Win or lose, the Spartans on Sanford High School’s football team will be making history on Friday night.
They’ll be the last SHS varsity gridders ever to play a home game of football at Cobb Stadium. Starting next year, they’ll be passing, punting, rushing, tackling, catching and scoring touchdowns on the football field at the brand new Sanford High School in South Sanford.
The Spartans will face the Thornton Academy Trojans at the stadium on Oct. 20, in a game Sanford High School Athletic Director Gordon Salls is confident will be well attended by anyone with memories of either playing football there or cheering in the stands over the past 65 years.
Kick-off is 7 p.m. The gate, though, will open at 5:30 p.m.
“I’m sure there will be great stories told on Friday night,” Salls said earlier this week.
A few of them will be told by two guest speakers: John Roux, the chair of the Sanford School Committee, who played football at Cobb Stadium in the 1970s, and Roland Cote, who played the game for SHS in the 1950s and later went on to enjoy a long, distinguished career as a Sanford High teacher and two-sport coach. Roux and Cote will address fans in the stands before the game, according to Salls.
The stadium opened in 1952. On Veterans Day in 1966, the community dedicated the stadium to Dr. Stephen A. Cobb.
Dr. Cobb moved to Sanford in 1915 and established a private practice in town. His contributions to Sanford High athletics prompted the dedication: he once coached SHS football and later became the team’s physician, and he was known as the team’s biggest fan. Elsewhere in the community, Cobb was pivotal in establishing the Sanford Regional Airport in the southern part of town.
Cobb passed away in 1968. He was 81.
A monument greets visitors atop the hill that leads down to the football field encircled by a quarter-mile track. The monument, “dedicated in his own time,” as it says, hails Cobb, stating, “No man will ever give more to the cause of . . . Sanford High School athletics.”
Those who attend the game on Friday night will receive a special commemorative program filled with photos of the football, soccer, cross country and track teams that have played at Cobb Stadium over the decades.
The booklet features a black-and-white photo of the first football team to play at the stadium in 1952. The first two games were played on Saturday, Sept. 13, 1952 — St. Ignatius High School first faced Jay, and then Sanford High took on Brewster Academy. The first night game under the lights occurred on Sept. 8, 1972.
The booklet highlights Cobb Stadium’s place in local sports history and in the life of the community in general. Indeed, for years, Sanford High has held its graduation ceremonies at the stadium every June when the weather has been right.
“Although there have been some changes, Cobb Stadium has essentially remained the same through the years,” the booklet reads. “The walk down the hill to the field and the view from the hill on the home team side are just part of the allure of the stadium. There have been many tremendous athletes who have competed on this field. There have been state champions in football, cross country, and boys and girls track, along with decades of band competitions.
“Through it all, Cobb Stadium has provided a place for the community to come and enjoy seeing their kids compete and is a place to gather as friends and fans to support the Sanford Community.”
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