The diamond was situated in the southwest "corner" of the stadium, with right field so close that baseballs hit over the fence in that area were ground-rule doubles. While the first modern-day midget car racing program took place at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California in June 1933, and Loyola Stadium became the starting point in Southern California in August 1933, Gilmore Stadium is often billed as the first track purposely built for the new style of racing. The track hosted midget car racing from the track's debut in May 1934 until 1950. The 1939 Turkey Night Grand Prix was held at the track. Rodger Ward drove Vic Edelbrock's midget car in a famous August 10, 1950 event at Gilmore Stadium. Ward shocked the racing world by breaking Offenhauser engine's winning streak by sweeping the events at Gilmore Stadium that night. Notable drivers that raced at the track include Bill Betteridge, Fred Friday, Walt Faulkner, Perry Grimm, Sam Hanks, Curly Mills, Danny Oakes, Roy Russing, Bob Swanson, Bill Vukovich, Rodger Ward, and Karl Young. Drivers that were killed at the track include Ed Haddad, Swede Lindskog, Speedy Lockwood, Frankie Lyons, and Chet Mortemore. In the sixteen years of the stadium's existence, over 5 million fans attended races at the track. The stadium drew crowds over 18,000 people each race. Attendance dropped to below 9,000 at normal weekly races by the late 1940s. The attendance drop and increased demand for property in West Hollywood led to the track's sale in 1950. It was torn down in 1951. Some of its grandstand was installed at Saugus Speedway. It also hosted donkey baseball, dog shows, rodeos, and at least one cricket match. Esther Williams performed in a diving and water ballet performance. A temporary above ground pool was constructed for the event. Several professional boxing title matches where held in the stadium. U.S. President Harry S. Truman delivered his "stiff upper lip" speech in the stadium. Gilmore Stadium was featured in a 1934 Three Stooges short featuring a football game, and fittingly titled "Three Little Pigskins". The scoreboard, with the name of the stadium, appears prominently in several shots, as does a billboard advertising Gilmore products. A sign for the nearby Fairfax Theater, across Beverly Boulevard at the north (open) end of the stadium, is also visible in the background a couple of times.