Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

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. The stadium was also the home of the Washington Redskins, a team in the National Football League, from 1961 until 1996, when they moved to FedEx Field in suburban Maryland.

Related Topics:
Stadium - 1961 - Washington Senators - Major League Baseball - 1962 - 1971 - Arlington - Texas - Washington Redskins - National Football League - 1996 - FedEx Field - Maryland

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The stadium was renamed for slain presidential candidate Robert Kennedy in 1969.

Related Topics:
Presidential - Robert Kennedy - 1969

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Concerts featuring renowned rock bands and performers still take place at the stadium. It has also hosted soccer matches in the (men's) {{Wc|1994}} and 2003 Women's World Cup.

Related Topics:
Soccer - 2003 Women's World Cup

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The stadium now serves as the home of the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball and D.C. United of Major League Soccer. A complex conversion is necessary to switch the stadium seating from baseball to soccer 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. In 2005, this conversion will be done over 20 times.

Related Topics:
Washington Nationals - Major League Baseball - D.C. United - Major League Soccer - 2005

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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.

Related Topics:
New York Giants - October 1 - Dallas Cowboys - December 17 - December 22

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As a baseball park, RFK Stadium is unique in having only an upper deck across the outfield, atop a high wall. Burly slugger Frank Howard hit a number of tape-measure home runs in his career, a few of which landed in the center field area of that upper deck. 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 rain delay. Another memorable baseball moment occurred in a Cracker Jack Old Timers game in the early 1980s, when 75 year old Hall of Famer Luke Appling smacked a home run.

Related Topics:
Frank Howard - 1962 - All-Star Game - John F. Kennedy - Attorney General - Hall of Fame - Luke Appling

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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.

Related Topics:
Dodger Stadium - Fenway Park - Wrigley Field - Yankee Stadium

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