744fad41162a0d9.
Credit: Bain News Service, publisher; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-67280626, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-67280725 · Photographs · November 7, 1914
Frank Hinkey and Tom Shevlin
The Bain photograph identifies Frank Hinkey and Tom Shevlin together beside the football stands during the 1914 season.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 760e74be89d62c7f136eda1affb7e3fa28407340bc3a3c999c67745ed7f62496.
Credit: Bain News Service, publisher; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-67280725, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-176111171 · Photographs · Game: October 10, 1925; published October 11
Yale scores against Georgia
A newspaper action photograph shows Billy Kline scoring for Yale. The game date and publication date are distinct.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 132898cbec29b553125b9b34d230f4104fce366d566699ffd1dac7fbbfaf9360.
Credit: Times Wide World Photos; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-176111171, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-155324126 · Photographs · Published October 17, 1924
Georgia attacks the Yale line
A Yale Press action photograph identifies J. D. Thomason carrying the ball against Yale. The retained printed caption belongs to the period publication.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 8d2f0cac19ca55bd891125d0bc55f1548bfb8f09ffaefe626a2da033af975160.
Credit: The Yale Press; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-155324126, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-157435973 · Photographs · October 27, 1928
Army’s Cagle on a long run
A period photograph follows Cagle during a 51-yard run against Yale. The printed image captures movement across a field often seen only in panoramic stadium views.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: cd849879b1df21ed8561ba756fc9c8d9ca30e5a9583904a8a447b4492c779962.
Credit: Times Wide World Photo; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-157435973, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-178427538 · Photographs · Game: November 14, 1925; published November 15
A Princeton punt at New Haven
The newspaper photograph identifies Princeton’s Jake Slagle kicking against Yale. Publication followed the game by one day.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 08318be9fafcc8cda6723a6f1358251a0c84b1d35948853c666997e55cb61740.
Credit: Times Wide World Photos; Public domain; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-178427538, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-143765591 · Photographs · 13 July 2023
Yale Bowl aerial view 2023 (Quintin Soloviev)
Yale Bowl from above, 2023
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 6b33b05b77d64e2085d578b822d87570b036fdd816b9316ab1eb0c05e45d187d.
Credit: Quintin Soloviev; CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-143765591, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-82662871 · Photographs · 2019-09-28
Panorama of Yale Bowl
Panoramic image of Yale Bowl, the Yale University football field. Yale/Cornell football game, September 28, 2019. View from home stands; scoreboard at left.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: d6758cf8c9c4d16bbad813bd385b532694fc2afec7dc492cb3e7d1d0af875cca.
Credit: Kenneth Zirkel; CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-82662871, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-1851276 · Photographs · 2006-11-11
Yale Bowl Exterior
Yale Bowl. There are 30 tunnels into the stadium. Doesn't look like much from the outside, does it? But it's huge on the inside.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 7c9a0749fbe31cf431eeb9b0433803c24a91b5bb5850631e838941f1bc7edf05.
Credit: Peter Dutton from Forest Hills, Queens, USA; CC BY 2.0; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-1851276, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.
PHOTO-16086805 · Photographs · August 2005
Walter Camp Gate 1
The Walter Camp Gate, entryway to the Yale Athletic Facilities on Derby Road.
Reproduced from the credited source. A resized source derivative is used for display; the original-resolution source remains linked. Hosted by Silent Grounds Collective. SHA-256 of uploaded source: 64ea9e2cba4394c6ad325914a0c090302af0761a595a49275f913fa89fd49155.
Credit: T. S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia; CC BY-SA 3.0; Wikimedia Commons. Cite SGC SGC-89, PHOTO-16086805, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-24.