- 1969
- 1974
- 1984
- 2004
- 2009
-
San Diego Padres Team Formation
In 1969, the San Diego Padres joined the ranks of Major League Baseball as one of four new expansion teams, along with the Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals, the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots, now the Milwaukee Brewers. Their original owner was C. Arnholt Smith, a prominent San Diego businessman and former owner of the PCL Padres ... -
Ray Kroc Ownership
In 1974, Kroc decided to retire from being CEO of McDonald’s. While he was looking for new jobs, he decided to get back into baseball, his lifelong favorite sport, when he learned that the San Diego Padres were for sale. The team had been conditionally sold by founding owner C. Arnholt Smith to Washington grocery-chain owner Joseph Danzansky, who planned ... -
Joan Kroc Ownership
The 1984 season began with a shock: Ray Kroc died of heart disease on January 14. Ownership of the team passed to his third wife, Joan Kroc. The team would wear Ray’s initials, “RAK” on their jersey’s left sleeve during the entire season, as well as the 1985 and 1986 seasons. She tried to donate the team to the city ... -
PETCO Park Opens
PETCO Park is situated downtown near San Diego’s Gaslamp District, the main entrance located just two blocks from the downtown terminal of the San Diego Trolley light-rail system. With new amenities and a revitalization of the downtown neighborhood, fan interest renewed. Modeled after recent successes in the downtown ballpark building (such as San Francisco’s AT&T Park), and incorporating San Diego ... -
John Moores New Owner
Werner’s time as majority owner ended when John Moores acquired an 80% interest for $80 million on December 22, 1994. Werner retained a 10% share in the franchise until he sold it to Moores before the start of the 2007 season. In 2009, Moorad put together a group to buy the San Diego Padres from John Moores. Moorad and his ...
History of the Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball franchise based in San Diego, California. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the NL pennant twice: in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times. As of 2015, they have had 14 winning seasons in franchise history. The Padres and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the only Major League Baseball teams in California to originate from California; the Athletics are originally from Philadelphia (and moved to the state from Kansas City), and the Dodgers and Giants are originally from Brooklyn and New York City respectively. The Padres are the only major professional sports franchise to be located in San Diego, following the relocation of the Chargers to Los Angeles in 2017.
Established
1969
City
San Diego
League History
2000 – Present / Major League Baseball
1969 – 1999 / National League
Team History
1969 – Present / San Diego Padres
Nickname
Padres – When San Diego was awarded an expansion team in 1969, the club adopted the nickname of the city’s Pacific Coast League team, the Padres. The nickname, which is Spanish for father or priest, was a reference to San Diego’s status as the first Spanish Mission in California.
Championship
World Series 0
Stadium
2004 – Present / Petco Park
1998 – 2003 / Qualcomm Stadium
1980 – 1997 / Jack Murphy Stadium
1969 – 1980 / San Diego Stadium
Owner
2020 - Present / Peter Seidler
1994 – 2019 / John Moores
1990 – 1994 / Tom Werner
1984 – 1990 / Joan Kroc
1974 – 1984 / Ray Kroc
1969 – 1974 / C. Arnholt Smith
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
6 / Steve Garvey
19 / Tony Gwynn
31 / Dave Winfield
35 / Randy Jones
51 / Trevor Hoffman
42 / Jackie Robinson
– / Jerry Coleman
– / Ray Kroc
*Blue is this team’s history