The year 1969 was a turning point in Washington sports history. The Senators named
Ted Williams as manager. The
Washington Redskins hired
Vince Lombardi as Head Coach and he had brought a winning attitude to the nation's capital. In the same year, the nearby
University of Maryland had hired
Lefty Driesell to coach basketball. It marked a renaissance in sports interest in America's most transient of cities. The hiring of Ted Williams sparked at least increased curiosity in the team. Williams' fanatical approach to hitting helped improve the Senators offense considerably, and inspired the team to its one and only winning season during its 11-year stay in Washington. The Senators won 86 games, 21 more than in
1968, and improved from last place in the ten-team 1968 American League to one game out of third in the new
AL East division. For this remarkable turnaround, Williams was voted American League Manager of the Year. As a result, attendance at RFK Stadium improved to over 900,000, the highest attendance for the "new" Senators and, at the time, the highest in Washington's baseball history.
Season standings Record vs. opponents Opening Day starters throwing out the first pitch of the Senators' season in April 1969; manager
Ted Williams is at left; owner
Bob Short at right. • CF
Del Unser • RF
Ed Stroud • LF
Frank Howard • 1B
Mike Epstein • 3B
Ken McMullen • SS
Ed Brinkman • 2B
Tim Cullen • C
Paul Casanova • P
Camilo Pascual Notable transactions • June 5, 1969:
1969 Major League Baseball draft •
Dave Moates was drafted by the Senators in the 4th round. •
Dave Criscione was drafted by the Senators in the 5th round. • June 20, 1969:
Bill Denehy and cash was traded by the Senators to the
Cleveland Indians for
Lee Maye.
Roster ==Game log==