When Lewis & Clark resumed football in 1946, there were no athletics facilities at the Palatine Hill campus.  The area where Griswold Stadium now stands was a tree-covered ravine.  The newly-formed team played its games in 1946 at Jefferson High School, the Vaughn Street Baseball Park in Northwest Portland, and Portland Civic Stadium.
In 1947, a football field with a cinder track surrounding it was carved out of the hillside on the northwest corner of campus.  Fisher Field, as it was known then, was used for football practice from 1948 to 1952.  The Pioneers were still playing their games at Civic Stadium through the 1952 season.
In 1952, at the urging of students, trustees, and administrators, work was started on a permanent home for Pioneer football.  Trustee Graham Griswold donated $25,000 and most of the lumber needed to spearhead the project.  The stadium was built on the bank between the parking lot and Fisher Field.  The plans included a 3,700-seat stadium with 1,900 of those seats covered by a grandstand roof.
    The first game was played in the new stadium on October 10, 1953, against Linfield College.  The Wildcats won the contest 12-7 with the star of the game, Linfield halfback Ad Rutschman, being given the game ball by Portland mayor Fred Peterson.
    The site was officially named and dedicated to Graham Griswold in the season-opener of the 1954 season against Montana State on September 18. Griswold Stadium also houses the Eldon Fix Track and a press box located directly above the stadium’s seating. 
    The track and the football playing field were resurfaced in 1999.  The field features a state-of-the-art AstroTurf 12 playing surface.  AstroTurf 12 is a state-of-the-art nylon synthetic surface. Made with AstroTurf’s new “soft fiber” technology and the new AstroTurf elastic layer, the turf features added durability, cushioning, and shock absorbency. A full drainage system was installed to allow for vertical drainage. The field is fully inlaid with markings for football and soccer. An irrigation system was built into the field to allow users to dampen the surface, which further enhances the playability.
    In 2003, Lewis & Clark added lights to Griswold, allowing more usage including two night football games and the addition of women’s soccer.
    On October 7, 2006, prior to the opening kickoff of the homecoming football game, Lewis & Clark College President Thomas J. Hochstettler made the announcement that the playing surface at Griswold Stadium had been named “Fred Wilson Field” in honor of the Pioneers’ former coach.
Fred Wilson spent 20 years as the head football coach at Lewis & Clark. He also coached baseball, wrestling, and golf as well as serving as the Director of Athletics and a professor at the College. He is a five-time inductee to the Lewis & Clark Sports Hall of Fame, once as an individual (1980), twice as a member of an inducted team (1993, 2001), once as an assistant coach (1995), and once as a head coach (2006). Wilson graduated from Lewis & Clark in 1951. He began teaching and coaching at Lewis & Clark in 1956. He retired in 1987.