Season Two Research Files
Episode Twenty-four
7:00am-8:00am
LOS ANGELES COLISEUM
The Los Angeles Coliseum was constructed in the early 1920's and opened its doors to the Los Angeles public in June 1923. The fabled history of the Coliseum spans eight decades. It is the only facility in the world to play host to two Olympiads (Xth and XIIIrd), two Super Bowls (I and VII), and one World Series (1959). It is credited with the migration of professional sports to the West Coast when teams moved homes there, including the Rams (from Cleveland, 1946 79), the Dodgers (from Brooklyn, 1958 61) and the Lakers (from Minneapolis, 1960 68). It was also the expansion home of the San Diego Chargers (1960, AFL) and Kings (1967, NHL).
In 1984, the State of California and the United States Government declared the Coliseum a State and National Historical Landmark for its contribution to the historical makeup of the state and country. The 92,516 seat Coliseum currently serves as the home for the University of Southern California football (since 1923), and international soccer competition. Other world class events it has hosted include John F. Kennedy's Democratic Presidential Candidate acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1960 and the first ever Papal Mass by Pope John Paul II in 1987.
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