At Sunday’s RFK Stadium baseball finale, some fans unfurled a long sign in the outfield that read vertically in three sections, “SHORT STILL STINKS.” Those of us who were around when the expansion Senators played their final game Sept. 30, 1971 recall a similar sign that night that read simply “SHORT STINKS.” There were other signs that night to be sure, but their messages can’t be repeated in a family newspaper.
The late, unlamented Senators’ owner Bob Short had insisted all during his tenure that in order to be a major league city, we had to support his ball club to the tune of a million admissions annually. Not every club in baseball routinely drew a million fans in those days; even some good ones like the Orioles struggled to reach that number at times. This morning, however, we can look at the baseball history and hold our heads up high — thanks to 3 seasons of the Nationals, Washington’s RFK Stadium has a 13-year average baseball attendance of 1,043,389. Take that, Bob, wherever you are.
Inasmuch as the expansion Senators never drew a million fans, and topped 700,000 only 3 times, it’s a genuine accomplishment for an obsolete ballpark with a second-division team.
Closer Chad Cordero hit the nail on the head last week when he said that without RFK, the Expos would’ve never moved to Washington. As a D.C. native, I remember well my first visit to what was then called District of Columbia Stadium. July 1, 1962, the new Senators hosted the old Senators, now the Minnesota Twins. Former local favorite Camilo Pascual shut out the home team 9-0, dropping Washington 22 games under .500 two weeks before the All-Star break.
That the Senators were chronic losers never really mattered to me. I always had a good time at the ballpark, sitting with my dad and listening to his take on the game. That first visit he remarked as we sat down, “Son, no one will ever hit a ball out of this place.” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out, but it was a point worth making nonetheless.
My dad and I went to dozens of games on East Capitol Street over the years. After one Sunday game we sat in traffic leaving the parking lot next to a limousine. The window rolled down and there was Hubert Humphrey, the Vice-President of the United States. He got my attention and asked me if I’d enjoyed the game. It was a short conversation, but made for interesting lunchtime discussion at school the next day.
My memories of RFK Stadium all revolve around family. My father was the greatest person I ever knew in my life, and much of what I know about the game came from him. That I’ve been able to duplicate those moments with my daughters, thanks to RFK and the Nationals, has meant more than I can possibly describe. I welcome the new Nationals Park, but those RFK flashbacks will be with me the rest of my life.
Hear Phil Wood Saturdays at 10 a.m. on SportsTalk 980 AM and weekly on Comcast SportsNet’s WPL through the WorldSeries.
