The Giants arrived in San Francisco from New York with a future Hall of Famer in Willie Mays and the “Baby Bull,” Orlando Cepeda, who went on to win Rookie of the Year in 1958. In 1959, future Hall of Famer Willie McCovey made his big league debut and went on to become that season’s Rookie of the Year.
The Giants were poised for a great start in their new home. And on April 12, 1960, they played their first game at Candlestick Park.
Vice President Richard Nixon declared Candlestick “the finest ballpark in America,” but the players weren’t so sure. We take a look at how the Giant’s privately financed AT&T Park, built in 2000, was only the start of economic rebirth in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood.
The 1990s brought some tense moments for the franchise to the point that it appeared the Giants would be moving to Tampa, Florida. But the move was blocked by the National League owners and a team led by Larry Baer and Peter Magowan kept the team in San Francisco and paved the way for a new ballpark. More on that can be read in our March cover story.
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