One week after arriving back in America from their European Tour (via the Concorde), the Eagles headlined concerts #2 & #3 of Bill Graham’s annual summer series: Day On The Green. There were 7 concerts in all for 1977. The Eagles concerts took place over Memorial Day weekend at Oakland Stadium on May 28th and May 30th. On the bill with the Eagles were The Steve Miller Band, Heart, Atlanta Rhythm Section and Foreigner. The lineup was the same for both concerts.
In addition to the concerts, the band also played a softball game. I have included an article about the game from Music Life magazine via my friend, Yu Murakami Mikuni.
Original ad artwork for the San Francisco Chronicle, signed by the artist, Randy Tuten.
May 28th, 1977
Day On The Green
This was the Eagles’ first appearance before a California audience since October 1976 when they played four nights at the Inglewood Forum. For the band, it was like coming home.
Glenn Frey: “Sure, it felt good. There’s something about a California audience that is really nice. I knew we were home as soon as we hit the opening chorus of ‘Hotel California.’ Everybody was cheering and singing along.” (Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1977)
The band played a 110-minute set before a crowd of 50,000. Behind them on stage was a huge mockup of their Hotel California album cover. The band liked it so much, they asked if they could take it with them for other outdoor dates that summer.
Photos
May 29th, 1977
Softball game
On their day off between Day On The Green concerts, the Eagles played a softball game against promoter Bill Graham and various personnel from local radio stations. Glenn Frey served as manager of the Eagles team, which also included manager Irving Azoff, members of their road crew, and Boz Scaggs. Despite their best efforts, the Eagles lost.
Randy at the game:
Music Life, August 1977
The following three-page article from the Japanese magazine Music Life, describes the softballl game. Many thanks to my friend, Yu Murakami Mikuni, who provided the images and assisted with the translation of the text. Yu also provided an article for my post about the Eagles’ 1976 tour of Japan earlier in the month. Check out her cool YouTube channel called YU’s Rock’n.
Page 1
Page 1 Translation:
Headline (in green): “Los Angeles Eagles, Time to Play Ball!!”
Caption on top photo: “A rare Eagles team with seven members is born. The strategy is finished and they are aiming for victory, but first, a commemorative photo! (From left: Don Felder, Randy Meisner, Bill Graham, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Glenn Frey.”
Caption under photo of Glenn Frey and Don Henley: “Glenn Frey, who came off like a coach at first glance, was actually very cool and happy.”
Text in middle: “Whenever the summer sun shines, the Eagles return to Los Angeles to spend their days playing concerts. Even though they have become known as the ‘Eagles of the World,’ it seems that their home base is nowhere else but Los Angeles. Recently, they performed in Oakland, where their beautiful harmonies blended well with the large crowd. In between these busy days, a sporting event was held under the blue sky. What started out as a casual game of baseball with Boz Scaggs and Steve Miller, turned frantic when ‘play ball’ was called. So what was the outcome of today’s game?”
Caption on bottom right photo: “Steve Miller chatting with his friends before the game. I wonder if he’s complaining, ‘I might only be able to hit flies…?'”
Pages 2 & 3
Page 2 translation
Headline (text in green, right side): “Was it different from the stage? Eagles, a heated sports competition.”
Photo captions:
Joe Walsh: “Joe Walsh is a brawler who doesn’t care if the stage is turned into a playing field. He’s a pitcher and a fielder, and he can’t wait to touch the ball.”
Glenn Frey: “Leaving the heavy lifting to the other members, Glenn Frey just participated by way of mouth. What’s the joke?”
Don Felder: “Can he bring a sharp, guitar-like flavor to his batting? Don Felder is a top hitter with strong legs.”
Randy Meisner: “Randy Meisner is trying to steal a base. His wife was with him and watching the game this day, so he wants to impress her somehow or other.”
Page 3 translation
Don Henley: “Joe Walsh and Don Henley pitched for the Eagles on this day. Don, who started the game, was playing his best straight game, sending out husky calls to the fielders.”
Boz Scaggs: “Waiting for his turn in front of the bench is Boz Scaggs. Can we expect him to play as cool as he does on stage?”
Don Henley and Robert Lamm: “After working up a sweat, they go to a garden party. Don was caught by Robert Lamm of Chicago. Could it be he is about to do an interview?”
May 30th, 1977
Day On The Green
Backstage, the Eagles, Irving Azoff and Bill Graham posed for photos and played volleyball.
Randy with Glenn Frey’s cousin, Rebecca Markham.
Concert Photos:
Reviews
Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, May 29, 1977
Robert Hilbrun, Los Angeles Times, May 31st, 1977:
Six weeks after the Day On The Green concerts, on July 9th, 1977, Randy played his last show with the Eagles in Houston, TX.
This is a FANTASTIC piece of work Jessica. Full of great information & pictures. Thank You so Much for all your hard work! It’s appreciated!
Great work Jessica, thank you!
Another awesome article Jessica. Enjoying the blog very much! Thank you!
Randy the base stealer! Who knew? I enjoyed the Japanese descriptions of the band. Great find.
Thanks for all the comments! I appreciate it!