In 1969 the second of two original California franchises began play as the San Diego Padres. The Padres were one of the four expansions team that began play in major league baseball. The Padres were 52-110 and finished last in their division. Chris Canizzaro was the franchises lone representative to the All-Star Game.
Jose Arcia played most of his major league career for the Padres. He played for the Cubs in 1968 and then played for the Padres in 1969 and 1970. He played in the minor leagues through 1976. He seems to be living in Miami at this time.
Danny Breeden never actually played for the Padres. His time in time in the majors was with the Cardinals in 1969 and the Cubs in 1971. He did play in the Padres system in 1973. He lives in Loxley, Alabama.
Dave Roberts is the first player to be named Dave Roberts on the Padres, but he wouldn't be the last. There will be two more before 2014. He played for the Padres from 1969-1971 and then played for 7 more teams before retiring in 1981. On the final day of the 1976 season Dave gave up Hank Aaron's last career hit. He died of lung cancer January 9, 2009.
Ollie Brown was the first player chosen by the Padres in the expansion draft. He started his career in 1965 with the Giants, he played with the Padres from 1969 to 1972, then 4 more teams before retiring w ith the Phillies in 1977.
Jerry DaVanon played in just 24 games for the Padres in 1969 having started the season in St. Louis and actually ending in St. Louis after those 24 games. He played through 1977 with several other teams including multiple stints with the Cardinals. He currently lives in Houston and officiates high school basketball.
Bill Davis played in 1965 and 1966 with the Indians and finished his major league career with the Padres in 1969. He finished in the minors and then retired to his hometown of Richfield, Minnesota where he worked in real estate and banking.
Tom Dukes played 2 seasons for Houston before playing 2 seasons in San Diego in '69 and '70. He then played a season in Baltimore and one for the Angels before retiring at the end of 1972.
Al Ferrara played with the Dodgers from 1963 to 1968 before playing with the Padres from 1969 to 1971 and finishing his career with the Reds in 1971. After baseball he had a construction company called Major League Construction, which he retired from in 2005 at age 65. When the recession hit in 2009 he lost much of his retirement income, he then went to work for the Dodgers in their community relations department.
