One last Opening Day

The Senators line up in 1971 before their final Opening Day in Washington

Right-hander Dick Bosman tosses a six-hit shutout as the Washington Senators beat the Oakland A’s 8-0 in their final Opening Day 54 years ago today in D.C.

The game also is the first with the Senators for center fielder Curt Flood, who sits out the 1970 season before being traded from Philadelphia, where he vows never to play, to Washington, where it turns out he barely plays at all.

Flood walks in his first two at-bats for the Senators and then singles on a bunt down the third-base line before a capacity crowd of 45,061 on a Monday afternoon at RFK Stadium.

Flood’s season, though, much like that of the Senators, quickly falls apart as the three-time National League All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner collects only six more hits in his next 34 at-bats before he abruptly leaves the team – and baseball – 20 days later.

The Senators eventually lose 96 games in 1971 before the team moves to Texas and becomes the Rangers.

Less than six months after starting their final home opener at RFK Stadium, Bosman also starts the Senators’ final game period in D.C. before the team leaves Washington without a team until the Montreal Expos relocate there after the 2004 season.