San Diego Padres History

The Padres franchise started out in the Pacific Coast League in 1936 and won the PCL title in 1937, behind an 18-year-old future Hall of Fame great, Ted Williams.

In 1968, San Diego was awarded a National League franchise during the owners in Chicago. The original owner was C. Arnholt Smith, a prominent businessman and former owner of the PCL Padres. The Padres named Preston Gomez as their first manager.

In 1969, the Padres made their major league debut on April 8, with a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros in front of 23,370 fans at San Diego Stadium. The Padres finished their first season with a 52-110, the worst record in franchise history. Nate Colbert led the team in home runs with 24.

In 1970, Colbert led the team in home runs again with 38. During the season, the only no-hit game in San Diego Stadium history was thrown by the Pirates Dock Ellis on June 12 as he blanked the Padres, 2-0. The Padres finished the season with a 63-99 record.

Before the 1974 season, the Padres were on the verge of being sold to Joseph Danzansky, who had plans to move the franchise to Washington, DC, for the 1974 season. But C. Arnholt Smith changed his mind and sold the Padres to McDonalds co-founder Ray Kroc, who dismissed the plan to move to Washington and kept the Padres in San Diego.

Colbert left the Padres in 1974 and is the Padres all-time leader in home runs, but San Diego signed Dave Winfield from the University of Minnesota in 1973 to fill Colbert’s shoes. In 1975, Randy Jones became the first Padre to win 20 games going 20-12 as the Padres finished in fourth place with a 71-91 record. Jones won 22 in 1976, winning the CY Young, another franchise first.

The 1978 season brought hope to baseball fans in San Diego thanks to the arrival of a young shortstop named Ozzie Smith, who amazed the baseball world with his acrobatic style of play. The Padres hosted the All-Star Game that summer. Winfield and pitcher Rollie Fingers represented the Padres at the game. Future Hall of Fame player Gaylord Perry won the Padres second Cy Young Award with a record of 21-6 and an ERA of 2.73. San Diego finished the season with a record 84-78, the first time in the franchise history the Padres finished the season over .500 under manager Roger Craig.

In 1980, the Padres became the first NL club with three 50 stolen base men (Ozzie Smith; 57, Gene Richards; 61, Jerry Mumphrey; 52), as they led the majors with 239. In 1981, Dick Williams was named manager replacing Frank Howard.

In 1982, Tony Gwynn made his major league debut on July 19, collecting two hits against the Phillies. The Padres also signed free agent Steve Garvey.

In 1984, the Padres finished the season with a record of 92-70 and won the NL West Division for the first time in franchise history. The Padres were managed by Dick Williams and on the field they had an offense that featured veterans Steve Garvey, Gary Templeton, Craig Nettles, Alan Wiggins, and Tony Gwynn, who won the first of his eight National League batting championships that year. The Pitching staff included Eric Snow, Ed Whitson, Mark Thurmond, Tom Lollar, and Rich Goosage as their closer.

In the 1984 NLCS, Steve Garvey snapped a 5-5 tie with a 2-run home run in the ninth inning against the Cubs to send the series back to Chicago for a decisive game five. In game five, the Padres overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Cubs, winning San Diego’s first NL pennant. The Padres faced off against the powerful Detroit Tigers in the World Series, led by manager Sparky Anderson and the play of Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson. The Tigers would go on to win the World Series 4-1.

In 1985, the Padres sent seven players to the All-Star Game including manager Dick Williams. However, they would not make the postseason as they finished the season 83-79.

In 1987, catcher Benito Santiago hit in 34 games straight, earning him the NL Rookie of the Year. The next season, Roberto Alomar made his debut forming a double play combination with Gary Templeton. In 1989, pitcher Mark Davis won the Cy Young Award as the Padres finished the season 89-73.

During the 1990 season, Joan Croc wanted to sell the Padres, but she wanted to keep the team in San Diego, so she sold the franchise to television producer Tom Werner. After the ownership change, the Padres changed the colors of their uniform, losing the old brown, and replacing it with navy blue. In 1992, the Padres line up was known as the “Four Tops” which included Tony Gwynn, Fred McGriff, Gary Sheffield and Tony Fernandez. This line up wouldn’t last for long as McGriff would go to the Atlanta Braves, Fernandez went to the New York Mets, and unpopular at the time, Sheffield was traded for pitcher Trevor Hoffman.

