Mayor Bob Carr and The New Stadium

Mayor Bob Carr and The New Stadium. March 27, 1963. Tightly parked cars lined every side of Tinker Field as far as the eye could see. More than 5,600 fans had crowded in to dedicate the new stadium on March 27, 1963 as the hometown Minnesota Twins faced the World Champion New York Yankees. , , The modern, steel-constructed grandstands replaced the dilapidated 1923 wooden grandstands and now seated 5,000. The new ballpark reinvigorated Major League Baseball in Orlando and provided a new home for The City’s own Orlando Twins. , , In a pregame dedication ceremony, Twins Owner, Cal Griffith expressed gratitude to Orlando for providing his team with a new stadium and presented Mayor Bob Carr with a key to the grandstands at Tinker Field. Mayor Carr threw out the first pitch. , , Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Olivia, Roger Maris, among other Major League greats, were present for the festivities. R.F. Tinker and Joe Tinker, Jr., sons of the late Joe Tinker, for whom the field was named also attended as special guests. , , In 1962, the Twins had finished second in the American League behind the Yankees and the Spring exhibition game at Tinker Field represented a rematch with strong pitching and even better batting. Among the excitement, Harmon Killebrew hit a homerun, estimated at 450-feet, that was more than 30 feet in the air when it passed the fence. With the lead changing hands more than once, the Yankees edged the Twins 7-6.