The San Francisco Seals were a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California, that played in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

from 1903 until 1957 before transferring to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. The organization was named for the abundant

California sea lion The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of Califo ...

and harbor seal populations in the Bay Area. The 1909, 1922, 1925, and 1928 Seals were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.

Early history

Along with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

, Oakland Oaks, Sacramento Solons, and Seattle Indians, the Seals were charter members of the Pacific Coast League, which was founded in 1903. The team played their home games at Recreation Park at Harrison and 8th Streets until it was destroyed in the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

. The mild climate of the west coast allowed the PCL to play a much longer season than the major leagues and the other eastern professional baseball leagues. Seasons often ran 200 games or more, especially in the early years. In the 1905 season, the Seals set the all-time PCL record by playing 230 games (''Pacific Coast Baseball League Record Book 1903–1969'', compiled by William J. Weiss, League Statistician; published by the PCL, 1969; p. 30). New York Giants vs SF Seals

The Seals finished the 1906 season playing home games at Freeman's Park in Oakland. A new Recreation Park was constructed at 14th and Valencia Streets for the 1907 season. The Seals won their first PCL pennant in 1909, finishing games over the runner-up Portland Beavers. They won flags also in 1915, 1917, 1922, 1923 and 1925. During the 1914 season, the Sacramento Solons were moved to San Francisco, where they finished out the season playing as the San Francisco Missions, representing the city's Mission District. That same year, the Seals moved across town to play their inaugural and only season at foggy Ewing Field. The idea of a second team in San Francisco remained alive and, after the 1925 season, the Vernon Tigers were purchased by a group headed by San Francisco businessman Herbert Fleishhacker and moved to San Francisco and renamed the Mission Reds or simply the "Missions", again representing the Mission District as this team played their games five blocks from

Mission San Francisco de Asís The Mission San Francisco de Asís (), also known as Mission Dolores, is a historic Catholic Church, Catholic church complex in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the complex was founded in ...

. From 1926 through 1930, they played their home games at Recreation Park, playing at home while the Seals were on the road. In 1918, financially strapped owner Henry Berry put the San Francisco Seals up for sale and Charles H. Strub, George Alfred (Alfie) Putnam and Charles H. Graham each acquired a one-third share in the team. In 1931, the Seals moved to their own park, Seals Stadium, an 18,600-seat facility located at 16th and Bryant Streets. Seals Stadium was unusual in that it boasted three clubhouses: one for the visitors, one for the Seals, and one for the Missions, who moved there with the Seals and were the Seals' tenants from 1931 through 1937, after which the team moved back to Los Angeles to become the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars ( ...

in 1938.

There were three breweries on the adjoining northwest corners of Seals Stadium, which included Hamm's, Budweiser and Lucky Lager. The Seals celebrated their inaugural year in Seals Stadium by winning the PCL pennant in 1931. The following year, Seals outfielder Vince DiMaggio arranged a tryout for his younger brother Joe. In 1933, Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 61 straight games, a harbinger of his 56-game hitting streak for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in 1941. The team won the pennant again in 1935.

Change of control

In 1945, a controlling interest in the team was purchased by businessman Paul Fagan, with the stated intention of bringing

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

to the west coast by having the Pacific Coast League becoming the nation's third major league. He spent thousands of dollars upgrading Seals Stadium to perceived major league standards. He hired former major league player Lefty O'Doul, a native San Franciscan and fan favorite, as manager. Though the Seals won the pennant in 1946, subsequent teams under Fagan's watch did not fare as well, typically finishing in the second division. Rival clubs did not buy into Fagan's major league ambitions. Rather, they established working agreements with major league teams, and fared better than did the independent Seals. Fagan gave up his aspirations and sold his interest in the Seals, who became an affiliate of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. After their Bay Area rival, the Oakland Oaks, moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

after the 1955 season, the Seals won their last PCL pennant in 1957, which proved to be their final season. Late in that season, the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

announced their move to San Francisco for the 1958 season, and the Seals were forced to relocate. left, 1940 cap logo As part of the Giants' transfer to San Francisco, the Seals became its top affiliate after a swap on October 15, 1957 in which the Minneapolis Millers joined the Red Sox organization."Giants Swap Seals For Minneapolis," ''United Press'' (UP), Tuesday, October 15, 1957.
Retrieved February 23, 2023. They moved to

for the 1958 season and were renamed the

Phoenix Giants Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), an immortal bird in ancient Greek mythology * Phoenix, Arizona, the capital of the U.S. state of Arizona and the most populous state capital in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: ...

