Sad Sam Lights the Fire at Candlestick — Giants Win Opener, 3–1
Jones Hurls Three‑Hitter; Cepeda Drives Home All Runs Before 42,269 in New Park’s Debut
By Staff Correspondent SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 — The Giants christened their gleaming new Candlestick Park yesterday with a victory as bright and bracing as the stiff winds that swept across the bay. Before a holiday crowd of 42,269, the largest ever to watch big‑league baseball in San Francisco, the Giants opened their new home and their new season by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals, 3–1, behind the magnificent right arm of Sam “Sad Sam” Jones and the booming bat of Orlando Cepeda.
Candlestick’s first afternoon of major‑league baseball was a spectacle of color, noise, and raw excitement. The wind whipped coats and scorecards, but the crowd hardly noticed. They had waited long for this day, and the Giants rewarded them with a performance worthy of the occasion.
Jones Dominates With Three‑Hit Masterpiece
Jones, dressed in wind‑tossed white and pitching with the loose‑limbed fury he calls “the broke‑arm job,” handcuffed the Cardinals on three hits, striking out three and walking only one. He retired 23 of 24 batters in one stretch, losing only Leon Wagner — and that only because Wagner found a pitch he wasn’t supposed to see twice.
In the fifth, Jones slipped a curveball into Wagner’s wheelhouse. Wagner crushed it foul over the right‑field fence. Jones, unconvinced, threw the same pitch again. Wagner crushed that one too — this time fair, well over 350 feet. It was the lone blemish on an otherwise flawless afternoon.
Jones’ dominance was so complete that when he punched a routine single to left in the fourth inning, the crowd rose in a spontaneous standing ovation, roaring as if he had hit one into McCovey Cove — had such a thing existed.
Cepeda Drives in All Three Runs
The Giants struck early against St. Louis starter Larry Jackson, who came out firing but was betrayed by an error on the first play of the game. After Don Blasingame reached on Alex Grammas’ miscue and Jimmy Davenport sacrificed him along, Willie Mays drew a walk. With two out, Orlando Cepeda stepped in.
The “Baby Bull” launched a towering drive into the teeth of the wind, a 410‑foot blast that center fielder Bill White chased in vain. The ball fell for a triple, scoring Blasingame and Mays and igniting the first great roar in Candlestick history.
In the third, Mays doubled off the 397‑foot sign in right, and Cepeda singled him home for the Giants’ third run — all they would need with Jones dealing.
Defense Sparkles on Both Sides
The Giants’ defense was airtight. Willie Kirkland made two running catches at the fence, Eddie Bressoud vacuumed everything at short, and Davenport was a wall at third. What Jones didn’t mow down, the gloves behind him devoured.
But the play of the day belonged to St. Louis’ Bill White. In the eighth, Cepeda smashed another rocket toward the 420‑foot mark. White sprinted back, caught the ball at full extension, and crashed face‑first into the screen. He lay stunned in the warning track dirt as the crowd gasped — then raised his glove to show he had held on. He refused to leave the game.
Jones Finishes the Job
With two out in the ninth, White singled, bringing Ken Boyer to the plate as the tying run. Jones, tiring, fell behind 3–0, then fired two straight strikes. Boyer lashed the next pitch into short right, but Kirkland raced in and made the catch, sealing the victory.
Jones tossed his glove skyward, grinned for the first time all afternoon, and disappeared into a mob of jubilant teammates.
A New Era Begins
The Giants’ third season in San Francisco began with a triumph that felt larger than a single win. Candlestick Park — gleaming, windswept, and unmistakably alive — had been christened with a victory worthy of its debut.
Today, Mike McCormick, 21‑year‑old left‑hander, takes the mound against St. Louis southpaw Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell as the Giants look to keep the flame burning at the Stick.
Courtesy of The San Francisco Chronicle April 13, 1960 via Newspapers.com