Veterans Stadium

Veteran's Stadium, or The Vet, in Philadelphia, PA, USA was a multi-purpose stadium until its demolition on March 21, 2004. The building was one of many so-called "cookie-cutter" parks, a design who's name derived from the symmetrical shape of the stadium. The Vet was home to both the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team and the Philadelphia Phillies MLB team during most of its 33 year existence, as well as host to several collegiate football and soccer games and several concerts. The 1976 and 1996 MLB All-Star games were held at The Vet, along with 17 annual Army-Navy football games from 1976-2001. The stadium was also host to a few notable
religious events: annual Jehovah's Witnesses conventions and a Billy Graham crusade in 1992.


The $50 million stadium was one of the most expensive stadiums of its time to be built.

In the first baseball game in The Vet, the Phillies defeated the Montreal Expos 4-1. Don Money hit the first home run of the stadium during its inaugural game. The final football game in the stadium was a game in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Eagles 27-10 for the NFC Championship.

On March 21, 2004, The Vet was imploded. The ground that once held the stadium is now a parking lot that serves the current sports complex. The stadium is commemorated by a historical marker where the stadium once stood, as well as granite spaces marking homeplate, the pitcher's mound, and the bases in baseball, and the placements for the goalposts in football.

The Vet had seven seating levels. The lower deck was comprised of levels 100, 200, and 300. Level 400 was for Press and dignitaries. Levels 500, 600, and 700 comprised the upper deck. The upper deck seats were exceptionally high, compared to other stadiums of its time, and the uppermost rows were so far from the field, it was difficult to see the action without binoculars. 700 level was where arguably the rowdiest crowd in East Coast sports was found. It was reputably the most dangerous area in any stadium, being an area known for harsh taunting, fighting, and public urination. When the football and baseball seasons overlapped, markings were clear on the field (the football field was easily seen during baseball games and the baseball diamond was easily seen during football games). All negative aspects aside, The Vet provided both the Eagles and the Phillies exceptional home field advantage, as the acoustics of the stadium greatly enhanced crowd noise on the field, making it difficult for players to communicate verbally.

The Vet had reputably the worst playing surface of all stadiums in both the NFL and MLB. Originally composed of AstroTurf, the surface contained many gaps and was very uneven. Seams were visible, giving The Vet's playing surface the nickname, "Field of Seams." The condition of the field provoked the NFLPA to threathen to sue the city for the poor conditions of the stadium. Many sports agents also refused to allow the Eagles or the Phillies to sign their clients. The condition of the field caused 2 notable injuries during football games. The first occured on October 10, 1993, when Wendell Davis caught his cleat in one of the seams while running a simple pass route. He tore both of his patella tendons, ending his career. The other occured exactly 6 years later, on October 10, 1999, when Michael Irvin landed on the hard surface and suffered a neck injury that ultimately took him out of the game of football. The city installed NexTurf, the upgrade from AstroTurf, in the stadium in 2001, which provided a softer surface. However, the installation was improper and there were still seams visible on the turf. Because of the softer nature of NexTurf, the cutouts that covered the dirt sliding pits around the bases would sag and create trenches, an unsafe condition that did not follow NFL guidelines. Asphalt was later used under the turf cutouts after the baseball season, calling for the use of a jackhammer when the field had to be reconfigured to baseball.

Stadium Capacity:
Baseball: 62,306
Football: 65,386

Stadium Dimensions:
Left Field: 330 Feet
Left-Center Field: 371 Feet
Center Field: 408 Feet
Right-Center Field: 371 Feet
Right Field: 330 Feet
Backstop: 54 Feet

Notable Events:
- On June 25, 1971, Willie Stargell, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit the longest home run in stadium history in a 14-4 Pirates win. The spot where the ball landed was marked with a yellow star with a black "S" inside a white circle until Stargell's 2001 death, when the white circle was painted black. The star remained until the stadium's 2004 demolition.

- Veterans Stadium was host to the latest-finishing game in baseball history, a twi-night double-header between the Phillies and the Padres that started on July 2, 1993 at 5:05 PM and ended at 4:40 AM the following morning. The two games were interrupted multiple times by rain showers. The Padres won the first game, and led in the second, but lost in a come-from-behind victory for the Phillies in the tenth inning on an RBI single by Phillies closing pitcher, Mitch Williams. The second game ended with an estimated 6,000 fans at the ballpark.

- A football game known as "The Body Bag Game," took place on November 12, 1990, when the Washington Redskins visited the stadium for a Monday Night Football game. The Eagles' head coach at that time, Buddy Ryan, was quoted as saying that the Redskins' offense would "have to be carted off in body bags." The Eagles' number-one defense scored three touchdowns in a 28–14 win and knocked nine Redskin players out of the game, including both of their quarterbacks. The Redskins were forced to finish the game using running back/returner Brian Mitchell (who would become an Eagles player over a decade later) at quarterback.

- The stadium hosted an August 2, 1991, exhibition soccer match between the U.S. National Team and English Professional Soccer Club Sheffield Wednesday. Wednesday featured John Harkes, the first American to play in the English Premier League. 44,261 fans saw the U.S. score two second-half goals to defeat Wednesday 2 to 0.