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Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

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Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, informally known as RFK Stadium, is a professional sports stadium that opened in the fall of 1961. Originally called D.C. Stadium, it served as home to the Washington Senators of Major League Baseball from the spring of 1962 through 1971, when the team moved to Arlington, Texas as Rangers, named after the state-wide law enforcers of that same name. It also served the Washington Redskins, a team in the National Football League, from 1961 until 1996, when they moved to FedExField in suburban Maryland. The stadium now serves as the home of the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball and D.C. United of Major League Soccer. Concerts featuring renowned rock bands and performers still take place at the stadium. It has also hosted soccer matches in the (men's) 1994 FIFA World Cup and 2003 Women's World Cup.

The stadium was renamed for slain U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Robert Francis Kennedy in 1969. Kennedy's Justice Department played a role in the integration of the Redskins, threatening not to let the team move into the federally-owned stadium until it promised to sign African American players.

A complex conversion is necessary, at a cost of $40,000 per switch, to move the stadium seating from the baseball to the soccer/football configuration and back again. This includes rolling the 3rd-base lower-level seats into the outfield along a buried rail, dropping the hydraulic pitcher's mound 3 feet into the ground, and laying sod over the infield dirt. RFK was the first major stadium designed specfically as a multisport facility for both football and baseball - subsequent facilities have been adjusted for this problem in order to be able to change its seating configuration much quicker and at a lower cost. In 2005, the conversion was made over 20 times.

Contents

History

RFK Stadium was, for 35 years, known as home to the Redskins, whose return to prominence as a football power began the same year the Senators left D.C. The Redskins' first game in RFK Stadium was a 24-21 loss to the New York Giants on October 1, 1961. The team's first win in the stadium was over its archrival, the Dallas Cowboys on December 17, 1961. The Redskins' last win at RFK Stadium was a 37-10 victory over the Cowboys on December 22, 1996 capping a disappointing 9-7 season.

As a baseball park, RFK Stadium is unique in having only an upper deck across the outfield, atop a high wall. The stadium hosted the first 1962 All-Star Game, which was attended by Robert Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy (in whose Administration Robert Kennedy served as Attorney General) and the 1969 All-Star Game, which was played in the daytime after a rainout the night before.

Another memorable baseball moment occurred in a Cracker Jack Old Timers game in 1982, when 75 year-old Hall of Famer Luke Appling hit a home run. Although he had a .310 lifetime batting average, Appling only hit 45 home runs in 20 seasons. However, because the stadium had not been fully reconfigured, it was just 260 feet to the left-field foul pole, far shorter than normal.

In its tenure as the Senators' home field, RFK Stadium was known as a hitter's park. Slugger Frank Howard, a six-foot-seven-inch, 255-pound left fielder, hit a number of tape-measure home runs in his career, a few of which landed in the center field area of the upper deck. The seats Howard hit with his home runs are painted white, rather than the yellow of the rest of the upper deck. Howard also hit the last home run in the park's original tenure, on September 30, 1971, when a fan riot with one out remaining turned a 7-5 Senators lead over the New York Yankees into a 9-0 forfeit loss.

In its reconfiguration for baseball for the 2005 season, RFK is now recognized as a park that favors pitchers. While Howard hit at least 44 home runs for three straight seasons (1968-70), the 2005 Nationals had only one hitter with more than 15 home runs, Jose Guillen with 24.

With its revival as a major league baseball facility, RFK Stadium now displaces Dodger Stadium as the fourth oldest major league ballpark, behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium. Its first baseball game was the day before Dodger Stadium's first game, and it was first opened for football the previous fall.

From 1993-1998, former rock radio station 99.1 WHFS held its annual HFStival rock concert here. In the spring of 1999 it was held at Baltimore's Raven's Stadium (then PSI Net Stadium). In the fall the HFStival Fall Edition returned. In 2000 it was once again held elsewhere at FedEx Field in Landover,MD. From 2001-2004 RFK was once again home to the HFStival.

Dimensions

The dimensions of the baseball field were 335 ft. down the foul lines, 380 ft. to the power alleys and 408 ft. to center field during the Senators time. The official distances when the Nationals arrived were identical, except for two additional feet to center field. It was discovered during mid-season that the fence had actually been put in place incorrectly, and it was closer to 400 ft. to the power alleys and 420 ft. to center field, making it significantly harder to hit home runs. The error could not be fixed until the 2006 season due to Major League Baseball's rules.

Public Transportation

RFK Stadium can be reached by the Washington Metro through the Stadium-Armory station, which opened in 1977.

Stadium Tenants

Current

Soccer

Baseball

Former

Football

NFL
USFL

Baseball

Soccer

WUSA
NASL
USA

New developments

On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball announced its intentions to move the Montreal Expos to Washington, D.C. and rename them the Washington Nationals. RFK Stadium has undergone a $13 million dollar renovation, and is planned to be used for a total of three years for the new baseball team, while a $611 million dollar state-of-the-art stadium is built on the north bank of the Anacostia River at South Capitol Street. Their first regular-season home game at RFK was April 14, 2005, vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On April 14, 2005, just before the Nationals' home opener, the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission announced an agreement with the Department of Defense under which the military would pay the city about $6 million for the right to place recruiting kiosks and signage in the stadium. In return, the stadium would be dubbed Armed Forces Field at RFK Stadium. This plan was dropped within days, however, after several prominent members of Congress questioned the use of public funds for a stadium sponsorship. Similar proposals to sell the naming rights to the National Guard, ProFunds (a Bethesda, MD investment company) and Sony have been proposed, but no agreement has been finalized.

Memorable games/moments at RFK Stadium

The D.C. United winning the East conference championship to go to the MLS Cup

Washington Hall of Stars

During the Redskins' tenure, a Washington Wall of Fame was displayed on the mezzanine, honoring D.C. sports greats from various sports. With the reconfiguration of the stadium, it was replaced by a series of banners over the center field and right field fences, and renamed the Washington Hall of Stars. There are 15 separate panels honoring 82 figures.

To the right of Panel 15 are four banners honoring D.C. United's MLS Cup wins: 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004. To the right of these banners is D.C. United's "Tradition of Excellence" banner, which as yet honors only John Harkes.

Food vendors inside the stadium

RFK is home to such eateries as:

External links


Preceded by:
Griffith Stadium
1961 		Home of the
Washington Senators
1962–1971 		Followed by:
Arlington Stadium
1972–1993


Preceded by:
Olympic Stadium
1977–2004 		Home of the
Washington Nationals
2005– 		Followed by:
current


Current ballparks in Major League Baseball
National League American League
AT&T Park | Busch Stadium | Chase Field | Citizens Bank Park | Coors Field | Dodger Stadium | Dolphin Stadium | Great American Ball Park | Miller Park | Minute Maid Park | PETCO Park | PNC Park | RFK Memorial Stadium | Shea Stadium | Turner Field | Wrigley Field Ameriquest Field | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Comerica Park | Fenway Park | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Jacobs Field | Kauffman Stadium | McAfee Coliseum | Oriole Park at Camden Yards | Rogers Centre | Safeco Field | Tropicana Field | U.S. Cellular Field | Yankee Stadium

Current Stadiums in Major League Soccer
Eastern Conference Western Conference
Arrowhead Stadium | Columbus Crew Stadium | Giants Stadium | Gillette Stadium | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Toyota Park The Home Depot Center | INVESCO Field | Pizza Hut Park | Rice-Eccles Stadium | Robertson Stadium

 

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