Fifty years ago today, a pre-presidential Richard Nixon threw out the first ball on the opening game day of Candlestick Park on April 12, 1960. Originally built to house the San Francisco Giants (before they moved to swankier digs in Mission Bay's AT&T Park in 2000), Candlestick Park, located at the on the chilly western shore of the San Francisco Bay, was built on the "cheapest plot of land available in the city that was suitable for a sports stadium," according to Wikipeida. After the 1970 season, the 49ers moved from Kezar Stadium to The 'Stick.
Notable moments at Candlestick Park:
- The stadium hosted two MLB All-Star Games (1961 and 1984), one National League Division Series (1997), three National League Championship Series (1971, 1987 and 1989) two World Series (1962 and 1989), and six NFC Championship games
- The Beatles performed their last live commercial concert on August 29, 1966
- The Oakland Raiders played their 1961 season at the park
- During Game 3 of the 1989 World Series between the A's and the Giants, the 7.1 Loma Prieta quake struck, delaying the game for 10 days
- SFist sports writer Daisy Barringer almost gets into fistfight while waiting in line for the bathroom
- The weather: conditions are notoriously horrid due to the chill coming off the San Francisco Bay. (Wikipedia notes that Attorney Melvin Belli won a claim "against the Giants in 1960 because his six-seat box, which cost him almost $1,600, was unbearably cold")
- Foolishly renamed 3Com Park (1995 until 2002) and Monster Park (2004 to 2008)
As of today, the 49ers (the only team to call Candlestick home), might abandon the Park in favor of Santa Clara's flirtatious "economic stimulus package," which "promises of hundreds of millions of dollars in regional benefits each year." Santa Clara already hosts the team's administrative headquarters and training facility.
