The Stadium

On a September night early in the 1940s, some of the same men who started Polk's football tradition as kids in 1907 gathered in Lakeland to open a new era. They were there to dedicate Thomas W. Bryant Stadium, home of the Dreadnaughts. Bryant, who started Lakeland High's program in 1907 and was a 1909 graduate, went on to become a lawyer, serve three terms in the state Legislature and spend another 14 years on the Board of Control, which would later become the Board of Regents overseeing the state university system

In the 1930s, as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, Bryant sought funding to build a new football stadium for the city of Lakeland. The funding was first approved in 1936 but later canceled. After several years of disappointing trips to Washington, Bryant finally secured $65,000 in federal funds, the stadium was built next to Henley Field, and on Sept. 26, it was dedicated and named in his honor. Florida Gov. Spessard Holland, a graduate of Summerlin Institute in Bartow who went on to play football at Emory University and the University of Florida, made the dedication speech at halftime. Eight members of Lakeland's original 1907 team, including Bryant, were among the honored guests.

Bryant Stadium still hosts the Lakeland Dreadnaughts home games. Its press box has since been renovated and named in honor of Eric Murray. In 2007 a state of the art High Definition jumbotron was added to the south endzone along with updating its sound system. There are plans in the imediate future to upgrade its natural playing surface to that of an artificial turf.

The Man
Bryant, Thomas W.   was one of the prominent young attorneys of the Florida bar.  While a young man in the '30s, he has had a widely varied experience, having achieved success in his profession, and has also a record as a soldier in the World war, with active duty in France before the armistice.

Thomas W. Bryant

Mr. Bryant represents an old family of Florida, and was born in Polk County, March 28, 1890, son of Emory and Nellie (Blocker) Bryant.  Thomas W. Bryant is the oldest of six sons, two of whom are now deceased.  He acquired a liberal education, graduating from the Lakeland High School, and took both the literary and law courses at the University of Florida.  He was graduated in 1915, was admitted to the bar the same year, and at once engaged in practice at Lakeland.  He has a thorough knowledge of the law, is an industrious worker in the interest of his clients, and has an extensive general practice.  He is attorney for the First National Bank of Lakeland, and in 1922 was nominated for the legislature.

Mr. Bryant was in the service of the Government for eighteen months.  He enlisted January 15, 1918, and was assigned to duty with the Second Battalion of the Three Hundred Nineteenth Field Artillery in the Eighty-second Division.  After going to France he was at the front for three months, and participated in the battles of St. Mihiel, the Argonne Forest and the Argonne-Meuse campaigns.

He served three successive terms in the Florida Legislature in the 1920s, and three terms on the Board of Control—the predecessor to the Board of Regents—from 1936 to 1949. While in the legislature, Bryant was a champion of the No Fence law and a cattle tick eradication program. He supported construction of Alligator Alley. He was influential in bringing streetlights to downtown Lakeland, passing bond issues for light and water service, the purchase of land near Lake Morton for a library, and the opening of the Lake Mirror complex.

The Thomas Bryant Stadium in Lakeland was dedicated in 1941 in recognition for his support of Lakeland High School  football. Much of the growth and development of the University of Florida can be traced to his advocacy. The Thomas W. Bryant Space Science Research Building was dedicated in 1968. In 1987 he received the George Jenkins Award for public service from the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. Thomas W. Bryant died in 1992 at the age of 102. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Lakeland Public Library, 100 Lake Morton Drive, Lakeland.

This article was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:  Nancy Rayburn

Info provided by USGenweb.com and The Lakeland Ledger.