Purdue University--1947 bleacher collapse

Subject

Staff Only

Subject Source: Local sources

Scope Note: The Purdue bleacher collapse occurred on February 24, 1947, during the halftime of the Purdue versus Wisconsin game. Three students were killed and hundreds were injured.

Found in 8 Collections and/or Records:

Purdue University Athletics collection

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSP 160

Scope and Contents The Purdue University Athletics collection documents Purdue athletics from the earliest years to recent times. The majority of the collection consists of items related to Purdue football; a scrapbook of clippings from the 1800s that contains Purdue football related articles from Lafayette, Indianapolis and Chicago newspapers. The clippings include an article about Purdue’s first football win on November 16, 1889, an article about the game against Wabash, November 23, 1889, that prompted the...

Dates: 1880 - 2016

Found in: Purdue University Archives and Special Collections

James Blakesley Collection on the Class of 1950

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSA 28

Scope and Contents

The James Blakesley Collection on the Class of 1950 contains memorabilia from the Class of 1950's days at Purdue. Types of material include dance cards, newspaper clippings, event programs and playbills, along with photographs, record albums, and artifacts.

Dates: 1946 - 2007; Majority of material found within 1946 - 1950

Found in: Purdue University Archives and Special Collections

Clippings, 1947 - 1952

Series — Box 1: Series MSA 372, Series 3; Series MSA 372, Series 4; Series MSA 372, Series 1; Series MSA 372, Series 2, Folder: 3

Identifier: MSA 372, Series 2

Scope and Contents

This folder contains four newspaper articles. Of particular interest may be the February 25, 1947 clipping regarding the bleacher collapse.

Dates: 1947 - 1952

Found in: Purdue University Archives and Special Collections / Donna N. Stahl papers

Correspondence, 1945 - 1980

Series — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSA 372, Series 1

Scope and Contents

Includes personal and professional correspondence. Of particular interest may be the letter to her parents describing 1947 bleacher accident at Purdue Fieldhouse and her letters describing her residence and class experiences.

Dates: 1945 - 1980

Found in: Purdue University Archives and Special Collections / Donna N. Stahl papers

Purdue University Fieldhouse bleachers collapse photograph

Unprocessed Material — Communal accessions box 9

Identifier: 20150902

Dates: February 24, 1947

Found in: Purdue University Archives and Special Collections

Donna N. Stahl papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSA 372

Scope and Contents The Donna N. Stahl papers includes photographs, dance cards, clothing, and other ephemera, along with newspaper clippings and correspondence, all of which is memorabilia of Donna N. Stahl, a 1949 Purdue graduate in Home Economics. Of interest may be her personal reflections and article on the 1947 Purdue Bleacher Collapse. This collection may be useful to researchers interested in women in higher education, changing roles of women in the twentieth century, material culture of the...

Dates: 1945 - 2004; Majority of material found within 1946 - 1951

Found in: Purdue University Archives and Special Collections

Stockton family collection

Collection — Box Communal Collections 12: Series MSA 213, Series 1, Placement: 17

Identifier: MSA 22

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of materials relating to Purdue alumni James W. Stockton and Ann Stockton, 1919-1947. Includes one postcard of Theta Xi house at Purdue University, one report card for James W. Stockton, and one newspaper clipping on Ann Stockton's injury in the Purdue bleachers collapse.

Dates: 1919 - 1947

Found in: Purdue University Archives and Special Collections