Seals Stadium

Lore & Background

Seals Stadium opened on April 7, 1931, after a construction cost of $1.25 million. It was of concrete and steel construction and was named after its key tenant, the Pacific Coast League's San Francisco Seals. It was uniquely designed to host another San Francisco Pacific Coast League team, the Mission Reds. The ballpark land had been part of pioneer land plots of the 'Home Plate Mine', which became an early nickname of the ballpark. Built during the Great Depression, Seals President 'Doc' Strub described how laborers would leap onto the running boards of his automobile and beg for the opportunity to work on the project for $3 a day. With two tenants, Seals Stadium was uniquely constructed with three dressing rooms. One dressing room was for the visiting team, and one for each of the minor league home teams. The stadium had six tower banks for lighting, which were described as the best in minor league baseball at the time. Opening with a capacity of 18,600, Seals Stadium had no roof over the grandstands, because of San Francisco's little rainfall during the summertime and the fans' preference to sit in the sun. The original uncovered grandstand stretched from foul pole to foul pole. In some years during its minor league days, a live seal was kept in a water tank underneath the grandstand. The field was oriented northeast (home plate to second base), with the right field bleachers bounded by 16th Street. For the 1946 season, bleachers were built across the right field area, with the plan to reduce the foul line distance by 'about 25 feet'. An inner fence was also constructed across center field, reducing the distance to about . For the 1951 season, bleachers were built in front of the left field wall, reducing the foul line distance to . This was done at the behest of the Seals' president, Paul Fagan, and the area was dubbed 'Paul's Porch'. That experiment lasted just the one season, and it was removed in the spring of 1952. On March 13, 1931, Seals Stadium officially opened with a spring training game between the Seals and the Detroit Tigers. At the regular season home opener on April 7, 1931, Ty Cobb threw out the first pitch, with 25,000 fans in attendance. The Missions opened their home season at Seals Stadium a week later, April 14 - hosting the Seals. Notably, Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio grew up in San Francisco and played for the Seals from October 1932

In Their Own Story

The dust settled on the infield as the sun dipped below the bay horizon in September 1958. Fans pressed against the brick railings, their voices carrying over the crack of the bat. It wasn't the cavernous bowl they would soon inhabit; this was a neighborhood park transformed overnight into a Major League stage.

Reader's Guide

Seals Stadium was located in the Mission District of San Francisco, bounded by 16th Street. It was demolished in late 1959 after the Giants moved to Candlestick Park. The site is now occupied by a shopping center.

Did You Know?

• Seals Stadium opened on April 7, 1931, with a construction cost of $1.25 million.
• The stadium had three dressing rooms: one for the visiting team and one for each of the two minor league home teams.
• A live seal was sometimes kept in a water tank underneath the grandstand during the minor league days.
• In 1948, the Seals set a minor league attendance record with 670,000 fans.
• The 1950 'Peanut Revolt' led owner Paul Fagan to give away 18,000 free bags of peanuts.