Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
TIMESTAMPS
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20130406051839/http://www.ballparktour.com:80/RFK_Stadium.html
Robert F.Kennedy Memorial
Stadium District of Columbia
Formerly, D.C. Stadium
Tenants: Washington Nationals (NL 2005); Washington Senators (AL 1962-71); Washington Redskins (NFL 1961-96);
D.C. United (MLS 1996-Present); Howard University football; Washington Federals (USFL 1983-84); Washington
Diplomats (NASL 1974-81) Groundbreaking: July 8, 1960 First NFL game: October 1, 1961 First American League game: April 9, 1962 Last American league game: September 30, 1971 Last NFL game: December 22, 1996 First National League game: April 14, 2005 - Was. 5, Ari. 3. Att: 45,596 Surface: Natural grass Baseball capacity: 43,500 (1962); 45,016 (1971); 45,250 (2005) Nickname: RFK
Architect: George L. Dahl and Osborn Engineering of Cleveland Construction: McCloskey and Co. of Philadelphia (1960); Turner Construction (2005 renovation) Owner: The Government of the District of Columbia, under the auspices of the D.C. Sports & Entertainment
Commission Original cost: $20 million; $18 million 2004-05 renovations
Dimensions: LF foul line: 335 ft. (1962)
LF alley: 381 ft. (1962); 380 ft. (marked, Apr-Jul '05); 395 ft. (actual, Apr-Jul '05)*
Center field: 410 ft. (1962); 410 ft (marked, 2005); 408 ft. (actual, 2005)
RF alley: 378 ft. (1962); 380 ft. (marked, Apr-Jul '05); 395 ft (actual, Apr-Jul '05)*
RF foul line: 335 ft. (1962)
*380 ft distance markers were moved closer to the foul poles in July, 2005. They were previously placed at a
distance of 395 ft from home plate, which is actually where the true power alley is located.
Height of fences: 7 ft. (1962); 8 ft. (2005)
Hosted World Series: Never Hosted All-Star Game: 1962, 1969 Hosted NFC Championship Game: 1972, 1983, 1988, 1992
Recommended Reading List Click on titles for more info
When Washington Senators owner Calvin Griffith moved his ballclub to the Met in Minnesota after the 1960 season,
a new multi-purpose stadium was already under construction on the banks of the Anacostia River. Griffith
decided to shun the new ballpark in D.C. in favor of a growing market in the mid-west. But the American League
still believed in the nation's capital and awarded one of the two expansion teams to be added in 1961 - the new
team to be called Senators, just like the club that moved away.
With the new D.C. Stadium still a year away from being finished, the new Senators began play in Griffith Stadium in
April of 1961. In the historic ballpark's final inaugural, President John F. Kennedy threw out the last "first ball" at
the stadium in which the tradition had begun way back in 1910, when President Taft threw out the first "first
ball". The new Senators lost that first game at the old park to the White Sox, 4-3. Interestingly enough, the old
Senators - now the Twins - and the one-year-old Senators performed the last rites over Griffith Stadium on
September 21, 1961. Only 1,498 attended the final services as the Twins won, 6-3.
On April 9, 1962, 44,383 fans entered the brand-new D.C. Stadium for the first time and watched the Nats beat the
Detroit Tigers, 4-1. Just as the year before, President Kennedy again threw out the first ball.
"I'm leaving you in first place," JFK quipped to General Manager Ed Doherty as he left the presidential box.
Without Kennedy's help, the Senators fared poorly. In the 10-club American League they finished last three
times, ninth once and eighth twice. When didvision play began in 1969, the Nats were noncontenders for their
last three seasons in the Capital.
Kennedy's appearance at the 1962 inaugural carried more than ceremonial significance. The Chief Executive had
followed stadium progress closely ever since Oren Harris, an Arkansas Democrat, had introduced a bill authorizing
construction of the facility with public funds.
The stadium, Kennedy hoped, "will be an enduring symbol of the American belief in the importance of physical
fitness and of the contributuins which athletic competition can make to our way of life."
Built on reclaimed swamp land, the stadium was subjected early to the barbs of local wits. One compared it to a
wet straw hat. Another said it resembled a waffle whose center stuck to the griddle. Hitters immediately
approved of the stadium because the ball carried extremely well. Because of its contained-oval shape, the
ballpark held the summer heat of Washington DC well into the evening hours, thus allowing the ball to carry well
even at night. During it's first baseball stint from 1962-71, not a single no-hitter was thrown at the stadium.
