On this day, 1989: Loma Prieta quake hits before World Series game
On Oct. 17, 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay Area minutes before Game 3 of the World Series, HISTORY and the Society for American Baseball Research reported. Fans were already at Candlestick Park. The game was put off and finally played on Oct. 27, SABR reported.
On Oct. 17, 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area just before Game 3 of the World Series, HISTORY and the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) reported. The Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants, two Bay Area teams, were meeting in the Series, and fans were already at Candlestick Park for the game, HISTORY and SABR reported.
The quake hit at 5:04 p.m., according to HISTORY, the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Geological Survey. “Shortly after 5 o’clock on October 17, as pre-game ceremonies were being held at Candlestick, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit,” SABR's history of the Series says. TV viewers heard broadcaster Al Michaels say, “We’re having an earthquake!” as the picture faded out, SABR reported. The quake was centered near Loma Prieta peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 60 miles southeast of San Francisco, according to the USGS.
Candlestick Park held up, but other parts of the region did not, HISTORY reported. A section of the double-deck Cypress Street Viaduct in Oakland collapsed, killing 42 people, according to HISTORY and a USGS report on the quake's damage to highways. A section of roadway on the Bay Bridge also collapsed, according to the state survey. Fires broke out in San Francisco's Marina District, HISTORY reported. The quake killed 63 people and injured 3,757, according to the USGS and the California Geological Survey.
Many people who would normally have been commuting were at the ballpark or at home to watch the game, SABR reported. There was talk of moving the rest of the Series to the Oakland Coliseum, but it stayed at Candlestick after an inspection, SABR reported. Eleven days passed between Games 2 and 3, the longest break in World Series history, according to SABR. The Athletics won Game 3 on Oct. 27 and swept the Series the next night, SABR reported.
What we know: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the Bay Area at 5:04 p.m. on Oct. 17, 1989, as fans gathered for Game 3 of the World Series, and it killed 63 people.
What we don't: How many lives were spared because so many people were at the game or home watching instead of on the roads.
Where outlets agree HISTORY and the Society for American Baseball Research both date the Loma Prieta earthquake to Oct. 17, 1989, just before Game 3 of the World Series at Candlestick Park.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.