Candlestick Park

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Lore & Background

When the New York Giants arrived in San Francisco in 1958, they played at Seals Stadium until Candlestick Park opened on April 12, 1960. Then-Vice President Richard Nixon threw out the ceremonial first pitch for this modern stadium, which was the first built entirely of reinforced concrete. The site had been purchased from contractor Charles Harney, who sold it for a profit of over $2 million after originally buying it in 1952 for quarry development. Ground was broken in 1958 following a no-bid contract that sparked a grand jury investigation in 1958. After the Giants moved to Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in 2000, the 49ers remained as the sole professional tenant until 2013. The stadium hosted two All-Star Games, one in 1961 and another in 1984, and six postseason series for the Giants, including World Series appearances in 1962 and 1989. On October 17, 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck minutes before Game 3 of the World Series; despite prior safety upgrades, some injuries occurred inside the stadium and the upper deck concrete experienced cracking and spalling but no major collapse.

In Their Own Story

Football history at Candlestick Park is marked by legendary moments like "The Catch" in January 1982, when Dwight Clark caught a game-winning touchdown pass from Joe Montana to defeat the Dallas Cowboys and reach Super Bowl XVI. The stadium also witnessed "The Catch II" in 1998, where Steve Young found Terrell Owens for a late touchdown against the Packers, and "The Catch III" in 2011, when Alex Smith threw a winning pass to Vernon Davis against the Saints. The 49ers hosted eight NFC Championship games there, winning four (against the Cowboys twice, the Bears, and the Rams) and losing four. The final postseason game at the venue was the 2012 NFC Divisional Playoff, where the 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers 45–31. The stadium's surface saw changes too: it featured natural bluegrass for most of its life but switched to artificial turf from 1970 to 1978 before returning to grass in 1979. A "sliding pit" configuration was installed in 1971 to reduce dust in the breezy conditions.

Reader's Guide

Visitors to Candlestick Park had to prepare for extreme weather, as strong winds from San Francisco Bay often made games chilly and unpredictable. The stadium's unique oblong shape resulted from its dual use; a retractable grandstand along one sideline was designed to slide back for baseball but left permanently in place for football after the Giants departed in 1999, rendering some seats unusable for football matches. The final baseball game occurred on September 30, 1999, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won 9–4 with all nine starters recording a hit and Raúl Mondesí hitting the stadium's final home run. Musical legends also graced the stage: The Beatles played their last full public concert there on August 29, 1966, while Paul McCartney performed the final event in August 2014. Demolition finished in September 2015, with plans as of 2019 to redevelop the site into office space.

Did You Know?

• The Beatles played their last full public concert at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.
• The stadium's name may come from "candlestick birds" (long-billed curlews) that once populated the area, though the origin is disputed.
• A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck just minutes before Game 3 of the 1989 World Series; some injuries occurred inside the stadium and the upper deck concrete experienced cracking and spalling but no major collapse.
• The stadium hosted three plays known as "The Catch" (1982), "The Catch II" (1998), and "The Catch III" (2012) involving the 49ers.
• Paul McCartney performed the final event at the stadium in August 2014 before demolition was completed in September 2015.