Opening of the Veterans Stadium, April 10, 1971

Opening of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Super 8mm by Jack Weinstein

[@augustinecerronejr7968]

I was 14 in 1971 and all kids 14 & under got in for .50 cents and i went to many games that summer with my kid brother.❤️✌🏻🇺🇸🙏

[@jonboxleitner7354]

I remember going to my first game there in 1972 at age 7. It was so spectacular. Much better than on TV (pre-HDTV days). The colors of the seats, turf, uniforms and scoreboard were something to behold. And the outside walking up to it was the biggest thing I had ever seen. It was like a giant flying saucer. Unreal. My parents took me to see my idol Roberto Clemente play. I think it was his last game in Philly before getting his 3,000th hit, which would sadly be his last. Such a great memory. I also took my daughter there to see her first game a generation later. I miss The Vet.

[@ericbruno4883]

My dad took me to my first game there in 1977 against the Mets. Larry Christenson was the starting pitcher for the Phillies. He won 19 games that year. So fun.

[@smartluck100]

The view from the top reminds me of our seats to watch the great Karl Wallenda tight rope across the stadium

[@gophils234]

Thank you so much for the video! Brings back so many great memories of me and my dad sharing time down at the vet. With all due respect to those who criticize the vet, I grew up in the '70s that was state of the art at the time remember we also listened to disco music in the 70s. Connie Mack Stadium was falling apart at the time and you took your life in your own hands going to see a ball game. The opening of the vet was a start of major change for the Phillies they became relevant again not at first, but in just 5 years we were division champions. Say what you want about the vet but it's on that horrible brutal turf that Championship champagne was spilled on it. To any true Phillies fan October 21st 1980 the vet was a palace! Thanks again.

[@brianweinstein2962]

Connie Mack. Yep, I remember going on a group bus in which the driver had us put newspapers over out windows for things like rocks and such. For I couple of blocks as we approached the stadium, it sound like a war zone in the bus.

[@jamesphillips2961]

I'm 67 yers old, probably went to over 100 games there. Some clown in the comments called it "Majestic." It was a dump from the get-go and it was downhill from there. Worst playing surface in sports history.

[@michaelmchale9427]

My family had season tix from 76 until 94 .. Great memories as a kid

[@romelovesdan]

Perfect era to have those!

[@carlosavalos4567]

I was born on April 10, 1971. Curiosity made made me check if there were videos of what was happening that very day when I came into existence.

[@bunpeishiratori5849]

I wasn’t at the game, but I remember watching it on TV. I was going to say that my biggest memory was watching Mike Ryan catch a ball dropped from a helicopter before the game. And then you showed it! My dad said there was no way he was actually going to catch it, that it was too high and would be coming down too fast.

[@brianweinstein2962]

He did juggle it at first, but held on. I actually remember it, despite obviously being in the the video you see..

[@Rockhound6165]

0:53 If you look at the left you see the gold outline of the Liberty Bell that used to adorn center field. This was the Liberty Bell and not the one that used to sit at the top of the stadium that Greg Luzinski hit with a laser blast. Also, you can see Phil and Phillis as well. They are now at Storybook Land in Egg Harbor Twp, NJ.

[@ljlsrlk]

The greatest home field advantage ever! Opposing players feared the vet, and the roaches in the basement!

[@Biscuit1973]

Is there anyone reading these comments on this account? Because the first time I’ve been to the veterans Stadium with somewhere back in 1978 during the time when the Philadelphia Eagles played there and then the last time I’ve been to veterans Stadium was somewhere back in 1992 when the Phillies played there, and now this place is always going to be remembered in this KZbin video.

[@brianweinstein2962]

Thank you. I do read them. It may take me a while, as I have other channels, but yes.

[@stevefloccosmusicfromcosmi2603]

Amazing video

[@whobilly1]

I miss the Vet. "REAL" dimensions unlike the slow pitch softball field known as Citizens Bank Park. The infield sightlines were also a lot better. I was there with my Father that day. Cold chilly overcast afternoon.

[@masterwayne420]

CBP is significantly better than the Vet. REAL dimensions my ass there’s no such thing in baseball.😂

[@whobilly1]

@@masterwayne420 Because that 348 "Blast" to the right center "power alley" is legit? David Wells said it best. "This place is nice. They should play the Little League World Series here every year. John Smoltz- " I don't care what the dimensions say on the wall. They're wrong. This place is a joke"

[@mightya]

When asked to compare Connie Mack Stadium to Veterans Stadium, Richie Ashburn said it’s like comparing chicken shit to chicken salad. That’s appropriate when comparing the Vet to CBP.