In 1993, Randy Smith was named Vice President/Baseball Operations and General Manger. At 29, Smith became the youngest GM in the history of major league baseball.

In 1994, Jim Riggleman was replaced by Bruce Bochy as manager. Tony Gwynn won his fifth NL batting title with a club record .394 average, the highest since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. After the season, Tom Werner sold the franchise to John Moores and Lary Luccino.

In 1995, the Padres were the most improved team in the NL, finishing with a. 486 winning percentage (70-74), an increase of .084 from their .402 percentage (47-70) in 1994. Tony Gwynn won his sixth batting title with a .368 average. The Padres also tied a NL record with nine runs in the tenth inning in a 13-5 victory at Philadelphia on May 28.

In 1996, the Padres finished the season 91-71, winning the NL West. The ’96 team featured Tony Gwynn, who won his seventh batting title, Ken Caminiti, who won the NL MVP, Ricky Henderson, pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, Wally Joyner and Steve Finley. The Padres would lose to the St.Louis Cardinals in the NLDS 3-0.

In 1998, the Padres had their best record in franchise history going 98-64, winning the NL West. Managed by Bruce Bochy and aided by Tony Gwynn, Ken Caminiti, Wally Joyner, Steve Finley, Greg Vaugn and pitchers Kevin Brown and Trevor Hoffman, the Padres beat the Houston Astros in the NLDS 3-1, and defeated the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS 4-2. In the World Series, the Padres faced off against the Powerful New York Yankees, who won a record 114 games. The Padres where no match for the Yankees and lost the series 4-0.

In 1999, the Padres finished off the season 74-88. San Diego topped 2.5 million in home attendance for the second consecutive season and celebrated the greatest individual milestone in franchise history when Tony Gwynn collected his 3,000th career hit on August 6 in Montreal.

In 2000, the Padres went 76-86. Team MVP Phil Nevin becomes the third Padre in club history to lead the team in batting (.303), home runs (31) and RBI (107) in a single season. Despite playing only 36 games due to injuries, Tony Gwynn batted .323, setting a NL record with his 18th straight .300 season. With 43 saves, Trevor Hoffman tied a Major League record with his third straight 40-save season and his sixth consecutive 30-save season.

In 2001, the 79-83 Padres enjoyed a milestone year. In Tony Gwynn’s final season, Dave Winfield was inducted into the Hall of Fame and Trevor Hoffman collected his 300th save and Bruce Bochy earned his 500th win as a manager.

In 2002, the Padres finished the season 66-96. Trevor Hoffman set a Major League- record eighth straight year with 30-plus saves and notched his 350th save as a Padre, the most by a big league closer with one team. On the first day of Spring Training, Padre Mike Darr was killed in an auto accident, prompting San Diego to wear a black patch with the number 26 on their jerseys for the rest of the season.

In 2003, the Padres said goodbye to their home of 35 years, when they moved from San Diego/Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium to the newly built PETCO Park. The Padres finished the season with a 64-98 record. Closer Rod Beck joined Los Angeles’ Eric Gagne as the only relievers to post a perfect save percentage after going 20-for-20 in chances.

Driven by a 22-6 May, the best month in franchise history in 2005. Despite a rash of injuries, the Padres won the NL West Division with an 82-80 record. Led by Trevor Hoffman, Jake Peavy and outfielder Brian Giles, the club reached the postseason for the first time since 1998 but they were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS.

In 2006, the Padres won the NL West Division for the second consecutive season with an 88-74 record. Adrian Gonzales enjoyed a breakout season (.304 average, 24 home runs, and 82 RBI) in his first season in San Diego while pitcher Chris Young had the best road ERA (2.41) in the NL. In the postseason, the Padres were once again stopped by the Cardinals in the NLDS.

In 2007, the Padres season certainly didn’t end the way first-year manager Bud Black had intended, as the Padres missed out on a third consecutive trip to the postseason by the slimmest of margins. The Padres lost two ninth-inning leads in the season’s final three games that cost them their season. The Padres finished the season 89-74 thanks to the strong arm of pitcher Jake Peavy, anchored by Trevor Hoffman and the bats of Khalil Green, Adrian Gonzales, Milton Bradley and Kevin Kouzmanoff. It wasn’t enough as the Padres season fell short of their expectations.