History of Pro Football in New Orleans

series continued-

part 4
part 5

... the second game didn’t end until 12:05 a.m. Sunday morning. According to Buddy Diliberto’s sports column, it was the first time in the history of Tulane Stadium that football was played on a Sunday.

And yet, many questions were asked by Bob Roesler in the following day’s column including:

“Can College and pro football live harmoniously in Tulane Stadium?”

“Are there enough entertainment dollars in this area for both to survive?”

“Would a pro team in N.O. affect the LSU cash register?”

“Would area colleges lose patrons to the pros?”

“Would the average guy have enough loot to see five or six of his favorite collegiate home games and still have enough to spend on the pros?”

The final gate tally for the double header was 51,218, somewhat disappointing as the promoters were hoping for around 75,000. The Times-Picayune felt some of the factors leading to the resultant crowd included concerns with Tulane Stadium being integrated for the first time (though no racial issues were reported) and likely the biggest drawback was five dollar end zone tickets. To which Roesler wrote, “That’s a rather stiff tariff for the privilege of viewing the action from behind the uprights.”