[@charlessmith263]

It is razed now, but I have remembered televised events at the Stadium, although I never actually been to it, because I am a Chicagoan, not a Philadelphian. I remember the Army-Navy games, where the cannon fire was tradition. There was the "bling" of the 47th All-Star game in 1976, the Bicentennial All-Star game that had the pomp, the baseball action, the stadium fireworks, and no kitchen sink. It was also like a second "Comiskey Park" of sorts with some non-baseball entertainment, with a circus atmosphere of sorts for the fans, especially for the Philadelphia Phillies games (one type of entertainment was the explosive stunt on the field where a person sacrifices oneself in a box that blows up with dynamite but survives).

[@brianweinstein2962]

Interesting, I was born on the day they started the exploding board in Chicago. 4.12.60.

[@ldfreitas9437]

I saw the old Connie Mack/Shibe Park on the TV plenty of times in the 1960s. It was nothing, along with Forbes, Tiger, and others, that some $ couldn't have fixed up so they'd still exist today, like Wrigley and Fenway.

[@hwyfan]

Parking in the area of Connie Mack Stadium was a significant problem. Fans had to pay local residents to "watch" their cars.

[@ldfreitas9437]

@@hwyfan Were there trolleys or busses to go to the games? I go to Giants games taking the Muni when in SF at my girlfriend's. WE do not drive to games. Before I met her, I drove forty miles to Mountain View and took Caltrain the rest of the way to SF, and the RR station there is a two block walk to Oracle Park. Half the crowd at any Giants game got there using public transit. It's $50 to park and not much parking, on purpose. One can take busses, trolleys, trains, ferries from Oakland and the North Bay, that get you to the park.

[@mustang7603]

Very cool!!!

[@user-or3pz4mk7l]

As a kid i thought those plexiglass outfield fences were so cool - sign pirates fan

[@adzisme]

I for one loved the artificial turf infield

[@mrg8581]

Me too

[@LV-sc8fi]

Where is the Streaker?

[@NonStoppp3332]

I’m sure there are a lotta great memories but it really looks like a big box mall and parking lot. What were people thinking?

[@landonhernandez8529]

The vet looked better when they changed the seats lol

[@joshlight6892]

I agree, those blue seats actually made it look sharp. Those yellow and brown seats looked hideous.

[@marcomacias3960]

whats with the soldier with a cannon next to the scoreboard?

[@brianweinstein2962]

When a home run was hit, the cannon exploded.

[@dave929]

So this stadium wasn’t around too long by today’s standards. Thirty-two years per Wikipedia.

[@DowntownCanon]

Typical of the life cycle for these multi purpose stadiums. Atlanta, San Diego, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Cincinnati. Introduced in the late 60s/early 70s. Gone by the mid 2000s.

[@dave929]

@@DowntownCanon ‘State of the art’ back then is outdated by now.

[@mikehunt8997]

The new Philly ballparks are miles better than the Vet.

[@johnm8096]

I know I’m going out on a limb here, but did Eagle fans actually respect the new digs when it first opened or was it always savagery?

[@brianweinstein2962]

After Franklin Field, everything looked good in comparison.

[@fundude4566]

I wasn’t born yet but can anyone give me a reason why they thought the concept for these stadiums were good at the time?

[@robertmillikan600]

Cost cutting(multipurpose stadiums)

[@alonenjersey]

@@robertmillikan600 Correct. Forgive them Lord, for they know what they do.

[@ldfreitas9437]

It's too bad that only two stadium remain from before the time of donut stadiums. Of course, they are just about all gone, except for the Colisewer in Oakland, soon to have no pro teams left. And no city or county government should subsidize billionaire owners by spending one cent on new stadiums either.

[@patrickfurlong9169]

I disagree professional sports franchises are important community assets. Stadium's should be in part finance by the cities/states/counties that they reside in.

[@jameshoran8]

The Phillies spent 33 seasons there and only won one championship (1980). The Eagles spent 32 seasons there and didn't win any championships. That's a combined one for 65. There should have been a lot of applause when the place was imploded in 2004. Only the rats miss it as they no longer had a place to live.

[@rollingdudes8859]

Michael Irvin's career ended at the VET in 1999 when he was tackled into the turf and hit his head causing damage enough for him to retire!!!

[@DNSKansas]

@@rollingdudes8859 The Bears' Wendell Davis tore his patella tendons in both knees on that horrible turf in 1993. End of his career.

[@joshlight6892]

@@DNSKansas probably why the place was cursed in its final years.

