The Erie County Fieldhouse was home to professional and youth hockey in Erie, PA for many years. This event schedule gives you an idea of the number of games played during December of 1982.
There were six Atlantic Coast Hockey League hockey games played at the Fieldhouse. The Erie Blades (or was it the Golden Blades?) played Hampton on Dec. 8th, Virginia on Dec. 10th and 11th and Mohawk Valley on Dec. 15th, 18th and 22nd.
There was one college hockey game on Dec. 12th, when Gannon University played Wheeling, WV.
High school games included Cathedral Prep vs. Pittsburg Baldwin on Dec. 11th and 12th; and Prep vs. Cleveland St. Edward's on Dec. 21st. McDowell High School played Upper St. Clair on December 11th and and Pittsburgh Baldwin on Dec. 12th.
Erie Youth Hockey played a tournament at the Erie County Fieldhouse from Dec. 27th through Dec. 30th.
Other events included an Erepa Grotto Variety Show on December 1st, and a concert by Nazareth and Toronto on December 7th.
Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com
I remember the first concert that I saw at the Erie County Field House. It was loud and there were no seats on the floor, just lots of people sitting on blankets or standing up front. I could barely see the band on stage through the haze. I was hooked!
The Erie County Fieldhouse was located at 5750 Wattsburg Road in Erie, PA, off of Route 8 near I-90. The Erie Lions played hockey there, as did the Erie Blades. When concerts came to town during hockey season, they covered the floor with sheets of wood. It was a little chilly, but no one complained. Some shows had an open floor plan and some had rows of metal chairs on the floor.
I saw a ton of shows at the Field House. Off the top of my head, the ones I remember include Mahogany Rush, Head East, Sammy Hagar, Boston, Blue Oyster Cult, Nazareth, Shakin' Street, April Wine, Triumph, Blackfoot and Fastway. I'll add more when I find my ticket stubs.
I worked at a record store, and we would take unsold tickets and money up to the Field House before the show. It was fun to watch them put piles of money in a counting machine. It was also fun to get free concert tickets, even if they only cost $7.75 each. We sold a lot of tickets to closed-circuit boxing matches. This was in the days before satellite TV and the Internet. We had a seating diagram that showed which tickets we had for sale, and would then cross off the seat numbers as they were sold. This was the days before Ticketron and Ticketmaster.
There was always a handful of scalpers selling bootleg t-shirts in the parking lot before and after a concert. The shirts were cheap. When you washed them a few times, they shrunk or became deformed.
Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com
Here's a blast from the past...while the nation was getting ready to celebrate the Bicentennial, the Cows were getting ready to rock out at Anthony's Lounge in Erie, PA. This particular gig took place from May 19-22, 1976. Anthony's was located at 12 East 5th Street.
The Cows included Ron Guzek on keyboards, vocalist Dennis Guzek, guitarist Richard Buckel and drummer Joe Salorino. They are shown in the advertisement above from left to right.
Now it's your turn to share memories about your favorite songs and shows by the Cows. Be sure click on the title of this post and leave a comment in the white box on the next page.
Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com
You wouldn't know that Theodore Roosevelt was a two-term ex-president by reading this ad for a speaking engagement in Erie in 1914. Roosevelt was heralded more for his role in the Spanish-American war than he was for his political acclaim as the 26th President, whose terms lasted from 1901 to 1909.
"With occasional bursts of vigor of former days, and with an old throat trouble weakening his voice, Colonel Roosevelt made his second entrance into the campaign in Pennsylvania yesterday, with three speeches in Erie county. He talked at Girard, Erie and North East. His audiences were typically Rooseveltian. He came here from Chicago last night and rested at Jamestown, where he re-entered a campaign in New York state.
Leaving a Lake Shore train at North Girard shortly before noon, in company with Hugh C. Lord and Henry Hinrichs, Jr., of Erie...Colonel Roosevelt launched immediately into a whirlwind five hour trip across the county. He talked to about 800 persons at North Girard and whisked through Girard, disappointing about 300 residents gathered in a park to hear him.
Colonel Roosevelt arrived in Erie about 1 o'clock. He was immediately taken to private apartments engaged for him at the Lawrence Hotel, where he had dinner. By this time crowds began gathering and within a half hour it is estimated that four or five thousand persons were jammed in the streets and on the Academy grounds, originally selected for Mr. Roosevelt's speech." -Erie Dispatch-Herald, October 21, 1914.
Hugh C. Lord was the founder of Lord Corporation. Henry Hinrichs, Jr. was the president of the Erie Board of Trade and the owner of the Keystone Fish Company.
Enjoy more facts and photos of historic Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com
