#Shortstops: There’s no plate like home
After 33 years, baseball made its way back to the nation’s capital. Returning to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 2005, baseball in D.C. would look toward redemption and success.
Hall of Fame Membership
There is no simpler, and more essential, way to demonstrate your support than to sign on as a Museum Member.
Be A Part of Something Greater
There are a few ways our supporters stay involved, from membership and mission support to golf and donor experiences. The greatest moments in baseball history can’t be preserved without your help. Join us today.
Serving as host to the Beatles, the 1994 World Cup and multiple renditions of Washington professional baseball, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium saw it all. Opening in 1961, it was the backbone for the capital’s baseball history. Although scheduled to be demolished at the end of 2023, RFK Stadium has stood through trials, triumphs and many iconic moments.
Before the Washington Nationals, D.C.’s current professional baseball team, there were multiple renditions of Washington baseball. From the Senators to the first iteration of the Nationals, there were many years of losing, so much so that D.C. lost their professional baseball franchise on two separate occasions. Prior to playing at RFK, the Washington Senators contested their home games at Griffith Stadium, playing their final game in 1960. The next year, the Senators would leave D.C for the Twin Cities to become the Minnesota Twins.
Despite the Senators’ departure, baseball in Washington would make an immediate comeback through Major League Baseball’s expansion, leading to the second coming of the Senators. The new franchise returned to Griffith Stadium for one season before moving to D.C. Stadium, which was renamed RFK Stadium in 1969. Following the 1971 season, the Senators would leave once again, this time to Arlington, Texas, to become the Texas Rangers.
Fans in D.C. were left without a team for the second time. Following the formation of the Rangers, it would be another 33 years before baseball returned to RFK Stadium. Even while baseball was still being played in Washington, the teams rarely lived up to the public’s expectations.
“Washington: First in war, first in peace and last in the American League,” penned sportswriter Charley Dryden, poking fun at the caliber of play in the district.
The product on the field may not have been the best, but fans still supported baseball in the nation’s capital. This architectural model of RFK Stadium was included in a plan to lure a professional ballclub back to D.C., hoping the multipurpose stadium would better fit the needs of a major league team. The renovations were not made, but the Montreal Expos ended up relocating to RFK after the 2004 season to become the present-day Washington Nationals.
The Nationals first home win in 33 years came on April 14, 2005, rekindling a fire into the city. Washingtonians had something to cheer for, and a professional baseball team was here to stay. Before the game, President George W. Bush continued a tradition of American Presidents throwing the first pitch at a Washington baseball game. A crowd of more than 45,000 fans was delighted to see players back in D.C. Baseball had made its way home to Washington.
RFK Stadium hosted the current Washington Nationals from 2005 through the end of the 2007 season before the club moved into Nationals Park. “The stands rocked, the fans roared, the legacy remains,” is the theme for the RFK demolition project set to conclude in 2023.
The atmosphere many witnessed at RFK was replicated at Nationals Park during the 2019 postseason, as the Nats won their first ever World Series Championship over the Houston Astros. Baseball taught the fans in D.C. that there truly is no better plate than home.
Sebastian Cognetti was a 2023 membership and development intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development
Related Stories
#GoingDeep: Carlos Paula, the man who integrated the Washington Senators
Huge contract lures Williams to job as Senators’ manager
Story of incredible Nationals season told in Autumn Glory
#Shortstops: Goats on the Road
#Shortstops: Hank Aaron’s influence
Related Stories
#GoingDeep: Carlos Paula, the man who integrated the Washington Senators
Huge contract lures Williams to job as Senators’ manager
Story of incredible Nationals season told in Autumn Glory
#Shortstops: Goats on the Road