San Diego Padres: The First Half Century captures some of the great players to wear a Padres uniform and takes baseball fans through some of the more memorable dates in Padres history. Not just dates that we always read about but the ones that truly tell the story of the franchise. If you're a longtime Padres fan or baseball fan, you'll enjoy the wonderful stories put together by SABR on the first 50 years of the Padres franchise. Includes a foreword by Randy Jones and an Afterword by Major Garrett. San Diego Padres: The First Half Century is the collaborative work of 51 members of the Society for American Baseball Research. It tells the stories of 25 Padres players-from Ashby to Winfield-several team executives and media members, the ballparks, and even a biography of The San Diego Chicken. You'll There are more than 25 accounts of standout games in franchise history and a few other features as well. "I'm proud to be in the Padres Hall of Fame and have my number, 35, retired but more proud of the friends I've made and people I've met with my association with the Padres. Reading these stories has certainly brought many of those memories and I can't thank SABR enough for writing them."-from the Foreword by Randy Jones PLAYERS Andy Ashby Steve Ferenchick Heath Bell by Geoff Young Andy Benes by Alan Cohen Ken Caminiti by Paul Doutrich Nate Colbert by Gregory H. Wolf Dave Dravecky by Wayne Strumpfer Steve Finley by Bill Parker Tim Flannery by Bob Webster Cito Gaston by Alfonso L Tusa Brian Giles by Mark Hodermarsky Tony Gwynn by Dan D'Addona Trevor Hoffman by Max Mannis Randy Jones by Alan Cohen Terry Kennedy by David E. Skelton Clay Kirby Charles F. Faber Ryan Klesko by Joel Rippel Craig Lefferts by Steve West Phil Nevin by Joel Rippel Jake Peavy by Gerard Kwilecki Gene Richards by Michael See Benito Santiago by Thomas J. Brown Jr .Eric Show by John Stahl Garry Templeton by Nick Waddell Will Venable by Jay Hurd Dave Winfield by Doug Skipper MANAGERS, EXECUTIVES, MEDIA Bud Black by Nick Waddell Bruce Bochy by Thomas J. Brown Jr. Bob Chandler by Tom Larwin Jerry Coleman by C. Paul Rogers IIIRay & Joan Kroc by Bob LeMoine Jack McKeon by Thomas J. Brown Jr. Eduardo Ortega by Jorge Iber Elten Schiller by Tom Larwin Kevin Towers by Mark Souder Dick Williams by Eric Aron SPRING TRAINING, STADIA, AND THE CHICKEN Spring Training in Yuma by Jim Patrick San Diego Stadium / Jack Murphy Stadium/ Qualcomm Stadium by Curt Smith Petco Park by Mike Madigan and Dave Nielsen Ted Giannoulas / The San Diego Chicken by Fred O. Rodgers NOTABLE GAMES April 8, 1969: Padres Win Inaugural Game by Gregory Funk July 21, 1970: Clay Kirby's Near No-Hitter June 18, 1972: Arlin One Strike Away from No-hitter August 1, 1972: Colbert's Record-Setting Day June 10, 1974: Padres Overcome Eighth-inning 8-0 Deficit to Win October 1, 1978: Gaylord Perry Gets 3,000th Career Strikeout and Ozzie Smith Performs his First Pregame Backflip July 19, 1982: Tony Gwynn's First Hit August 12, 1984: A Day at the Brawl Park October 6, 1984: Another Clutch Moment for Steve Garvey October 7, 1984: Padres Come from Behind Again to Claim 1984 NLCS October 10, 1984: Win One for the Friars October 1, 1989: Gwynn Edges Clark on Last Day for Batting Crown August 16, 1996: A Mexican Baseball Fiesta August 18, 1996: The End of La Primera Serie: Padres and Mets September 29, 1996: Padres Sweep Dodgers for NL West Title October 14, 1998: Hitchcock Leads Padres to the Fall Classic and more!