Gonzaga University Campus
This picture of Gonzaga University campus was taken in 1949, just three years after GU completed its first female dormitory. The university became co-ed in 1948. Conspicuous in the photo is the football stadium, which is no longer part of the Spokane campus.
Section:Then & Now
Image One
Photo Archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Colin Mulvany
| The Spokesman-Review
Before World War II, Gonzaga had a pretty good run as a football school. In 1920, the Jesuit university hired Gus Dorais, a legendary Notre Dame quarterback, to coach the team, especially to compete against Washington State College of Pullman. In 1922, a football stadium was built on campus, the 11,000 seats were at capacity for the WSC game. A sportswriter is said to have written the Gonzaga boys played like “bulldogs”, which eventually became the team’s mascot. The 1924 team sent four to the professional football league, including Houston Stockton, the grandfather of NBA great John Stockton and great-grandfather of David Stockton, current GU guard. When World War II started, football was put on hold. The last game was a 59-0 loss to Washington State in 1941. After the war, football was forgotten and the stadium seating was demolished in 1949. Today, the Foley Center, a library, takes up much of the old field.
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