June 30, 1970: Riverfront Stadium Opens In Cincinnati

June 30, 1970: Riverfront Stadium opens in downtown Cincinnati. It is the 1st outdoor Major League Baseball stadium with artificial turf. Within days, it will host the All-Star Game. At the end of the season, it will host the 1st World Series game on artificial turf.

It was built on the site of a tenement building, where eventual "Singing Cowboy" Roy Rogers was born. He said, "I was born somewhere between second base and center field."

The Cincinnati Reds move in, after 58 years at Crosley Field, and 86 years at that site. The opener does not go well for the "Big Red Machine," as they lose to the Atlanta Braves, 8-2. Hank Aaron went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs, including the 1st home run in the new stadium, the 567th of his career. Rico Carty goes 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Orlando Cepeda has no RBIs, but goes 3-for-5.

For the Reds, Pete Rose goes 3-for-4 with an RBI. Johnny Bench goes 0-for-4. Pat Jarvis is the winning pitcher, while Jim McGlothlin is the losing pitcher.

Pregame ceremony before the 1st game

The defeat is an aberration: The Reds already led the National League Western Division by 9 1/2 games, and went on to win it by 14 1/2. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the Pennant, before losing the World Series to the Baltimore Orioles. This begins a run of 10 season in which they won 6 Division titles, 4 Pennants, and the 1975 and 1976 World Series.

They won another World Series in 1990, giving the stadium 5 World Series. It also hosted the All-Star Game in 1988. The NFL's Cincinnati Bengals played their 1st game there on September 20, beating the Oakland Raiders, 30-21. They hosted 6 Playoff games at Riverfront, including the AFC Championship Games for the 1981 and 1988 seasons.

Three Rivers Stadium opened in Pittsburgh, 16 days later, and 289 miles up the Ohio River. Given the similarities between the 2 -- same basic design, both had artificial turf, the city beyond couldn't be seen from inside -- Bob Wood, in his book Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks, telling of his 1985 trip to all 26 stadiums then in use in MLB, joked that a fan could be put to sleep in Riverfront, driven to Three Rivers, awakened there, and he wouldn't know he was in a different stadium until he got out onto the streets.

That joke wasn't completely true, but they were a lot alike. And, unlike the next MLB stadium to open, the similarly-designed Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, in April 1971, the NFL teams that occupied the stadiums were in the same Division -- although the MLB teams that did so wouldn't be until the 1994 realignment put the Reds (NL West) and the Pirates (NL East) in the same Division (NL Central).

Notable moments included the 1970 All-Star Game, when hometown hero Pete Rose crashed into catcher Ray Fosse to score the winning run for the National League, with President Richard Nixon in attendance; 1985, when Rose broke the all-time hits record, before being disgraced in a gambling scandal in 1989; and, tragically, the death on the field of umpire John McSherry on Opening Day 1996.

The University of Cincinnati played 25 games there, for games that were too big for their on-campus Nippert Stadium, which then seated only 28,000, and was home to the Bengals in their 1st 2 seasons, in the AFL, 1968 and 1969.

The 1st concert at Riverfront was by Jethro Tull on August 4, 1976. Among the other acts to play it were The Eagles in 1978, The Rolling Stones in 1989 and 1994, Paul McCartney in 1993, and 'N Sync with Sisqo and Pink as opening acts in 2000. The Kool Jazz Festival was an annual event.

The Reds' biggest crowd was 56,393, on October 16, 1975, for Game 5 of the World Series, a 6-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. The Bengals' biggest crowd was 60,284, on October 17, 1971, a 27-24 loss to their cross-State rivals, the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals' finale there would also be against the Browns, a 44-28 win before 59,972 on December 12, 1999.

In 1996, the stadium's name was changed to Cinergy Field, after the Cincinnati area's main energy company. After the 1999 season, portions of the left and center field seats were demolished, to make room for the Reds' new home, Great American Ball Park. This reduced the stadium's seating capacity to around 40,000, and, along with the replacement of the artificial turf with real grass, made the place look a bit like Shea Stadium in New York.

The last game that counted was played on September 22, 2002. at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The Reds lost, 4-3 to the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite a lineup that included Ken Griffey Jr. (630 career home runs), Adam Dunn (462 homers), José Guillén (214 homers) and Barry Larkin (2,340 hits including 198 homers), the last home run in the 33-year-old stadium was hit by Aaron Boone, now manager of the Yankees (who hit only 126 in his career, not counting the postseason, as Yankee Fans know).

A history museum, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, was built on the site.

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June 30, 1970 was a Tuesday. Future baseball star Mark Grudzielanek was born.

These other games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Les Cain outpitched Fritz Peterson, and hit a home run in his own cause. Al Kaline went 1-for-4 with 2 home runs. For the Yankees, Ron Woods went 3-for-4 with a solo home run.

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-6 at Shea Stadium. Jerry Koosman outpitched Bob Veale. Tommie Agee hit a home run for the Mets. For the Pirates, Roberto Clemente went 0-for-4, but Willie Stargell and Al Oliver hit home runs.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-1 at Jarry Park in Montreal.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dave McNally outpitched Steve Dunning. Boog Powell went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Jim "Catfish" Hunter outpitched Tommy John. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins, 8-5 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Rod Carew did not play.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium. Bob Gibson went the distance for the win, and hit a home run in his own cause. Lou Brock went 1-for-4. Billy Williams hit a home run for the Cubs, but Ernie Banks did not play.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Danny Coombs outpitched Gaylord Perry. Willie Mays went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.