Hut, hut, hike… nice catch Matthew.
Thanks Nate!
Woah Woah, what is happening, it’s an earthquake!
We better sit down guys…
Today is October 17, 2018; it is my brother Nathan’s birthday. Happy birthday Nate, if you remember my boxing video, where I was boxing at the age of 10 years old, Nate is the one filming and yelling at me the whole time during the boxing match. I am excited to see him he will be flying into town tomorrow evening for some brother bonding time as we get our “Nerd-on” and play some Dungeons and Dragons, a game I grew up playing with my older brothers. But this post is not about D&D; it is about a devastating earthquake that shook the Bay Area of California, just before game 3 of the World Series, where my San Francisco Giants were preparing to take on the Oakland A’s, in a packed Candlestick Park.
It was a beautiful fall late afternoon, in San Jose, California on October 17, 1989. It was my older brother Nate’s birthday. He turned 16 years old and I was 11 years old. My parents were away shopping for his birthday. Nate and my friend Eric and I were playing some street football. Also, I was excited for game 3 of the World Series, which would begin a little later that evening. My SF Giants would take on the Oakland A’s. Although the Giants were already down 2 games, I had faith they could pull it off. We began our little game of two-hand touch, with Nate being the QB. Not a whole of fun with just the three of us, but we managed. We were killing time, waiting for my parents to return from birthday shopping, and for the World Series to start. Life was good.
5:04 pm, the Loma Prieta Earthquake Hits
Hut, hut, hike… nice catch Matthew.
Thanks Nate!
I ran my route, and caught the ball, and then Eric quickly tagged me. We stood there in the street getting ready to play some more when all of a sudden the ground started shaking violently, kind of like a rolling motion. I had been in earthquakes before, but had never felt anything like this.
Woah Woah, what is happening, it’s an earthquake!
We better sit down guys…
Nathan wisely told us to sit down in the street, so we wouldn’t fall over. I was in awe as car alarms were going off down the street, I remember seeing my cat, Sox, running across the front yard of our house, no doubt in a panic. I remember seeing great waves of water flowing over the fence of the neighbors. Their fence was 6 feet tall, and their pool was fairly close to the fence. It was an above ground swimming pool. The street itself looked like an ocean of waves. It was crazy! Finally after what seemed like an eternity the shaking stopped.
Are you guys okay?
Yes, we think so.
Little by little people emerged from their houses and looked around. Some spoke to other neighbors, making sure they were okay. We went inside the house expecting to see lots of damage. There wasn’t a whole lot of damage to the house, a bunch of pots had fallen over out in the back yard, but nothing major. We found out the power was out. Eventually my parents returned home. They were in a computer store, when the earthquake hit. Several boxes had fallen on them, but they weren’t seriously injured. My Dad did get hit in the head with a box, but again, he was okay. We were without power for 2 days, I remember using candles and flashlights at nighttime, and we were unaware of the devastation that had happened miles away. Then we found out the news.
The Destruction
We finally got some news, and were horrified at what we heard. Two of the bridges in the Bay Area had collapsed killing several people. An upper portion of the Nimitz Freeway Bridge collapsed crushing and killing 42 people. A portion of the Bay Bridge also collapsed killing one person. There were a total of 63 deaths and 3,757 people injured. The estimated 6.9 earthquake caused between 5.6 and 6 Billion dollars worth of damage. But it could have been a lot worse. Because the World Series was going to be played that evening, traffic was a lot lighter on the freeways. People left work early to be at home for the game or they were actually at the stadium. It is believed that the World Series saved lives; there could have been so many more vehicles on the bridges that collapsed, during rush hour.
The World Series Continues
Finally after several days, the World Series continued, and the A’s would go on to sweep my Giants. It was a sad day for me, I wouldn’t get to see the Giants in another World Series until 2002, when the Anaheim Angels would come back to beat my Giants in a series that lasted all 7 games.
Almost 30 years later, I will always remember the day that earthquake shook the bay and the sports world. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones during that tragic event.
There you have it my Scorum Friends, I tried my best to write down what my 11-year-old self saw and witnessed on that fateful day.
Are you old enough to remember hearing about this event? If you have any memories of it, please share them down below.
Your Scorum Friend,
Matt aka @bayareasportsfan
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