Sporting the colors navy, sand and white and first known as the Washington Padres, the San Diego Padres got their start official start in the National League, West Division and Major League Baseball associations in 1969. With nicknames like The Pad Squad, The Pads, The Friars, My Padres and The Fathers, the official name was adopted in 1936 when the Pacific Coast League arrived in the city of San Diego. Additional historic recollection regarding the naming of the San Diego Padres dates back to the early 1930’s when the Spanish word for “fathers” was selected for the team in reference to the friars that founded the city of San Diego in 1769.
The Padres were one of four expansion teams to join the MLB in 1969. The others were the Seattle Pilots (Milwaukee Brewers), Montreal Expos and Kansas City Royals. San Diego businessman C. Arnholt Smith was the original owner of the Padres. The history books hold some dismal records from this era when the Padres ended up in dead last place for all six of the first seasons that they played in the National League West. At least four times, the Padres lost 100 games. On a positive note, Nate Colbert earned the distinctive recognition of being the Padres career leader for home runs; a record that was still in effect as of 2009.
During the 70’s, the notion was so strong that the Padres were going to be moved to Washington, D.C., that they even had new uniforms designed. Baseball cards were designed with Washington National League but Smith decided not to go with the sale at the last moment and the Padres stayed put in San Diego. Also during the 70’s, many recall the epic moment when the Padres new owner Ray Kroc said “I’ve never seen such stupid ball playing in my life”, to a crowd of fans and players over the loudspeaker at the first home game where Kroc was in attendance.
Stan Musial hit five home runs in a doubleheader as well as Colbert did during the 70’s. Dave Winfield stepped in when Colbert was traded to the Detroit Tigers in 1974. Winfield played seven seasons and scored 154 home runs, made 1,134 hits and had 626 runs. Winfield was also instrumental in helping the Padres up out of their slump under the expertise of new manager John McNamara. Randy Jones won 20 games during this era, earning recognition as the first Padres pitcher to do so.
With the 80’s in full swing, the Padres experienced the loss of Ray Kroc who died suddenly in January, 1984. The Padres work RAK on their left sleeve in honor of Kroc. Finishing 92-70 that same year, the Padres earned their first National League West championship pennant. They would earn another pennant in 1998. To their credit, the Padres have also won five West Division titles.
Petco Park is the home of the San Diego Padres and is located at 100 Park Boulevard in San Diego, California. Opened in April, 2004 the venue is jointly owned by the City of San Diego who has rights to 70% and the San Diego Padres who hold the remaining 30%. Both the Padres and the USA Sevens (IRB) are tenants of Petco Park. With a seating capacity of 42,445 and grass playing field, Petco Park cost 0 million to complete.
Exciting features that make Petco Park distinctive include the “Park at the Park” which offers cheap tickets and serves as a park to the local residents during non-game times. The San Diego skyline of downtown offers excellent sites for left field seats. Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo are crisply viewed just beyond the center field. A wealth of concession stands and state of the art HD monitors and TVs make a ball game at Petco Park the perfect afternoon event.
San Diego Padres tickets are as easy to get as a few mouse clicks when you choose Ticket America. PETCO Park has beautiful views and state of the art facilities with tickets affordable to virtually every budget.
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