April 10, 1971: Phillies inaugurate Veterans Stadium with win over Expos

The cold, blustery weather1 did not dampen the spirits of the 55,352 Philadelphia Phillies fans who packed Veterans Stadium on April 10, 1971. After many years of planning – and a full year of weather and construction delays2 – the new multi-purpose stadium in South Philadelphia was finally ready to host its first game.

The Phillies had played at Connie Mack Stadium since July 1938, sharing the field with the Philadelphia Athletics until the A’s moved to Kansas City in 1955. On October 1, 1970, three years after breaking ground on Veterans Stadium, the Phillies closed their run at the old ballpark with a win over the Montreal Expos before 31,822 fans.3

Fittingly, the same two clubs returned to inaugurate the new stadium the following spring. Phillies manager Frank Lucchesi, entering his second season at age 41, embraced the sense of renewal. “I just hope my dream comes true,” he said. “I was the last manager to win at the old park and I want to be the first manager to win at the new park.”4

The Phillies had opened the season with two losses to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road, and Luchessi picked veteran Jim Bunning to start their home debut. The 39-year-old right-hander, now in his second stint with Philadelphia, had first been acquired from the Detroit Tigers in December 1963, and famously pitched the first perfect game in Phillies history on Father’s Day 1964.5 Back in Philadelphia in 1970, he threw the first pitch in Veterans Stadium a season later.

The Expos had split two games with the New York Mets to start their third season as an expansion team. They were led by former Phillies manager Gene Mauch, who had guided Philadelphia from 1960 to June 1968 before taking the managerial reigns in Montreal for the Expos’ inaugural year. Mauch was immediately impressed by the Phillies’ new facility. “Certainly the finest of all the new parks – it incorporates the best points of other stadiums and has added a few new ones of its own,” he said.6

After Phillies backup catcher Mike Ryan caught the ceremonial first pitch – dropped by a helicopter circling overhead – the game began at 2:21 PM. Bunning quickly retired leadoff man Boots Day on a come-backer. Ron Hunt walked with one out and stole second an out later but was stranded when cleanup hitter Bob Bailey flied to center. 

Bill Stoneman, a mainstay of the Expos’ staff since their inaugural season and author of a no-hitter against the Phillies on April 17, 1969,7 started for Montreal. He surrendered a leadoff single to Larry Bowa.

The 25-year-old shortstop, entering his second full season, was amped for the moment. “I was keyed up today. Really keyed up,” Bowa said. “Before I left home I told [my wife] ‘It would sure be great to get the first hit at Veterans Stadium.’”8 Bowa stole second but, like Hunt, was stranded when Deron Johnson flied out to right.

From the second through the fifth innings, Bunning and Stoneman settled into a pitchers’ duel. Bunning allowed two singles in the top of the second but escaped when former Phillies shortstop Bobby Wine grounded into a double play. Only one Expos batter reached base over the next three innings – Wine on a walk in the fifth.

Stoneman was just as sharp, giving up just three singles and a walk over the same span. Rookie right fielder Roger Freed collected one of the singles and the walk. Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles after winning the 1970 Triple-A International League Most Valuable Player award, Freed had been brought in to spark the Phillies lineup.9 “We were last in the league in runs scored last season and we had to improve our offense,” Phillies General Manager John Quinn said of the trade.10

Montreal finally broke through in the top of the sixth with a pair of well-placed doubles. Hunt legged out the first two-bagger when his high fly landed just inside the right field foul line. Bunning fanned lefty-swinging Rusty Staub, but with two out and Hunt running at the crack of the bat, Bailey punched a soft liner into shallow right that scored Hunt. 

Philadelphia answered in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs and knocking Stoneman from the game. Leadoff batter Don Money, still seeking his first hit of the season, led off with a long home run into the left field seats. “It was a fastball inside, up around the letters,” Money said of his game-tying blast.11  

Twenty-three-year-old Willie Montañez, on the Phillies’ Opening Day roster after a September call-up in 1970, walked. Johnson singled to left and both advanced when left fielder Mack Jones bobbled the ball. Mauch then intentionally walked Johnny Briggs to load the bases for Freed, who grounded a single to left to score Montañez and give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.

