1966 Opening Day at Memorial Stadium

Lore & Background

The stadium was launched as Municipal Stadium in 1922, designed by Pleasants Pennington and Albert W. Lewis. It was primarily a football stadium with a horseshoe shape and an earthen-mound exterior. In July 1944, it was pressed into service as a baseball park by the Baltimore Orioles of the International League after their previous home, Oriole Park, was destroyed by fire. The reconstructed stadium was renamed Baltimore Memorial Stadium in honor of the city's dead from World War II. The lower deck reconstruction began in spring/early summer 1949, and the name 'Memorial Stadium' was officially adopted in 1950, before the major league Orioles arrived. The second deck construction began in summer 1953, and the expanded stadium was completed by the start of summer 1954.

Reader's Guide

The 1966 Opening Day at Memorial Stadium was on April 12, 1966. The Orioles defeated the Washington Senators 5-4 in 10 innings.

Did You Know?

• The 1922 version had a capacity of about 68,000 for football.
• The stadium was dubbed 'The World's Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum' due to devoted fans—a nickname famously linked to the Colts' era and their passionate supporters.
• The total cost of the multi-phase project that created the double-deck stadium was $6.5 million.