MOULTRIE — Mack Tharpe Stadium, home of the Moultrie High, William Bryant High and Colquitt County High football teams and site of three state championship games, will turn 50 on Friday.

The steel stadium was dedicated on Friday, Sept. 24, 1954, at halftime of a game between the B-team squads from Florida State and Georgia Tech.

Fifty years to the day later, the stadium, which has undergone several facelifts over the years, will play host to the Colquitt County-Worth County football game, which will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday.

Moultrie High and Colquitt County High have traditionally played their home games on Friday nights in the stadium, which also has served as the home of the Colquitt County High soccer teams since 1994.

William Bryant High also played its home football games in stadium, located in front of Willie J. Williams Middle School, which for many years was Moultrie High School.

William Bryant won the Georgia Interscholastic Association Class A state championship in the stadium in 1961, defeating Lemon Street High of Marietta 12-0.

In 1991, Colquitt County played LaGrange for the Georgia High School Association’s Class AAAA state championship in the stadium, but came up short when the Grangers Scott Simons kicked a field goal with 13 seconds left for a 17-16 victory.

Three years later, the Packers won their only state championship there, beating Valdosta 23-10.

The stadium is named for Mercer McCall “Mack” Tharpe, the outstanding football player who graduated from Moultrie High in 1921. He went to Georgia Tech, where he was an All-Southern tackle in 1926.

Georgia Tech coach William Alexander kept Tharpe on the Flats, naming his as the coach of the freshman team. Tharpe later became the varsity line coach.

With the outbreak of World War II, Tharpe joined the U.S. Navy and was a combat pilot in the Pacific. He was killed in 1945 while serving aboard the aircraft carrier Bismark Sea.

Plans for the stadium, which replaced a wood structure in the same location, began on Jan. 5, 1954, when the Moultrie City Council passed an ordinance setting a date for residents to vote on a proposal for a $125,000 stadium-school bond issue.

The issue was overwhelmingly passed on Feb. 9.

On May 4, just before construction was to begin, City Council voted to name the structure Mack Tharpe Memorial Stadium.

The cost of the stadium was estimated at $100,000.

Taking part in the dedication ceremonies were Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Dodd and Florida State head coach Tom Nugent.

Also representing Georgia Tech were Dean of Men George Griffin, Athletic Businees Manager Howard Ector and Capt. Philip Stokes, command of the Georgia Tech Navy ROTC.

A bronze memorial plaque that includes a relief portrait of Tharpe was prepared by Atlanta sculptor Julian Harris and unveiled that day by Mary Mack Tharpe, Tharpe’s 10-year-old daughter.

Harris, who was born in Carrollton, graduated from Georgia Tech in 1928 and knew Tharpe while serving as one of the football team’s managers.

Also in conjunction with the dedication, the Jacksonville Navy Band played in concert on the Courthouse Square and Air Group No. 4 from the Jacksonville Naval Air Station flew in formation over the stadium.

The Georgia Tech-Florida State game featured two former Packers, center Dick Beard and guard Roscoe Holland, both of whom played for the Yellow Jackets.

The stadium has gone several minor renovations, including sandblasting and painting, but looks much the same as it did 50 years ago.

The home team originally was on the east side of the stadium, but that changed several years ago. The press box also was moved to the west side.

The visitors dressing facility have been improved, but are small. The field house needs upgrading. And teams with large numbers of players find the area between the sidelines and the fence cramped.

There is room, although no money yet, to build a new stadium on the 214 acres the school system purchased several years ago on Veterans Parkway.

But many people prefer to keep the stadium where it has set for a half-century, with perhaps a major upgrade.