What will Spartan fans take home from the last football game at Case Western Reserve University's Finnigan Fields? Will it be a divot of grass, maybe a hunk of bleacher or possibly a piece of the goal post?

To avoid prosecution, fans should probably stick with the memories of some great players-collegiate and professional-who have graced the field over the past 35 years: gridiron guys and Hall of Famers from Western Reserve University, Case and even the Cleveland Browns.

The university soon will break ground on phase one of its new North Residential Village, so the Spartans will be without game and practice facilities until the fall of 2005. The project includes replacing Finnigan Fields with a new multipurpose stadium with a synthetic turf field.

The best football team, besides the Browns, to rumble onto Finnigan was the 1984 Spartans who posted the school's first and last undefeated season. That team was under the direction of Case's all-time winningest coach Jim Chapman (36-7-1 from 1982-1986).

Chapman's first game as a Spartan was one of national interest-but not the good kind. He took over a team that had a 23-game losing streak, which at the time was almost the longest in the nation, second only to Northwestern who was at 24.

"I remember my first game; we lost at Oberlin. And all I could think of was whether Northwestern had lost, too. They did," Chapman said. "Then the next week we upset John Carroll University at home, and from that point on things got better."

Better is what the Case football program has recently become under third-year Head Coach Joe Perella. Last year's team posted the school's first winning record in over 10 years, and this year the Spartans are 4-3.

Enough about the coaches. What about the players? And why not start in the present. Senior quarterback Eli Grant and senior running back Brandon McDowell have made pretty good names for themselves on the Finnigan turf.

"One thing's for sure," Perella said, "they have smashed all the records. They are hard-working kids, who are the building blocks of this new program."

Grant, the school's all-time leading passer (6,663), currently holds seven season and career passing records, and McDowell, the school's all-time leading rusher (3,070), has nine rushing and scoring records.

"It's our home field, and it's always nice playing on your home field no matter if it's a little outdated," Grant said. "It was my home for four years, and, fortunately, we have been able to win some games there."

As for past players, three current Case Reserve Athletic Club Hall of Famers and former All-Americans who played under Chapman back in the mid-1980s come to mind: quarterback Fred DiSanto (Case '85), linebacker Fred Manley (Case '86) and offensive lineman Mark Raiff (Case '87). Both DiSanto and Manley were All-Americans in 1983 and 1984, while Raiff was a three-timer ('83, '84, '85).

"We had a great run at Finnigan and a tremendous turn around," DiSanto said. "After not winning a game my freshman year (0-9), we went 5-3, 8-1 and 9-0 and ranked ninth in the nation my senior year.

I met some great people, played in some great games and had some great victories at Finnigan."

The Spartans play their final home game of the season and their final game on the Finnigan football field at noon November 8 when they take on the University of Rochester.

Return to the online edition of the 11-6-03 Campus News.