[@joeytb3901]

What a dumpster the Vet

[@davidmedina2823]

Horrible concept, built for destruction

[@timcarroll490]

The Vet was very similar to Three Rivers Stadium. I'm a Buccos fan but we had a great rivalry with the Phillies and I liked the Phils players. Schmidt, Carlton, Maddox, McBride, Luzinski. Willie Stargell hit that historic Homer in the Vet in '71 which was marked with a yellow Stargell 🌟. I've been right by the Vet though since we'd go thru Philly to go to Wildwood NJ. I have been to Three Rivers many times. I miss seeing the Vet even on TV 📺. Same for Three Rivers. Just so many great memories. Thank you for sharing. It's beautiful footage. The Stadium looked so beautiful on opening day

[@phillyfitter4079]

I remember being there with my mom, I was 11. I remember Tim Mc Carver catching the ball drop from the helicopter. The video really brought me back to that day.

[@brianweinstein2962]

I was about the same age. Interesting. The catcher of the ball that day was actually Mike Ryan.

[@acork7601]

Majestic times, never to return

[@richarddambrosio3602]

This is awesome!!!

[@bocconom]

Is that the notorious 700 Level I see there? Why yes it is. Saw plenty of of Phillies games in the Vet and few Eagles games as well. A ton of memories. Thanks for the upload.

[@joshlight6892]

yes, before all the craziness when it was fresh and new.

[@frankpalancio8471]

Back in 71, this stadium must have felt like bein in an alien spaceship compared to Shibe park. Which cookie cutter stadium was built first?

[@privatepenguin3137]

Great footage (awful stadium) 😉 - Grew up in Boston...but made a road trip to The Vet in September 1989 to see The Rolling Stones. Great memories!

[@jabello]

Whenever I see clips of the old Vet, I always think of Kiteman.

[@philly1776]

All my South Jersey neighborhood friends age 12 - 14 used to have our parents drop us off at the High Speed Line in Haddon Heights or Haddonfield (memory going:) then we would go over the bridge and get on the subway and make our way to the stadium complex. Get seats in the 700 level (50 cents at the time if you were under 15 years old). About the 7th inning we would sneak down to the 200 or 300 level when we saw some seats opening up due to people leaving early. After the game back to the subway, transfer to the High Speed Line and then back over to South Jersey to be picked up by the parents. Can you imagine cutting a group of kids aged 12 - 14 loose like that today????......LOL

[@notskipbayless7918]

Yeah kids couldn’t be cut that lose today. 🤣 thankfully my parents let me run around. Just check in

[@masterwayne420]

yeah i can imagine that today, it literally still happens. 😂

[@Tacoman1967]

A stadium that was only really good for concerts.

[@billymatthews7346]

Watch several games from this brand new beautiful MLB stadium during the 1971 season on Braves ⚾️television 📺 remember Willie Montana’s hitting homerun for the Phillies, we only had our color set a year then, and can still remember how beautiful that park was! Thanks Billy

[@stevefloccosmusicfromcosmi2603]

Amazing video

[@davebuchanan1478]

Great video, Brian. Thanks for sharing it with us. The Vet, like all of the multipurpose carpeted concrete donuts that sprung up like weeds in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis and elsewhere, was a terrible place to watch baseball. You were so far from the field every player looked like a dot. I never saw a game at Three Rivers in Pittsburgh but I did see games at Riverfront Stadium in Cinncy and Busch Stadium in St. Louis and I had the same experience--great to be here, wish I could see the players. The only place that was worse than the Vet for baseball? The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Absolutely awful baseball venue. An atmosphere like a mausoleum, dark, that ridiculous plastic sheeting in rightfield covering the extra football seats. It was as if they thought "how can we make this place as ugly as possible?". Thank goodness all of these places have been demolished. The best thing to watch at the Vet was the video of it being blown up. Again, Brian, I do appreciate your video...and the Phillies did win a World Series there.

[@kaysguy]

I went to an All Star game at the Vet and thought the views were much better than at Three Rivers because the seats sloped up faster.

[@brianweinstein2962]

Thank you, Dave.

[@karlcondello3833]

Great memories, and to see how new and clean the stadium was. I walked into the stadium the next day after going to a Flyers Playoff game, and watched the last three innings

[@davidlafleche1142]

It sure didn't stay that way. The less the Government gets involved, the better.

[@ldfreitas9437]

@@davidlafleche1142 Government? You mean the government, state, local, or federal, that gets you clean water, roads to drive on, schools to attend, parks to enjoy, police and fire to protect? F off!

[@davidlafleche1142]

@@ldfreitas9437 Taxes keep going up while quality of service declines, especially in schools. We need a Monarchy. "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2, KJV). Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Establish the Kingdom in Jerusalem, and save the world from the tyranny of Democracy (Daniel 7:7, KJV)!

[@alonenjersey]

I paid a visit to The Vet in the summer of '97. The Phils hosted The Cards. I found it as unappealing as Riverfront and Three Rivers Stadiums.

[@JohnThomas-lq5qp]

All of the 4 bum phollies teams usually lost the first game in first home game in new stadium. BUMS ! 🏈🏀🏒⚾