There’s no arguing sports is part of the overall fitness culture in the United States military. Several athletic fields can be found throughout Joint Base Lewis-McChord — including Cowan Stadium on Lewis Main, the Lewis North Athletic Complex on Lewis North and Rainier Field on McChord Field.

Sporting venues on the installation actually date back to the earliest days of Camp Lewis.

In 1917, the first athletic director, Capt. Trevanion Cook, sought permission to build the first Camp Lewis Stadium — a 20,000-seat stadium that was located in the now open land just south and west of Pershing Circle and Lewis Drive on Lewis Main.

“He wanted something that would be impressive,” said Duane Denfeld, JBLM historian. “Cook and the commander were convinced that sports were critical to developing a good Soldier.”

The stadium included 15,000 seats through bleachers and a grandstand for another 5,000 seats that surrounded a football field, baseball field and a quarter-mile track. It was first opened in 1919, but wasn’t very well used or maintained and had to be demolished in 1927.

“It was built with unseasoned and untreated wood,” Denfeld said. “Now if you would have painted it or replaced some of the rotting wood over the years, it would have lasted longer.”

Through the years, there were a number of stadiums that were proposed or had short lives on the grounds of what is now JBLM. In 1926, there were talks of creating a 91st Division Memorial Stadium. The Camp Lewis 91st Division football team played in the 1918 Rose Bowl, losing to the Mare Island Marines.

The initial idea came to Brig. Gen. Robert Alexander, the Camp Lewis commander, who was inspired by the Doughboy Stadium at Fort Benning, Ga., which was first built in 1924 and received a $1.5 million renovation in 2012.

“A Doughboy Stadium would have been neat,” Denfeld said. “It’s still there today.”

Other stadiums that no longer exist include a baseball field on Lewis North from 1932 to 1943 where horse stables now stand. There was the Main Post Baseball Field that opened in 1943, when the Fort Lewis Warriors lost to the University of Washington, 8-7, in 11 innings. That field was closed for a permanent stadium in 1949.

The Brown Bombers Field was constructed in 1943 near East Drive and D Street on Lewis North, but it was only used briefly for a few years after World War II. During a time when the Army was segregated, it was utilized by teams of African-American Soldiers.

One stadium that still stands after opening in May 1949 is Cowan Stadium on Lewis Main. Named after Medal of Honor recipient Pfc. Richard E. Cowan, the stadium first hosted the 2nd Infantry Division football team that won 16 consecutive games.

In the years after, several local football teams have practiced or played on Cowan Stadium since the 1950s — including a game between the College of Puget Sound and Saint Martin’s University.

Although there have been changes to Cowan Stadium — from grass field to carpet-like artificial turf and now a modern field-turf from example — Denfeld said a lot of money and resources were used to keep the stadium up to code. Lessons were learned from some of the earlier projects.

One stadium that still stands, despite rare usage, is what is now called Memorial Stadium. It started off as Cowan Baseball Stadium and opened at the same time as its neighboring football stadium. It replaced the previous Main Post Baseball Field and even hosted New York Yankees star Joe DiMaggio in 1959.

Baseball was no longer played after 1959. Although the stadium still stands, there is no dirt field where the baseball diamond would have been. It opens for a few annual events such as concerts, car shows and historical displays on the grass field for events like Armed Forces Day and Freedom Fest.

Denfeld said it is a shame baseball isn’t played there currently, but the current layout of the stadium with Carey Theater and McVeigh Sports and Fitness Center would make it difficult to have games there today.

“If you look at right field, that’s not much of a distance,” Denfeld said. “Most of your home runs are going to be well into the parking lot. People hitting 300 or 400 feet are going to be close to McVeigh.”