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The San Diego Padres started out as a member of the Pacific Coast League in 1936. They were accepted into the Major Leagues on May 27, 1968 as part of the Major League Baseball expansion that included three other teams.
On April 8, 1969, the Padres defeated the Houston Astros by a score of 2-1 in their Major League debut before a crowd of 23,370 fans at San Diego Stadium.
With the team on the verge of moving in 1974, Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonalds Restaurant chain, bought the team to keep them in San Diego. Ray Kroc died in 1984. His wife continued ownership of the team until 1990 when she sold the team to a California businessman.
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