Veterans Stadium, 1971-2003
Veterans Stadium’s tenure in Philadelphia baseball history ended 20 years ago -- Sept. 28 to be specific -- in an Atlanta Braves victory. Montreal center fielder Boots Day was the very first batter. 11,859 days later, Chase Utley was the last.
Philadelphia voters approved $13 million in bonds to build a new multipurpose stadium in South Philadelphia to be located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. That was May 16, 1967. The groundbreaking took place on Oct. 2, 1967. The 1970 opening was postponed until April 1971 because of numerous changes in design, weather, cost overruns and labor strikes. The cost was $45 million to $52 million, according to different sources.
With an artificial playing surface of AstroTurf, the stadium would be the home of the Phillies and the NFL Eagles. The stadium's design appeared to be circular, but it really was an "octorad” design, incorporating four arcs of a large circle and four arcs of a smaller circle to round out the corners. Other “cookie-cutter” stadia of the era were circular or oval.
Facts & Figures
First game: Saturday, April 10, 1971, Phillies 4, Expos 1. 55,352 was the largest crowd ever to attend a Major League game in Philadelphia.
- Capacity: 56,371 (baseball); 63,358 (football)
- Playing-field dimensions: 330’ (LF); 408’ (CF); 330’ (RF)
- Box seats were priced at $4.25
First winning pitcher: Jim Bunning, his 220th career victory. At 39, he was the oldest starting pitcher in the Majors
First batter: Montreal CF Boots Day, grounded back to Bunning
First hit: Single by SS Larry Bowa, 1st inning
First run: Montreal 2B Ron Hunt in the 6th inning
First home run: 3B Don Money in the 6th inning
Last game: Sunday, Sept. 28, 2003, Atlanta 5, Phillies 2. 58,554 attendance
Last winning pitcher: Atlanta RHP Greg Maddux
Last hit: Single by LF Pat Burrell, 9th inning
Last walk-off hit: Single by 2B Chase Utley, 10th inning, Sept. 27, 2003
Last run: Atlanta LF Chipper Jones, 5th inning
Last batter: 2B Chase Utley, GIDP, 9th inning
Last home run: 1B Jim Thome, 8th inning, Sept. 27, 2003
Phillies record: 1,415-1,199, 3 ties
Division Titles: 1976-77-78; 1980-81; 1983; 1993
NL Pennants: 1980, 1983, 1993
World Series championship: 1980
Attendance high: 3,137,674 (1993); lone 3 million season
Most home runs, season, Phillies: 101 in 1977
Most home runs, career, Mike Schmidt, 265
Most wins, season: Steve Carlton, 17-3 in 1977
Most wins, Phillies career: Steve Carlton, 138.
Demolished: Imploded in 62 seconds, March 21, 2004
Historic Moments
First ceremonial ball was dropped from a helicopter and caught by bullpen coach Mike Ryan ... Kiteman had the most Opening Day acts, five ... Karl Wallenda twice walked across the Vet on a high wire ... Phillie Phanatic made his debut in 1978 ... 16 Old-Timers Games were held between 1970-1990 ... Hall of Famers who played for the Phillies at the Vet included Jim Bunning, Ryne Sandberg, Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Jim Kaat, Scott Rolen ... Pete Rose broke Stan Musial’s National League career record for hits (1981) ... Steve Carlton recorded his 3,000th career strike out (1981) ... Mike Schmidt held his retirement press conference at home plate (1988) ... Ceremonies to retire uniform numbers were held for Richie Ashburn (1), Steve Carlton (32), Mike Schmidt (20) and Jim Bunning (14) ... Rick Wise set a club record by retiring 32 consecutive batters (1971) ... Closer Mitch Williams got a game-winning hit at 4:40 a.m. (1993) ... No-hitters included Montreal’s Pascual Perez (6 innings, 1988) and two Phillies pitchers, Terry Mulholland (1990) and Kevin Millwood (2003) ... 66 million fans attended Phillies games.
Postseason Moments
First postseason game in Philadelphia since the World Series (1950) was a 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in the League Championship Series (1976) ... “Black Friday," when the Los Angeles Dodgers scored three runs in the top of the ninth following a questionable umpire call at first base, NLCS (1977) ... First postseason win in Philadelphia since Game 1 of the 1915 World Series, 3-1, over Houston in NLCS (1980) ... Greatest moment in Phillies history occurred, 11:39 p.m., Oct. 21, 1980, when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson ... The Phillies clinch pennants (1983 and 1993) at home; lost World Series there (1983).
Farewell
The final year featured season-long “Field of Memories” celebrations that included players from 1970s, 1980s, 1993 NL champions and Wacky Promotions weekends ... Fans selected an All-Vet team ... The final weekend was termed the “Final Innings. ... Harry Kalas was the master of ceremonies for the opening game in 1971. Fittingly, he performed the same duty during the emotional closing ceremonies following the last game ... A total of 120 current or former Phillies were introduced, took positions on the field and stepped on home plate one final time. In addition to 59-year-old McGraw, Paul Owens, 79, was able to participate. Owens was the architect of the World Series champions ... With Harry on the microphone, Carlton mimed one last strikeout pitch, Schmidt took one last home run swing and trot around the bases and McGraw, battling brain cancer, mimed his historic final pitch. One final memory for 33 years of Phillies baseball in Veterans Stadium.
Remembering the Vet
The four Joe Brown statues (two football, two baseball) were relocated to the outer portions of the parking lot where the stadium once stood ... The Phillies also built a memorial to veterans on Pattison Avenue to make sure the name Veterans Stadium will live forever. The memorial was dedicated on June 6, 2005, the anniversary of World War II’s D-Day ... White granite markers with a solid bronze medallion inlay were installed in the parking lot at the exact location of where home plate, the pitcher’s rubber, three bases and the two football goal posts once existed ... A Pennsylvania Historical Marker was dedicated on Pattison Avenue near the stadium’s location, Sept. 28, 2005.