HIRAM BITHORN STADIUM

C4-004, P67646

Hiram Bithorn Stadium (Estadio Hiram Bithorn in Spanish) is a baseball stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, operated by the municipal government of the city of San Juan. Its name honors the first Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues, Hiram Bithorn, who first played with the Chicago Cubs in 1942. Built in 1962 under the mayoral administration of Felisa Rincón de Gautier, replacing Sixto Escobar Stadium the stadium was home to the Santurce Crabbers and the San Juan Senators of the Puerto Rico Baseball League.

The stadium hosted Major League Baseball's Opening Day Game in 2001, in which the Toronto Blue Jays faced the Texas Rangers in an American League match-up. The Montreal Expos played 22 "home" games in each season as a result of poor attendance at their home Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Prior to Major League Baseball's announcement of the Montreal Expos move to Washington, Puerto Rico and San Juan made an effort to lure the Expos franchise to the island territory permanently.

Unused 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" standard size chrome

Dist. by D. Ortiz