Forged from the steel that made The Region, the material which carried us through the Great Depression, Brickie Bowl sits. For now, it lays idle and silent as a hardened relic; a reminder of Friday nights when the lights of a town would dim to give way to a sea of purple and yellow, and the undivided attention of the Bowl.
But the quiet peacefulness of the now unused stadium will not be forever, soon it is planned to be startled awoken again with the echoes of legends and the voices of a community once again united as Brickies at the Bowl.
Once a Brickie Bowl, always a Brickie Bowl.
“We (Hobart) stand for work...We stand for family...We stand for working together,” Dr. Peggy Buffington, Superintendent of School City of Hobart. Quoted in the book: Once a Brickie, Always a Brickie.
The inception of Brickie Bowl is both a testament to this cohesiveness of the community, and a shining reminder of what can come from a town together as one..
Spawned through funds from FDR’s Works Projects Administration (WPA), the Bowl was built by Hobart hands, through months spent hauling cement, dirt, and material from wheelbarrows to their locations.The track surrounding the field was built by students and community members who wanted to show off the pride of their community, and the bleachers, scoreboard, and everything else that made Brickie Bowl what it was, was made possible through the generous hearts of Hobart residents and organizations.
In essence, in every inch of Brickie Bowl, there is a piece of the community.
And for their efforts, the Hobart community has been paid back in spades by its team. Brickie Bowl has been home to a team that boasted an eleven year home win streak from 1977 through 1988, and four State Championships in the span of just six years.
Legendary Coach, Don Howell’s, who the field at the Bowl was named after, Hobart teams were the epitome of Hobart. Every one of his 314 wins for the Brickies were earned through hard work, grit, and a commitment to the blue-collar, lunch pail mentality that the residents could take pride in.
Former Munster Coach, John Friend, who helped bring the Mustangs to glory called Howell “a 3 yards and a cloud of dust” coach, and remembered his times competing against Howell, in Once a Brickie Always a Brickie, as games where every yard gained had to be earned.
“They were always, always prepared,” added Friend.
And that’s how Hobart Football, and the legacy of Brickie Bowl, has always been since the first snap in 1939; a tradition built through a community moving forward, yard by yard, and brick by brick.
