On April 16, 1960, Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium played host to its first game, between the Tacoma Giants and the Portland Beavers. Though Tacoma’s new ball club, which had moved from Phoenix over the winter, ultimately fell short in that contest, at least one significant first was recorded for the ballpark. Matty Alou smacked a two-run shot that would go down as the first home run in Cheney’s history. A Dominican who stood just 5’-9” feet tall and weighing just 160 pounds, Alou was never known for his power. He amassed just 31 career homers over 6,220 trips to the plate at the Major League level as one-third of San Francisco’s notorious Alou brothers outfield. Nevertheless, for that brief moment in history, he was the only man to ever send one over the outfield walls at the then brand-new Cheney Stadium.
Fifty-seven years… Read Full Story