Historical Note
In the early 1960s, local sportswriter Jack Murphy, the brother of New York Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy, began working to build support for a stadium for San Diego. Construction began in December 1965, after a $27 million bond was passed in November of that year to fund the project. When completed, the facility was named San Diego Stadium.
The San Diego Chargers played the first game in the new stadium, which had a capacity of approximately 50,000, on August 20, 1967. The pro-football team was the main tenant of the stadium until 1969, when Major League Baseball's National League expanded to add the San Diego Padres.
After Jack Murphy's passing in 1980, San Diego Stadium was renamed the San Diego-Jack Murphy Stadium or simply Jack Murphy Stadium. The facility went by that name until 1997, when it was renamed Qualcomm Stadium after the Qualcomm Corporation paid $18 million for naming rights. In order to continue honoring Murphy, the city named the stadium site Jack Murphy Field.
From the guide to the San Diego Stadium Construction Collection, 1965-1968, (Special Collections & University Archives: Finding Aid Database)
