Aa3rt
09-30-2007, 07:53 AM
36 years ago today the expansion Washington Senators played their last game at RFK in front of 14,460 paying customers.
As an 18 year old, I was away at my freshman year of college and unable to attend the farewell. That was probably a good thing, because as most folks know, with 2 outs in the top of the 9th inning, the "fans" stormed the field interrupting play, and eventually what looked like an almost certain 7-5 victory for the Senators turned into a 9-0 forfeit to the New York Yankees. :dismay:
The box score for the last Senators game:
Sep. 30, 1971 Yankees @ Senators (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=197109300WS2)
Joe Grzenda was the Washington pitcher on the mound, Horace Clarke was the next scheduled batter when the fans stopped play. I've posted this link before, but it's a great writeup, and worth the repeat for those of you who may not have seen it previously.
Joe Grzenda-The Ultimate Closer (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59629-2004Oct24.html)
In a happy postscript to the article, Joe Grzenda was in RFK to throw out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals in 2005 and the baseball in the article is now rightfully enshrined in the Baseball Hall Of Fame.
The 1971 Senators would finish 63-96 (including the forefeit) and would draw 655,156 patrons. After moving to Texas to resume play as the Texas Rangers in 1972, they would finish 54-100 and draw 662,974-an increase of 7,818 fans.
Ted Williams ended his managerial reign of the franchise after the 1972 season.
The Rangers wouldn't draw over 1 million until the 1974 season.
36 years later, I still miss the Senators. Sure, we have the Nationals now and I'm faithfully following them. However, the Nationals in the National League (and that detestable inter-league play) is no replacement for those matchups with the hated Yankees and the almost as dislkeable Orioles, as well as the other American League teams I followed as a youngster.
As an 18 year old, I was away at my freshman year of college and unable to attend the farewell. That was probably a good thing, because as most folks know, with 2 outs in the top of the 9th inning, the "fans" stormed the field interrupting play, and eventually what looked like an almost certain 7-5 victory for the Senators turned into a 9-0 forfeit to the New York Yankees. :dismay:
The box score for the last Senators game:
Sep. 30, 1971 Yankees @ Senators (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=197109300WS2)
Joe Grzenda was the Washington pitcher on the mound, Horace Clarke was the next scheduled batter when the fans stopped play. I've posted this link before, but it's a great writeup, and worth the repeat for those of you who may not have seen it previously.
Joe Grzenda-The Ultimate Closer (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59629-2004Oct24.html)
In a happy postscript to the article, Joe Grzenda was in RFK to throw out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals in 2005 and the baseball in the article is now rightfully enshrined in the Baseball Hall Of Fame.
The 1971 Senators would finish 63-96 (including the forefeit) and would draw 655,156 patrons. After moving to Texas to resume play as the Texas Rangers in 1972, they would finish 54-100 and draw 662,974-an increase of 7,818 fans.
Ted Williams ended his managerial reign of the franchise after the 1972 season.
The Rangers wouldn't draw over 1 million until the 1974 season.
36 years later, I still miss the Senators. Sure, we have the Nationals now and I'm faithfully following them. However, the Nationals in the National League (and that detestable inter-league play) is no replacement for those matchups with the hated Yankees and the almost as dislkeable Orioles, as well as the other American League teams I followed as a youngster.