Veterans Stadium

Lore & Background

The stadium's design was nearly circular, and was known as an octorad design, which attempted to facilitate both football and baseball. As was the case with other cities where this dual approach was used, the fundamentally different sizes and shapes of the playing fields made the stadium inadequate to the needs of either sport. As the stadium aged, its condition deteriorated. A hole in the wall allowed visiting teams' players to peep into the dressing room of the Eagles Cheerleaders.

So many mice infested the stadium that the security force employed cats as mousers. The final Eagles game played at Veterans Stadium was the Eagles' 27–10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 NFC Championship Game on January 19, 2003. The final game ever played at the stadium was the afternoon of September 28, 2003, a 5–2 Phillies loss to the Atlanta Braves. The last publicly broadcast words uttered at Veterans Stadium came from Harry Kalas, who helped open the facility on April 10, 1971, who paraphrased his trademark home run call: 'It's on a looooooong drive…IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!'

Reader's Guide

The stadium opened with a $3 million scoreboard complex that at the time was the most expensive ever installed. Prior to its opening, the stadium was blessed by Marine Corps chaplain veteran Francis 'Father Foxhole' Kelly. On September 26, 1971, the Philadelphia Eagles played their first game at Veterans Stadium, hosting the Dallas Cowboys in a game the Eagles lost 42–7. The first Eagles touchdown at the stadium, and the Eagles only points during the game, came from Al Nelson's then-record 102-yard return of a missed field goal by Mike Clark in the fourth quarter.

The Philadelphia Phillies played their first game at the stadium on April 10, 1971, beating the Montreal Expos, 4–1, before an audience of 55,352. The first ball was dropped by helicopter to Phillies back-up catcher Mike Ryan. Jim Bunning was the winning pitcher, and Bill Stoneman of the Expos took the loss. Entertainer Mike Douglas sang 'The Star-Spangled Banner' before the game.

The emcee for the opening ceremonies was Harry Kalas. Boots Day opened the game by grounding out to Bunning. Larry Bowa had the stadium's first hit, and Don Money hit the first home run in the stadium.