From Pennsylvania to Minnesota And Out To California

   Today on our Ballpark Openers Week, we have 8 different ballparks to look at. For our first two April 12 ballparks, we go back over 100 years starting in the City of Brotherly Love in 1909.

  Just two days ago we looked at the 1971 opening of Veterans Stadium. Today we will look at its predessor, but its sucessor as well. Shibe Park was built for the American League Athletics for a 1909 opening. The A's broke the park in with an 8-1 clubbering of the Boston Red Sox. In 1938, the Phillies moved and stayed until 1970, well after the A's left town. The Phillies moved into Veterans Stadium in 1971 and stayed through 2003. On April 12, 2004 the Phillies opened Citizens Bank Ballpark. The Phillies could not repeat the A's feat of winning the first game in their new park, when the took a 4-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

   The A's moved into Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri in 1955. The stadium which had opened originally in 1923 for the minor league Kansas City Blues, required extensive rework before the A's arrival. A 90 day around the clock schedule allowed the A's to face the Detroit Tigers ontime. The A's would take a 6-2 win from the Tigers.

   We are not done yet with the parks built 100 years ago. Today is the centennial of Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. The Senators took an 8-5 win from the Boston Red Sox.

  We now move ahead to April 12, 1960 and opening of Candlestick Park, San Francisco. The Giants took a 3-1 victory over the Saint Louis Cardinals. Few knew of the many windy surprises that were in store of the course of the next 4 decades. I myself saw a late June game there in 1998, I remember the hot chocolate all too well.

   Five years later Baseball hit a very big first with the opening of the Harris County Domed Stadium in Houston, Texas, AKA the AstroDome. The Phillies ruined the Astros party by taking a 2-0 victory from them.

   A few days later the Atlanta Crackers of the International League played their first game in Atlantas new park Atlanta Stadium. The park was built with the Braves arrival in mind. When the Braves arrival was delayed a year, the Crackers got to take the new park out for a spin. On April 12, 1966 the Braves got their turn in the new park. The Pittsburgh Pirates were the lucky team that night as the took a 3-2 win in 13 innings.    

   Our final ballpark is marking its first anniversary this year. Target Field in Minneapolis first opened its doors to the Twins and the Boston Red Sox, with the Twinks taking a 5-2 win from the visitors. Are you glad I have not have the chance yet to document all the minor league park openings thoughout history? I do have a few coming in a day or two :).
  
   The answer to yesterdays trivia question is 16 times in National Football League history a game has ended with a score of 40-7. The first time that this happened was on November 22, 1925 when the Rock Island Independents beat the Milwaukee Badgers at Douglas Park in Rock Island. The most recent occasion was on December 17, 2006 when at Gillette Stadium the New England Patriots beat the Houston Texans.

   Todays trivia question is what was the name of the Milwaukee Badgers home park? The answer in tomorrows daily blog as Ballpark Opening Week continues.

Target field 2010