Shortly after the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, D.C. Stadium was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial
Stadium. Today, it's commonly known simply as RFK.
When the second incarnation of the Senators pulled up stakes and headed for Arlington Texas in 1972, the NFL's
Redskins became the stadium's only major tenant. And after the Redskins moved into FedEx Field after the 1996
season, RFK Stadium's future seemed less certain. But baseball was popular at RFK even after the Senators moved
out. RFK Stadium hosted 16 exhibition games involving Major League teams since 1972. A portion of the proceeds
from most of the games was donated to various charities. Attendance at the 16 contests averaged more than
27,600 per game. The popular Cracker-Jack Old-Timers Game was also held at RFK. Strangely enough, the last
exhibition game held in the stadium in 1999 featured, you guessed it: the Montreal Expos.
Since 2001, MLB had been studying the idea of relocating the troubled Montreal Expos franchise. Several cities
were studied including Portland, Las Vegas and northern Virginia. Then, finaly, on September 29, 2004, Major
League Baseball announced that the troubled Montreal Expos franchise would be transfered to Washington D.C. in
time for the 2005 season. The club, renamed the Washington Nationals, was announced would spend its first
three seasons playing at RFK Stadium.
-- ------------------------ --
Notes, Facts and Features
Stadium Capacity by Configuration:
Concert Performances - 52,000
Soccer/Football Games - 56,000
Baseball games - 45,000
Maximum Seating Capacity: 56,692
Scaled Down House - 16,900
RFK has been the home turf for pro sports, college athletics, and high school games. Music fans have been thrilled
by performances under the stars including: Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Elton John, and the
Grateful Dead, just to name a few.
There are 35 fast food stands strategically located throughout the Stadium that offer a variety of informal fare.
The Sports Lounge provides air-conditioned comfort and TV screens for staying in touch with the action. Other
spaces for gathering include the Blue Room and the Rose Room, and these may be reserved singularly or in
combination for seated dinners of 250 or stand up receptions for as many as 500 guests.
Memorable games/moments at RFK Stadium:
April 7, 1969: At RFK Stadium, 45,000 fans, including President Richard Nixon, look on as Ted Williams makes his
managerial debut for the Senators. The Yanks spoil it, winning 8–4, pinning the loss on Camilo Pascual, and
routing him in the third inning with back-to-back homers by Jerry Kenney and Bobby Murcer.
After trailing the Cowboys 24-6 halfway through the third quarter on November 28, 1965 quarterback Sonny
Jurgensen leads the team to 21 fourth quarter points and a 34-31 comeback victory.
The Redskins beat the New York Giants 72-41 on November 27, 1966. The 113 combined points are the most ever
scored in an NFL game.
On December 31, 1972 the Redskins defeat the Cowboys 26-3 in the NFC Championship game to earn a trip to
Super Bowl VII.
In a Monday Night Football game on October 8, 1973 Redskins safety Ken Houston stops Cowboys' receiver Walt
Garrison at the goal line as time expired to secure a win.
December 17, 1977 - the Redskins defeat the Los Angeles Rams 17-14 in what would be head coach George Allen's
final game with the team.
October 25, 1981 - the Redskins narrowly beat the New England Patriots 24-22 to earn head coach Joe Gibbs his
first win at RFK Stadium.
January 22, 1983 - a capacity crowd chant "We Want Dallas" taunting the hated Cowboys and making the stadium
shake (as it had the week before in a win vs. the Vikings), in the NFC Championship game. The Redskins go on to
defeat the Cowboys 31-17 to earn a trip to Super Bowl XVII where they beat the Miami Dolphins 27-17.
September 5, 1983 - Redskins' rookie cornerback Darrell Green chases down Cowboys' running back Tony Dorsett
from behind to prevent him from scoring. The Redskins go on to lose the game 31-30.
November 18, 1985 - Giants' linebacker Lawrence Taylor sacks Redskins' quarterback Joe Thiesmann breaking his
leg and ending his NFL career. Backup quarterback Jay Schroeder comes in and leads the Redskins to a 23-21
victory.
January 17, 1988 Cornerback Darrell Green knocks down a Wade Wilson pass at the goal line to clinch a victory
over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. The Redskins go on to defeat the Denver Broncos 41-10
in Super Bowl XXII.
