September 28, 2003: The last event is held at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The game is no good: The Phillies lose to the Atlanta Braves, 5-2. Greg Maddux outpitched former Brave Kevin Millwood, who had pitched a no-hitter for the Phillies earlier in the year.
Then comes the closing ceremony, hosted by Phils broadcaster Harry Kalas. Every former Phillie who had accepted the invitation wore the uniform he wore at the time. Only Larry Christenson, who started the one and only game they ever played in the all-burgundy uniform, in 1979, wore that.
They closed with 3 big moments re-created: Steve Carlton’s 3,000th career strikeout, a Mike Schmidt home run, and Tug McGraw, battling cancer, pitching to Bob Boone (Aaron’s father) for the final out of the 1980 World Series. It served as a ceremonial "last ball," instead of a "first ball." Tug died before Citizens Bank Park opened the following April.
Veterans Stadium hosted 33 seasons of Phillies baseball, 32 seasons of Eagles football, 15 seasons of Temple University football, 3 seasons of Philadelphia Atoms soccer, 2 Major League Baseball All-Star Games, 9 World Series games, 2 NFC Championship Games, 22 Army-Navy games, a baseball World Championship with the 1980 Phillies, a USFL Championship with the 1984 Philadelphia Stars, and a North American Soccer League Championship with the 1973 Atoms.
The day also saw the San Diego Padres play their last game at Qualcomm Stadium – formerly San Diego Stadium (1967-1980) and Jack Murphy Stadium (1981-1997). They are no more successful in their finale than were the Phillies, losing 10-8 to the Colorado Rockies.
As is usually the case, team legends were brought back, wearing their contemporary uniforms. "Mr. Padre," Tony Gwynn, threw out the ceremonial last ball, to then-manager Bruce Bochy, a former catcher. The Padres moved into Petco Park the following April.
The NFL's Chargers continued to use the stadium until the 2016 season, and San Diego State played football there until 2019. The stadium was demolished, and SDSU's new home, Snapdragon Stadium, has opened on the site.
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September 28, 2003 was a Sunday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. David Wells was the winning pitcher. Alfonso Soriano hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 0-for-3.
* The New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins, 4-0 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Rookie sensation Dontrelle Willis pitched 3-hit shutout ball for 5 innings, and 3 relievers completed the 4-hit shutout.
* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Boston Red sox, 3-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-2 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Ken Griffey Jr. was injured, and did not play.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Tigers thus finished the season with a record of 43-119, the most losses in American League history, but avoided matching the 1962 Mets for the most losses since 1899.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-5 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
* The Anaheim Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 4-1 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12-3 at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 2-for-3.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-3 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
It was Sunday, so there were NFL games:
* The New York Jets lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 17-6 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.
* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens, 17-10 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
* The Washington Redskins beat the New England Patriots, 20-17 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Carolina Panthers beat their arch-rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, 23-3 at Ericsson Stadium (now Bank of America Stadium) in Charlotte.
* The Indianapolis Colts beat the New Orleans Saints, 55-21 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
* The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-20 at Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium) in Houston.
* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Buffalo Bills, 23-13 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Tennessee Titans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-13 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.
* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 21-14 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Minnesota Vikings beat the San Francisco 49ers, 35-7 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The St. Louis Rams beat the former St. Louis team, the Arizona Cardinals, 37-13 at the Edward Jones Dome (now the Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.
* The Denver Broncos beat the Detroit Lions, 20-16 at Invesco Field at Mile High (now Empower Field at Mile High) in Denver.
* The Oakland Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 34-31 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).
* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, 38-23 at the newly-opened new version of Soldier Field in Chicago.
* And the New York Giants, the Miami Dolphins, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers each had a bye week.
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