America's first
multipurpose stadium, originally named
DC Stadium, but renamed for
Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Still visibly designed for
baseball (the southeast end of the field has no stands, because it was up against the old right-field wall; a baseball
press box and dugouts are still visible on the west corner; the northeastern corner stands have a rather odd curvature, because they originally went around the left-field
foul pole), made legendary in
football, and now well into its third life as perhaps America's foremost primarily-
soccer stadium.
RFK is located at the corner of Independence Avenue and 22nd Street in southeast Washington, DC, one long block from the Stadium/Armory Metro stop. It was opened in October 1961, and occupied by the (second) Washington Senators (moving from Griffith Stadium for the 1962 American League season).
The Senators only stayed for 12 seasons, becoming the
Texas Rangers in 1974. The
NFL's
Washington Redskins really made the stadium famous, moving in in 1961 and staying for 36 seasons, moving to
Jack Kent Cooke Stadium/
FedEx Field in 1997. During this time, the Skins won three
Super Bowls and two additional
NFC championships, employing such legends as coaches
George Allen and
Joe Gibbs, an
offensive line known as
the Hogs,
quarterbacks
Joe Theismann and
Doug Williams,
running back John Riggins, and
cornerback Darrell Green.
Major League Soccer's DC United took up residence at RFK for MLS's inaugural 1996 season, and DC quickly took a dominant position in the league, winning three of the first four MLS Cups (1996, 1997, and 1999). Although DCU lost ground after original coach Bruce Arena left to become the US men's national team coach (bottoming out in 2000 with a dead last finish), it still has one of the largest and most dedicated fan followings in MLS, with two fan clubs, the Screaming Eagles (sec. 133 and 134) and the primarily Hispanic Barra Brava (sec. 135 and 136). The WUSA's Washington Freedom also called RFK home until the league folded. In 2005, baseball returned to RFK with the arrival of MLB's Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos).
Source for statistics and location: Google cached version of http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/rfksta.htm.