January 4, 1992 - in pouring rain the Redskins beat the Atlanta Falcons 24-7 in the Divisional round of the playoffs.
As time wound down in the fourth quarter the fans showered the field yellow seat cushions given to them as a
free gift as they entered the stadium.
January 12, 1992 - the Redskins destroy the Detroit Lions 41-10 in the NFC Championship game earning a trip to
Super Bowl XXVI where they beat the Buffalo Bills 37-24.
December 13, 1992 - Redskins coach Joe Gibbs coaches what would be his last game at RFK Stadium. The Redskins
defeat the Cowboys 20-17.
-- ------------------------------------- --
Above: RFK is a great example of the use of the extended cantilever in stadium construction. Sightlines from the
upper deck are among the best in the major leagues thanks to engineering the deck suspended over, rather than
behind, the lower seating bowl. Remodeled (current) Yankee Stadium uses this engineering in it's upper deck
structure.
Below Left: Opened in 1961, D.C. Stadium was the very first of the "cookie-cutter", multi-purpose stadiums that
dominated the next decade of stadium design. It has also proven to be one of the most enduring. After Busch Stadium is scheduled to be demolished after the 2006 season, RFK and Shea Stadium will be the only 1961-71-era
"cookie-cutters" still left standing. Below Right: The Beatles third, and last, American tour stopped at D.C.
Stadium on August 15, 1966 in front of 32,164. Other venues played in that '66 tour included: Cleveland Stadium,
Olympia Stadium (Detroit), JFK Stadium (Philadelphia), Maple Leaf Gardens, Memphis - Mid South Coliseum, Crosley
Field, Busch, Shea and Dodger Stadiums, as well as their last live show: Candlestick Park on August 29th. The
Beatles first played in the District on February 11, 1964 at the Washington Coliseum, only two days after their
historic Ed Sullivan Theatre appearances in New York.
Radio: WWZZ 104.1 FM; WFED 1050 AM TV: None
In-park dining choices: Foggy Bottom Brew-pub, The
Diamond Box (Private), plus standard fare including
Italian sausage and chorizo. More to be added during the
season.
Two weeks ago, in the second inning of a game against the New York Mets, Washington Nationals third baseman
Vinny Castilla ripped a ball on a line toward the left-center field fence at RFK Stadium, took a couple of steps
toward first base, and flipped his bat. A veteran of 15 major league seasons who has hit 309 home runs, he knows
how to begin a home run trot.
"I crushed that ball," Castilla said. "There was no doubt."
-- ------------------------------------------ --
Errors in the Outfield Numbers Marking Home Run Distance at RFK Corrected
By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post - July 22, 2005
-- --------------------------------- --
Washington Nationals 2400 East Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-547-9077
-- ---------------------------------- --
Baseball's return to Washington DC, April 14, 2005. President Bush continues
a DC tradition in throwing out the first ball of the season home opener (above).
The Washington Hall of Stars was relocated from the mezzanine facade to the right field wall (below).
-- ---------------------------------- --
The ball traveled toward the fence, near a sign advertising an airline. It hit the top of the wall, left of a mark that
gave the distance from home plate: 380 feet. Suddenly, Castilla had to pick up his stride. It wasn't a home run. It
was a double.
Afterward, Castilla was incredulous.
"That mark is wrong," he said. "It's 395 feet -- at least."
Close. This week, two Post reporters measured the distance to the wall in the left-center field power alley at RFK
Stadium. Using a 300-foot tape measure and beginning at the tip of home plate, they measured out 300 feet,
marked the spot, and continued to the wall, right at the spot marked 380. The conclusion: 394 feet.
Club officials asked the reporters to stop before other measurements could be taken, but the team agreed to
bring in a surveyor who took measurements yesterday morning. The results confirmed what the players had
suspected -- the marks in the areas midway between the foul poles and center field were incorrect. According to
club officials, the actual distance -- measured with a laser -- to the mark that said "380" in left-center field was
394.74 feet; the actual distance to the "380" mark in right-center was 395 feet.
"It's been something that's been in people's minds," said Andy Dunn, the Nationals' vice president of ballpark
operations. "The dimensions were on pads that make up the outfield fence, but the pads with the 380-feet marks
were in the wrong locations."
Thus, prior to last night's game against the Houston Astros, club officials moved the "380" marks closer to the foul
lines, so they represent, accurately, the distance from home plate. The club contends that the surveyor found
measurements down the foul lines to be, essentially, accurate at 335 feet. The wall in center field, marked 410
feet, is actually 407.83 feet, Dunn said.
