The Day the World Series Stopped

AL West, American League, National League, NL West, Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants / By

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Giants fan Jon Leonoudakis brought his VHS camcorder and his still camera to Game Three of the 1989 World Series hoping to capture baseball history. He got a bit more than he bargained for and has turned his experience, his photos, and his footage into a documentary currently available on Amazon. 

Jon has spent his entire career in the film industry and gave me a preview of the film. Watch the trailer here. 

“I made the film because I was at Candlestick Park that fateful day with my brother, Tim, and happened to have a VHS camcorder, my still camera, and tons of film to capture my first World Series featuring our hometown Giants.
About 30 minutes before first pitch, a 6.9 quake erupted–a knockdown pitch for the ages. It was pretty terrifying.“
“I stayed in the city at my parents’ house until the Series resumed, shooting more photos and video, and collecting newspapers. The game was finally played ten days later–the only time I’ve ever used a raincheck to go back to a canceled ballgame.”
JON: I shot this panorama from my seat about 5 minutes after the quake struck at 5:04 pm. As far as I know, my panorama shots are the only taken inside the stadium once the quake hit. This was long before iPhones, and you had to shoot a sequence of images and then stitch them together in Photoshop. Photo credit: Jon Leonoudakis/Evzone Media.
JON: The police ring the field as Walt Weiss of the A’s is interviewed behind them in left field. Notice how fans in the upper deck got the heck out of there. Photo Credit: Jon Leonoudakis/Evzone Media
JON: A drunken fan with a chunk of the stadium that fell during the earthquake. I think he said it was from section 51, which is upper deck about right center field. Photo Credit: Jon Leonoudakis/Evzone Media

Jon armed with his VHS camcorder prior to Game Three. Photo Credit: Jon Leonoudakis/Evzone Media

About Jon: 

Jon Leonoudakis graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in  Communication Arts with an emphasis on Film and Video production and has worked in the industry for his entire career, doing work for MTV and Disney, among many others. 

He is also an active member of SABR and helps raise money to battle Alzheimer’s.  

His film, The Day the World Series Stopped, is available on Amazon. 

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