On a sunny, breezy, April afternoon in Philadelphia exactly 20 years ago, a major league ballclub wearing navy blue caps with a curly W logo and gray jerseys with “Washington” emblazoned across the chest took the field, embarking on a brand-new journey many never believed would come to fruition.

For anyone who suffered through 33 long years without baseball in the nation’s capital, the mere sight of a team representing D.C. in a real major league game was both unbelievable and emotional.

Most fans best remember April 14, 2005, the night Frank Howard and the 1971 Senators ceremoniously handed over their gloves to the newly renamed Nationals, George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch and RFK Stadium bounced and swayed like it hadn’t in a generation. But the first game in Nats history came 10 days prior at Citizens Bank Park on April 4, 2005.

The occasion started off in grand fashion. Brad Wilkerson was the first batter in club history and immediately recorded the first hit in club history, a single over second baseman Placido Polanco’s head. One inning later, Nick Johnson and Vinny Castilla each singled, then the latter scored on Terrmel Sledge’s RBI groundout to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Sledge, a late addition to manager Frank Robinson’s lineup after Ryan Church was scratched with a groin strain, would make history again in the top of the sixth when he launched a two-run homer to right off Jon Lieber. (Side note: The first home run in Nationals history was also Sledge’s only home run in a Nationals uniform.)