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It's the 50th anniversary of The Beatles playing their final concert at Candlestick Park

Candlestick Park wasn't a very good stadium, but it did have the Beatles playing an energetic farewell. Also, Will Clark singling off Mitch Williams.

Madison Bumgarner and Hunter Pence in spring training, reflecting on what the Beatles meant to them
Madison Bumgarner and Hunter Pence in spring training, reflecting on what the Beatles meant to them
Getty Images/Getty Images

Five decades ago, the greatest band in rock history played their last show at one of the worst stadiums in stadium history. Don't @ me if you disagree with the first pronouncement. The Beatles packed more evolution and ideas into six years than most bands combined, and it's possible to make a list of their 50 greatest songs before saying, "Just kidding. This is the list of their next 50 greatest songs."

If you disagree with the second pronouncement, the thing you can remember is that ... oh, no one disagrees. Well, that's nice.

This doesn't have a lot to do with the Giants, other than the stage being set up around second base, but we'll allow it on a baseball site as a way to remember that the Giants really did used to play in a concrete abomination, and that it somehow became an inextricable part of history. Also, look at what the pig-people down south did before the Beatles came here:

Fans rushed the field during their performance at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium, leading to an ugly clash with billy-club-wielding police. Twenty-five were arrested and dozens more injured. It took two hours for authorities to restore some semblance of order, during which time the band were imprisoned in their dressing room. "The getaway car we hoped to use was severely damaged and put out of action," wrote Tony Barrow, the Beatles' press officer, in his book John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me. "All four boys were on the point of despair and we were discussing the possibility that our party might have to stay cooped up at the stadium overnight. Ringo broke the ensuing silence by saying in a small voice: 'Can I please go home to my mummy now, please can I?'"

That was the exact quote that I said before Matt Moore's start on Thursday. Dodger Stadium has a way.

Anyway, here's the audio from that night, and here's a link to a fine oral history of the concert from Peter Hartlaub. Try to picture what it looked like to have Candlestick Park at half of its capacity (25,000 seats were sold, which means that half as many people saw the concert as saw Rod Beck blow this save on July 3 in a meaningless 1996 game.)

Miss u, Candlestick. More specifically, don't miss you at all. But in a very abstract way, miss u. We had some times, didn't we?