The Padres went Hollywood when ownership passed from Joan Kroc to a group of investors led by TV producer Tom Werner. There was no going back after an idea to cross-promote the star of his highly-rated show, “Roseanne,” backfired on this date — July 25—in 1990.
The debacle that unfolded between games of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds on Working Women’s Day at Jack Murphy Stadium was best summed up by the headline the next day in The (San Diego) Tribune: “Barr-Strangled Banner.”
For good reason.
With fingers in her ears — to account for the audio system’s split-second delay — as boos from a crowd of 25,744 rose, Roseanne Barr screeched and hollered her way through a 53-second, off-key performance of the national anthem.