Saturday, December 31, 2022

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 1970'S (ish): THE PADRES PLAY THEIR FIRST GAME

On the blog today, a special 1970 "Highlight" card celebrating the San Diego Padres and their first Major League game on April 8th of 1969:


The Padres opened it all up with a 2-1 victory against the Houston Astros at San Diego Stadium, with starter Dick Selma going the full nine with only five hits allowed while striking out 12.
The Padres would actually win their first three games, though that wouldn't continue as they'd finish their inaugural season with a record of 52 and 110. Oof!
Nevertheless, the franchise is still around today, with a huge scare before the 1974 season when they were rumored to be moving to Washington D.C., giving us the 1974 Topps variations of "Washington N.L.".
The big stars of the initial team were slugger Nate Colbert and "Downtown" Ollie Brown, who both reached 20 homers, while their big winning pitchers were Joe Niekro and Al Santorini with eight wins apiece.
Some 53 years later and the team looks to be quite a force with players like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr, Xavier Boegarts and Manny Machado stacking a formidable line-up!