October 18 celebration of 100 years of Harmon Field
ABOVE) Photos of early Harmon Field development and activities. Includes photos from Bluffton Public Library digital archives.
By Paula Pyzik Scott
7:00 p.m., Friday, October 18, Bluffton High School Football vs. Allen East at Harmon Field
The Bluffton Schools are issuing an invitation to all who played on Harmon Field to attend the 100th anniversary of Harmon Field celebration on October 18 at the Bluffton vs. Allen-East football game.
The community is encouraged to spread the word to Bluffton College and Bluffton High School alumni. Did you play in the band? In soccer or football? Were you a cheerleader or coach?
Harmon Field became the home of Bluffton High School football in 1924. The now familiar stadium was built in 1936 with funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). At the time of the stadium dedication, College Ave. was closed for football games because fans without tickets would simply park nearby, a strategy that cut into gate receipts. In a Bluffton News article on the stadium dedication game–which was a 14-7 loss to Ada High School–paid admission was 846.
BHS Athletic Director Alex Hanna tells the Icon that with the bleachers that have been added to the facility, the highest attendance recorded was 3,790. This was a 2003 game against Columbus Grove. Hanna adds that BHS football games have never and will never sell out.
Or perhaps you participated in or attended a car show, baseball or kittenball game, field day or rodeo on Harmon field. Today the football field is a meticulously groomed grass surface, but at its inception caretakers were proud to note that Harmon Field was in fact mowed.
In past articles, the Bluffton Icon has detailed the origins of Harmon Field and initial funding by the William E. Harmon Foundation (titles).
Bluffton’s love affair with Harmon Field
Why is our football field called Harmon Field
Much information about Harmon Field comes from an archive of letters, purchases, telegrams and photographs in “The Harmon Field Story,” an almost 200-page collection of items by Isaiah B. Beeshy from the 1920s and 1930s: https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll28/id/3347
Stories Posted This Week
Saturday, May 3, 2025
- Pirate baseball win vs. Tigers
- Bluffton softball edged in battle of Pirates
- Committee meetings scheduled for Bluffton Council
- #1 recommended attraction in NW Ohio is in Ada
- Mental Health Awareness event with Seth Gehle
- Ohio highway patrol promoting motorcycle safety
- Recap of Bluffton Board of Education meeting for April 2025
- Weekend Doctor: Antidepressants in the long term
Friday, May 2, 2025
- BHS seniors exhibit art at Gallery 323 through May 7
- What's in your weekend?
- Pirate softball blanked by Lancers
- Pirate baseball blanked by Lincolnview
- Laman Promoted to VP Retail Credit Manager by CNB
- Local land conservancy hires first Executive Director
- Steiner to present Swiss Family Migration program on May 21
- 850 Days of Caring volunteers will pitch in for Hancock County
Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Angel M. Langhals owned LFE/API Meters
- Allen Co. task force targets target sex and human traffickers
- Blessing of the Bikes, May 4
- Metzger honored at 2025 Black Swamp Council meeting
- Volunteer invitation for Bluffton Pathway Count in May
- Pirate tennis edges Ottawa-Glandorf
- Bluffton EMS station staffing goes 24/7 on May 1
- You are what you eat: Link to immune system
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Observation deck added to Motter Park cascading pools project
- Bluffton Women in Business meet May 15
- Four sportsmen stock 200 trout at Buckeye Lake
- Pirate girls, boys 2nd at Minster track quad
- Pirate baseball win vs. Riverdale
- Pirate softball loss vs. Riverdale
- Field reports from NW Ohio wildlife officers