. The franchise then moved to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, where they played from 1960 to 1965, returning to Phoenix for the 1966 season. The team remained in Phoenix–from 1986 onward as the Firebirds–until 1998, when they were displaced by MLB's

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. In a complicated deal, the Firebirds' ownership group bought the

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

, inheriting the Toros' staff and facilities. After an interim one-year affiliation with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, the Toros affiliated with the Diamondbacks and changed their name to the Sidewinders. The Giants' affiliation was transferred to the displaced Tucson AAA franchise, which became the Fresno Grizzlies until their reassignment to Low-A. In 2009, the Sidewinders franchise moved to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. They retained their affiliation with the Arizona Diamondbacks as the Reno Aces, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field. The Tucson Toros returned under the same ownership as the Sidewinders, but they are not affiliated with a major league club. The new Toros played their home games at Hi Corbett Field, the longtime home of minor league baseball in Tucson, until 2010. The Giants played their home games at Seals Stadium in 1958 and 1959, moving to

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium located in the Bayview-Hunters Point, Hunters Point area of San Francisco, California, United States. It was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 S ...

in 1960. Seals Stadium was subsequently torn down to make way for a White Front store. When this chain of stores went out of business, the building stayed empty for some years. It was finally turned into a car dealership and later a Safeway grocery store. The legacy of the Seals lives on in the Giants' mascot Lou Seal, as well as in a statue of the Seals' cartoon mascot (c. 1947) at

Oracle Park Oracle Park is a ballpark in the South of Market, San Francisco, SoMa district of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium stands along San Francisco Bay ...

, and with a marker on the 16th & Bryant sidewalk placed where Seals Stadium home plate stood.

Rebirth in 1985

The Seals were reborn as a collegiate woodbat team in 1985 by Bay Area high school and college coach as well as former scout Abel Alcantar. Seals Alumni include many current California Junior College, Division I, and Division II coaches. The Seals played out of Albert Park in San Rafael, CA until 2002, until the historic team moved to Sonoma, CA, and then most recently Alameda, CA where he put together teams at various levels from 8U-18U while continuing the collegiate summer team. The collegiate team played in the Far West League in 2012 and 2013, the Great West League in 2018, and the California Collegiate League in 2019, but has been known for being an independent summer collegiate team that travels more than any summer collegiate team in the nation, simulating the grind of minor league professional baseball. They have made appearances in the Alaska Baseball League, the West Coast League, Canada, and the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, KS.

Affiliations

The Seals were largely independent of major league

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

s except for the following affiliations:

Notable alumni

* Earl Averill, Major League Baseball outfielder,

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

* Frank Bodie, Major League Baseball outfielder * Sam Bohne (originally "Sam Cohen"; 1896–1977), Major League Baseball infielder * Syd Cohen, Major League Baseball pitcher * Frank Crosetti, Major League Baseball infielder * Dominic DiMaggio, Major League Baseball outfielder *

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

, Major League Baseball outfielder, Hall of Fame * Vince DiMaggio, Major League Baseball outfielder * Babe Ellison, MLB player and member of Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame * Ferris Fain, Major League Baseball Infielder, 2-time American League batting champion * Harry Feldman, Major League Baseball pitcher * Vernon "Lefty" Gomez, Major League Baseball pitcher, Hall of Fame * Smead Jolley, Major League Baseball outfielder * Frank Malzone, Major League third baseman and 8 time MLB All Star * Jack Mealey (born 1899), catcher, manager in minor leagues and president of Sooner State League * Lefty O'Doul, Major League Baseball outfielder; Seals manager,

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame The , commonly known outside of Japan as the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, is a hall of fame and museum in Tokyo dedicated to professional baseball, with a prominent focus on professional baseball in Japan. The Hall is intended to honor and co ...

Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
* Albie Pearson, Major League Baseball outfielder, 1958 AL Rookie of the Year, 1963

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

* Babe Pinelli, Major League Baseball infielder and umpire * Gus Suhr, Major League Baseball outfielder *

Paul Waner Paul Glee Waner (April 16, 1903 – August 29, 1965), nicknamed "Big Poison", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams between 1926 and 1945, most notably playing his first 15 s ...

, Major League Baseball outfielder, Hall of Fame * George "Buck" Weaver, Major League Baseball infielder, Member of the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" *

Gene Woodling Eugene Richard Woodling (August 16, 1922 – June 2, 2001) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as a member of the New York Yankees dyn ...

, Major League Baseball outfielder

References

Notes Sources * Kelley, Brent P.. ''The San Francisco Seals, 1946–1957''. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1995. . * O'Neal, Bill. ''The Pacific Coast League 1903–1988.'' Eakin Press, Austin TX, 1990. . * Snelling, Dennis. ''The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903–1957'' McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1995. .

External links

Minor League Baseball's "Top 100 Teams" entry on the 1925 San Francisco Seals (team #10)

Minor League Baseball's "Top 100 Teams" entry on the 1922 San Francisco Seals (team #44)

Minor League Baseball's "Top 100 Teams" entry on the 1928 San Francisco Seals (team #50)

Minor League Baseball's "Top 100 Teams" entry on the 1909 San Francisco Seals (team #71)
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Francisco Seals (Baseball) Baseball teams in San Francisco 01 Defunct baseball teams in California Defunct Pacific Coast League teams Mission District, San Francisco Baseball teams established in 1903 Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates New York Yankees minor league affiliates New York Giants minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates 1903 establishments in California 1957 disestablishments in California Baseball teams disestablished in 1957