A Brief Look at Foley Field's Glorious History

Now that the new, updated Foley Field has been unveiled with the Bloomfield Bengals trouncing a rival Belleville Buccaneer squad by a score of 42-7, the opening game of the 2011 season will surely be etched in the memories of many Bloomfield football fans as a great game, played in a spot where much history has occurred.

No matter the affection for the current facility and its new turf, loyalists will look back and fondly recall the white concrete stands with the bold red “Foley Field” painted on the side, and the William L. (Coach) Foley monument in honor of the famed coach just beyond the James Street end zone.

Nearly 90 Years Ago…

In 1922, the Bengal footballers were using Watsessing Park as their playing field, when the Bloomfield Board of Education purchased the current site of Foley Field, including the Mill Pond area, for $14,500.  Ironically (and perhaps fittingly), the Bengals traveled that year to Montclair for their initial head-to-head Thanksgiving Day game, besting the Mounties, 14-0, and securing the North Jersey Class B Championship. The first game at the Foley Field site itself was the following September, as Bloomfield shut out New York City’s Textile High School, 13-0.

Bleachers Date Back to 1934

The discussion to build actual concrete stands at the site came in December 1933, and discussions were initiated by Coach Foley himself along with the Bloomfield High School Athletic Association. Original wooden stands that were being used at the time were removed, and the beginnings of new stands were constructed.

First use of the new bleachers was in September of 1934, and soon the Bengals were playing host to local rivals and as many as 15,000 spectators. The Bengals also took part in the first televised New Jersey high school football contest, live and in color, from Foley back in 1957. Chris Shenkle was at the microphone as Bloomfield lost to Montclair, 21-3, before roughly 17,000 people.

A Rich History of Play

Over the years, Foley Field has indeed seen many great games. And for me, three games particularly stand out.

The first two were pivotal Bloomfield versus Montclair Thanksgiving Day battles, one back in 1969 with Bloomfield winning, 13-8, breaking a losing streak to Montclair dating back to 1945, and perhaps an even bigger one in 1973, when both clubs – 8-0 and battling for the state’s #1 ranking – fought to the end and the Bengals pulled out a 15-12 victory on a disputed touchdown call.

The third occurred in November of 1977, when an 8-0 Sam Cavallaro-coached squad faced the Barringer Blue Bears in the state playoffs. Bloomfield lost the game, 21-12, and Barringer then fell to eventual state champion, Butch Woolfolk and Westfield, 33-12, in the state championship at Giants Stadium.

There were probably 10,000 fans crammed into the then 43-year-old stands that day, and I had heard from a Bengal footballer at school the Friday before that it was hoped they could shoehorn in 12,000. The wooden bleachers that sat behind the Barringer sideline were filled as well, and a number of fans ringed the end zones, which were then devoid of bleachers.

Forging Ahead

According to Bloomfield High School Athletic Director Steve Jenkins, new stands will be constructed where the original ones were, and the current temporary stands on the John F. Kennedy Drive side will be relocated to the brook side.

Foley Field forges on into the future, where no doubt an abundance of new memories will be created.

Special thanks to Mary Shaughnessy for contributing information for this article.