Site map
Photos!
ALL-STAR GAMES: 1962, 1969
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: I saw a Redskins-Lions game in 1986, a Cardinals-Expos exhibition game in 1999, and six Nationals games in 2005, 2006, and 2007.
In 1957, the U.S. Congress authorized funding for construction of a new multi-use stadium in Washington. Construction did not begin until July 1960, however, by which time Calvin Griffith had already made up his mind to leave town. In 1961 the team formerly known as "Senators" moved west, and thus were born the Minnesota Twins. As a consolation prize, the Nation's Capital received a new baseball franchise in 1961, part of the American League expansion that also included the new Los Angeles Angels. The new Senators played in Griffith Stadium while the new stadium was hastily built. Only 15 months elapsed between the ground-breaking and the dedication in October 1961, and the Redskins played here before the Senators did.
Originally called "District of Columbia Stadium" (or just "D.C. Stadium"), this was the first of the boring doughnut-shaped "cloned" dual-use stadiums that spread like crabgrass during the 1960s and 1970s. RFK is among the smallest stadiums of this genre, which gives it a somewhat cozier feeling that greatly accentuated the noise level of Redskins games during their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. The fact that the movable section of the lower deck vibrates when you stomp on it greatly increased the already high noise level. One unique and curious aspect of the stadium that is immediately apparent as you drive by is that the roof rises and lowers like a floppy hat. That stems from RFK's unique solution to the fundamental baseball-vs.-football seating conundrum. As a compromise that slightly favored baseball, the front edge of the upper deck sections in foul territory were angled toward the infield, whereas the back sides remained aligned along a perfect circle, as they are in most other such stadiums. As a result, there are about 15 extra rows behind first and third base, at which points the stadium's roof is therefore significantly higher than elsewhere. Another rather unique aspect of RFK Stadium is the way the baseball-to-football conversion is carried out: The lower deck is swiveled around 80 degrees in a clockwise direction until the left edge stops in straightaway center field. (The only other stadium with that particular kind of reconfiguration scheme was Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.) Then additional seats were pushed forward to fill the gap behind the western end zone, i.e., behind where third base was. (See diagram.) One consequence of this is that the upper deck hangs out quite close to the northwest corner of the football gridiron.
Yet another unique aspect of RFK, which reflects its small diameter, is that there are no lower deck seats in the outfield, as the front edge of upper deck in center field is directly above the fence. Thus, if you're sitting up there, you will probably miss a few home runs and/or exciting plays in the outfield. The gap between the fence and the rear wall gradually increases toward the right and left field corners, where the bullpens are. The bullpens are mostly covered by the upper deck, but the one in right field gets more shade, so in the Nationals switched bullpens, moving from left field to right field. When the Senators played here, both bullpens were located behind the left field fence. The upper-deck overhang is enormous, especially behind home plate, where over 20 rows are in the shadows.
Most published sources indicate that the power alley dimensions were reduced slightly between 1962 and 1963, but I can find no photographic evidence of that. The big ground-level scoreboard in right field was apparently there from the very beginning. It was aligned with the end zone of the football gridiron, accounting for the straight section of fence on that side -- token asymmetry, perhaps. The outfield fence was originally aligned in such a way to create enough room for bullpens on either side of the field. There was a press box for football games in the top rows of the upper deck on the first base side, but it is now covered with posters of Nationals and D.C. United players.
RFK Stadium is located on the east-west axis that cuts through the center of The Mall, as if Pierre L'Enfant himself had planned it that way. This always made for telegenic aerial views from the blimps during Redskins games: RFK, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial further beyond. RFK is also close to the Stadium-Armory Metrorail stop and has plenty of parking. It lies between a middle-class residential neighborhood and the Anacostia River. The exterior of the stadium includes several wall sections made of polished granite. There is a rough-hewn metallic sculpture of Bobby Kennedy near the west entrance and some attractive landscaping. One of the aesthetic drawbacks of RFK stadium is that the lights were attached to the roof in a haphazard fashion, not in sync with the curved roof line. They actually hang below the apex of the roof behind first and third bases, as do the main scoreboard and some advertising billboards. Until the Nationals began playing there in 2005, there was a series of signs in front of the mezzanine level with the names of Washington sports heroes. This "Ring of Fame" included Walter Johnson, Roy Sievers, Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Sammy Baugh, Sonny Jurgenson, Joe Thiesman, Wes Unseld, and Sugar Ray Leonard. Now all those names are posted on the wall in back of the bullpen in right field.
CINEMA: RFK Stadium was featured in the classic movie Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), though only in a brief scene of a rained-out game, with the tarp being pulled over the diamond.
Hopes that this modern sports palace would ensure that baseball would remain in the Nation's Capital proved to be in vain. The riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King in April 1968 left a tragic stigma on Washington that alienated suburban patrons. It was the assassination of another public figure that year, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, that led to the renaming of the stadium in 1969. In spite of new manager Ted Williams' best efforts, the Senators never really were a pennant contender. In mid-1971 the franchise owner, Bob Short, who was dissatisfied with the stadium lease terms with the District of Columbia, accepted a can't-lose free-stadium deal from the city of Arlington, Texas and took his team west. Thus were born the Texas Rangers. After the Senators moved out, RFK Stadium hosted 16 Major League Baseball exhibition games over the years: two in 1972, one or two each year from 1987 through 1994, and two in 1999. Except for 1999, nearly all of those games were played with the stadium in the football configuration, and the distance to left field was only 260 feet! Otherwise, Our Nation's Capital was devoid of professional baseball for 33 long years, a monumental travesty that was finally rectified at the end of the 2004 season.
Of course, nearly everyone associates RFK Stadium with the Washington Redskins, who played there from 1961 until 1996. After the Senators left town, it became a football-only stadium, with semi-permament bleachers built on the east side. (That is the period depicted in the diagram above, which does not correspond to the 1960s-era baseball configuration.) Since 1997, the Redskins have played at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, aka Redskins Field, aka FedEx Field, located in beautiful downtown Landover, Maryland. When Major League Soccer was founded in 1996, the D.C. United team began playing in RFK Stadium. There have been some international soccer matches there as well, including the 1994 World Cup.
On September 29, 2004, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams announced that the Montreal Expos would move to Washington, and Commissioner Selig confirmed it the next day. After some hair-raising turns of events on the D.C. Council in November and December, the required new stadium bill was finally passed, thereby ensuring that the relocation would indeed take place. The "born again" Washington Nationals surprised everyone in their inaugural season, climbing to first place in June and holding that position for over six weeks. In late July 2005 it was discovered that the correct distance to 380-foot distance markers was actually about 395 feet, so the markers were moved about 40 feet toward the foul poles. Special arrangements had to be made to allow for sharing the field with the D.C. United soccer team: the pitcher's mound was built on a retractable platform that was lowered during soccer games, and grass sod was planted in the infield. The results of this awkward accommodation were mixed. Because attendance at soccer games seldom exceeds 20,000, the upper deck is normally closed, and the retractable seats that used to line the western end zone for Redskins games are no longer used, leaving a huge gap. For some unknown reason, the capacity rose from 45,250 to 46,382 in 2006. RFK's days are numbered, as construction of the Washington Nationals' new stadium nears completion.
SOURCES: Lowry (2006), Pastier (2006), USA Today / Fodor's (1996), Washington Post
FAN TIPS: Vincent Paterno, Rudi Riet
