George Cameron donated Cameron Field to the city in 1933. Cameron was a native of Scotland, who settled in Petersburg in 1854. Cameron Field was the home of the Petersburg High School football team for over 60 years. Some of the greatest players in the state of Virginia competed on this historic gridiron. Those players include Eric Tipton, Harry Hartman, Paul Webb, Charlie Willis, Ed Motley, Buck Kitchen, Marvin Bass, and Earl Hawkins. Ronnie Erb, one of the greatest running backs in Central District history, played for Petersburg High School back in the late 1960’s and was heavily recruited by numerous college teams. Brothers Ricky and Lamont Hunley led Petersburg High School to a state championship in 1979. The Hunley brothers turned out to be two of the best defensive players in the school’s history. Ricky is now the linebacker’s coach for Marvin Lewis and the Cincinnati Bengals.

For years Cameron Field was recognized as one of the finest football stadiums in the state of Virginia. The brick used for the stadium came from an old reservoir in Petersburg and was built during Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. According to an article that appeared in the Richmond Times Dispatch in July of 1992, the late Bob Kilbourne, a long time Petersburg assistant football coach and head basketball coach, said Petersburg football teams were a national power under coach Roland Day in the early days of Cameron Field. The Petersburg High School football team would eventually move its home games back on campus when the new high school was built on Johnson Road. In November 2000, Historic Cameron Field sprang back to life when the Petersburg Academic Sports League played its first annual All-star football game there. In November of 2001, the East Coast Bowl made its debut on the field it now calls HOME. Activity is limited throughout the year in anticipation for the small college classic played the Saturday following Thanksgiving. For the better part of a decade the place known as Cameron Field laid dormant, but now due to the East Coast Bowl it L-I-V-E-S!