First memories at camden yards (or memorial stadium)

[MDtransplant757]

Mom had the best nickname ever for todd frohwirth. Todd "can't frowirth s*&t"

[WillyM]

The first time I saw the Orioles in Baltimore was at Memorial Stadium, April 20, 1960.

They played the Washington Senators, who would move to Minnesota and become the Twins the next year. Harmon Killebrew was in the Senators' lineup and hit a home run in the game.

I remember thinking how remarkable it was that Memorial Stadium had no roof over the seating area, which I think made it unique among major league stadiums in the East at the time. I also remember auxiliary scoreboards mounted on the bleacher walls in left and right-center, out past the cyclone fence, with the message "Good Luck Orioles" across the top of each scoreboard.

Unfortunately, the Orioles' luck wasn't as good as it might have been. They took a 4-0 lead in the first inning and a 7-5 lead in the sixth but eventually fell one run short, as the Senators won, 8-7.

I was disappointed that my favorite ballplayer, shortstop Willy Miranda, was not in the Oriole lineup. His replacement, Ron Hansen, did his best to win me over, getting two hits in the game, including the RBI that gave the Orioles that 7-5 lead. The first baseman, Jim Gentile, was also a new name to me, and he also did his best, with a pair of two-run singles.

I remember my father asking me if I wanted to leave after the eighth inning, but I knew that Gene Woodling, Gus Triandos and Brooks Robinson were due to bat in the ninth, so I held out hopes that one of them might hit a long one and the Orioles could come back. But it didn't happen. They went down, 1-2-3.

Washington's winning pitcher (and I admit I had to look this up) was Tex Clevenger, who as far as I know is not related to current Oriole Steve Clevenger. The losing pitcher was Rip Coleman, who would appear in only four more games in his major league career.