The debate about the fences has raged over the past few weeks in the Nationals' clubhouse, with players --
particularly Castilla and Jose Guillen, the right fielder -- openly suspicious that the fences were farther back than
they were marked. Whatever the markings, the statistical evidence supports the theory that RFK Stadium vastly
benefits pitchers over hitters.
"We thought that's how it would be," General Manager Jim Bowden said. "But we didn't know it would be like this."
In 46 games at RFK prior to last night, the Nationals and their opponents combined to hit 46 homers, an average of
exactly one per game, the lowest in baseball. The next lowest is Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium, which averages
one-third more homers per game; the highest rate is Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park, which serves up 3.13
homers per game.
Guillen has been vocal on the subject in recent weeks, and remained unconvinced by the surveyor's numbers.
"That's not right," Guillen said. "It's farther down the lines, and it's definitely farther in center field."
Though Guillen has said on several occasions that he would like to finish his career in Washington, he admits to
being frustrated by his home park. The numbers show why: He has 18 homers on the road, one at RFK Stadium.
"I know myself," Guillen said. "I know my power. You guys know if I'm in a different stadium, I have 28, maybe 30
home runs."
Nationals President Tony Tavares has attended every home game, and has watched what Guillen and his teammates
are seeing. In fact, Tavares and Bowden had a conversation during RFK's renovation over the winter, when the
Nationals were preparing to move from Montreal.
"I told Jim I could tweak it, slightly, to be a pitcher's park or a hitter's park," Tavares said.
"And I told him," Bowden said, "that to bring the fences in with our team I didn't think made any sense, because I
thought we're going to have to win with pitching and defense. We also had hitters who didn't have to hit home
runs to produce runs."
Dunn said that he believes the mismarked distances -- in the "alleys," as the gaps between the center fielder and
the left and right fielders are called -- were an "honest mistake."
"When I came to work here, I saw the dimensions, they told me what they were, and I didn't think, 'Well, I better
go measure them to make sure,' " Dunn said yesterday. "You just trust that they're accurate.
"But then I started reading this stuff, and I wanted to make sure myself. I wanted someone on our staff to walk it
off themselves."
So earlier this week, on the same day the Post reporters measured the field, Dunn walked off the distance
himself, using a rolling measuring device. He didn't have confidence in the results, "so I got every measuring tape I
could find." Finally, he decided to call Turner Construction, the contractor that installed the fences, to survey
the distances again.
Tavares said he has marked six balls hit by Guillen that he believes would have been home runs in any other park.
"And if we're doing a contract with Jose, and I'm still here, I'll say, 'Jose, those count as home runs,' " Tavares said.
"He can add them to his totals, and we'll negotiate from there. I know this isn't a hitter's ballpark."
Still, the topic has become one of the most prominent in the clubhouse. On Wednesday night, in a 3-2 loss to
Colorado, the Nationals hit at least three balls that players felt would have been out of any other park, including
one by new addition Preston Wilson, who came from Colorado, where homers traditionally come easily in the thin
air. Wilson said yesterday that his ball, hit to center in the ninth inning, "wasn't hit with everything I've got. It is
what it is."
But another player said, when Wilson arrived back at the dugout, he expressed his shock that the ball didn't travel
out of the park.
"Those balls are gone," rookie outfielder Ryan Church said. "Any other place, they're gone. It's stupid. I'll just stick
to hitting doubles."
Manager Frank Robinson, who hit three home runs at RFK Stadium as a Baltimore Oriole, is concerned that the
mislabeled dimensions, and the park's size in general, could affect his team's mind-set.
"You have to know where you're playing," Robinson said. "We play here . We don't play in those other parks. Why
would you say, 'That would have been a home run in Cincinnati?' We're not in Cincinnati."
Bowden is adamant that the park, whatever the measurements, has helped the Nationals more than it has hurt
them. But he has watched his players become more and more frustrated, particularly as the team has struggled to
win in recent weeks.
"I understand from a personal perspective, but we're talking about a thing called 'team,' " Bowden said. "Personally,
of course we all want numbers. That's normal. I don't blame them. But we also want to win. And when you're
winning, it's not as big an issue as when you're losing. When you're losing, and you're not getting numbers, it's
frustrating."
