In the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park sits a stadium that once held 50,000 people and hosted pro football for 25 years. Kezar Stadium is smaller today, but the site has a long sports history.

Built with a bequest

San Francisco Recreation and Parks says the idea of a stadium came from a Polytechnic High School teacher in December 1910. The money came later: in 1922 the estate of Mary Kezar gave $100,000 toward the project, which was named for her family. Ground was broken on June 27, 1924. The stadium was dedicated on May 2, 1925, with a race between Finnish distance runners Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola. High school football drew huge crowds; the 1928 Poly–Lowell game reportedly brought in more than 50,000 people.

The pro years

Kezar was the first home of the San Francisco 49ers, who played there through the 1970 season. The stadium also saw some of the NFL's oddest moments. On Oct. 25, 1964, Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall made his famous "wrong way run," carrying a recovered fumble into his own end zone. The Oakland Raiders, who had no stadium of their own in their first season, played their first four home games of 1960 there.

The 49ers' last game at Kezar was the NFC championship on Jan. 3, 1971, a 17–10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Rowdy fans led to 22 arrests that day. The team then moved to Candlestick Park.

The stadium also had a film career. Months after the 49ers left, scenes from 1971's Dirty Harry were filmed at and above the stadium; the villain, Scorpio, is written as its caretaker, living under the grandstand. After football left, Kezar became a popular outdoor concert venue thanks partly to its proximity to the Haight-Ashbury. The best known show was the 1975 SNACK Benefit Concert, and acts that played there included the Grateful Dead, Santana, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jefferson Starship and Led Zeppelin.

'Little Kezar'

The original stadium was torn down in 1989. Its replacement opened in 1991 on about 5 acres, with 10,000 seats, an eight-lane track and a stucco arch that recalls the original entrance. The department says the stadium is open to the public. It is home to the semi-pro soccer club San Francisco City FC and hosts the Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl and the Bruce-Mahoney Trophy game between St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral.