I feel your pain! I remember one night we had upper deck box seats right behind the dish and ended up going down to the lower reserve sets down the right field line just to get out of the Arctic wind blast coming down over the hill behind the stadium.
I remember when they were talking about how much better AT&T would be weather wise and wouldn't believe it since they were only a mile or so apart until I was sitting in the cheap seats in the upper deck at AT&T wearing a T shirt during a night game, looking at candlestick and watching the fog boil over the hill and dump into the park. unbelievable.
I did see Willie Mays get his 3000th hit when I was 10 years old there before they closed it in, great day with my Pop, it was ball day as well.
I've got a buddy who knew somebody who had season tickets that he scored from time to time that were in Section 1, Row 1, seats 1 and 2, lower boxes. Awesome. I have a couple copies of the green sheet (sports section of the Chronicle) with me and my buddy standing up screaming behind Bonds (Pre-Roids ;) ) after he hit a Jack against the Rockies in the last year or so at the stick.
I remember the occasional gunshots that used to come from that hill behind Candlestick, along with the fog that used to roll down that hill.
As for that Veteran that threw out the first pitch, he could barely walk but he threw a heater for a strike and a far better pitch than Obama could ever throw.
And he threw it from the mound.
Not enclosing Candlestick until 1970 or so cost Willie Mays around 150 HR’s, along with his Military Service.
He lost a lot of HR’s to the Candlestick wind when the Stadium wasn’t enclosed for a majority of his career and his prime year (1953) in the Army.
By his own estimate, he says 150 HR’s and Mays is a modest guy.
660 = 150 = 810 HR’s, and that’s playing in the Polo Grounds and Candlestick Park - not exactly hitters parks.