Mauch summoned John O’Donoghue from the bullpen. Tim McCarver lifted a fly ball deep enough to center to score Johnson with the inning’s third run. Mike Marshall relieved O’Donoghue and pinch-hitter Tony Taylor grounded into a double play.

Bunning returned for the seventh, protecting a 3-1 lead. John Bateman led off with a single and pinch-hitter Jim Fairey hit a long drive to left. Briggs sprinted back and made a leaping catch just in front of the wall. “If he doesn’t make that catch, it could have changed the complexion of the game,” Lucchesi said of Briggs’ clutch play.12 Instead, Bunning escaped on a popup and groundout.

The Phillies added a run in the seventh off new reliever Claude Raymond. Bowa ripped a one-out triple into the right-center-field gap and scored on Money’s fly to center. Montañez and Johnson walked, prompting another pitching change, and Howie Reed retired Briggs on a grounder to short.

Bunning started the eighth but was pulled after allowing two of three batters to reach base. “I was getting a little stiff after that long inning,” Bunning said about the Phillies’ sixth. “I put some stuff on but I was stiffening up.”13 Joe Hoerner entered, walked Fairey to load the bases, then struck out Jones and Bateman to preserve the lead.

Reed pitched a scoreless eighth and Hoerner closed out Montreal in the ninth to secure the historic stadium-opening win for the Phillies, 4-1. Bunning earned the 220th win of his Hall of Fame career and the Phillies secured their first win of the season. 

Philadelphia finished 1971 in sixth place in the National League East Division with a 67-95 record, 30 games behind the eventual World Series champion Pirates. Montreal finished fifth in the NL East, five games ahead of Philadelphia.

Veterans Stadium served as the Phillies’ home park through the 2003 season. Over their 33 years there, the team recorded 1,415 victories, highlighted by winning their long-awaited first World Series title in 1980.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Thomas J. Brown Jr. and copy-edited by Keith Thursby.

Photo credit: Jim Bunning, Trading Card Database.

Sources

 In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for information including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI197104100.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1971/B04100PHI1971.htm

Notes

1 Temperatures were in the low 40’s with winds ranging from 20 to 34 miles per hour.

2 Francis M Lordan, “Ground Broken For $38 Million Sports Stadium,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 3, 1967: 1.

3 Ken Carrano, “October 1, 1970: Wrecking Ball for Connie Mack Stadium as Phillies Play Final Game,” https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-1-1970-wrecking-ball-for-connie-mack-stadium-as-phillies-play-final-game/. Accessed February 2026.

4 Frank Dolson, “Cold, Kinky, Practically Perfect,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 11, 1971: 3-2.

5 Paul E Doutrich, “June 21, 1964: Jim Bunning is Perfect on Father’s Day,” https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/june-21-1964-jim-bunning-is-perfect-on-fathers-day/. Accessed February 2026.

6 Jack Lapos, “’Wish Comes True,’ Phils Triumph 4-1,” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Morning Call, April 11, 1971: C1.

7 Adam Ulrey, “April 17, 1969: Expos’ Bill Stoneman Sets Record for Fastest No-Hitter by MLB Team,” https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/april-17-1969-expos-bill-stoneman-sets-record-for-fastest-no-hitter-by-mlb-team/. Accessed February 2026.

8 Dolson, “Cold, Kinky, Practically Perfect.”

9 Philadelphia traded Grant Jackson, Jim Hutto and Sam Parrilla to Baltimore in exchange for Freed.

10 “Phillies Get Roger Freed In 4-Player Deal,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 17, 1970: 36.

11 Allen Lewis, “55,352 Watch Phillies Win Stadium Opener, 4-1,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 11, 1971: 3-1.

12 Lewis.

13 Lewis.