Remember the “Green Monster” that the Seals played in as well as the Giants, until they moved to Candlestick? Seals Stadium was on one corner, with breweries on the three adjoining corners – Hamm’s, Lucky Lager, and Budweiser. Free beer after a Seals game – but I was too young and today would not drink those types of brews. The breweries are gone as is Seals Stadium with its Kelly Green color.

A group of experts were hired to locate a new baseball stadium for the Giants. Guess what they recommended as first choice? The old Seals Stadium location! Best weather and least wind and fog. Too bad it is occupied with other businesses these days.

We belonged to the Christopher Milk Club and got in to see ballgames for twenty cents. It cost twenty-five cents to rent a seat cushion, which we could not afford. When the umpire made a bad call (according to the fans) seat cushions would come flying through the air towards the ump. These days I have seen guys handcuffed and dragged across the field “the long way”, to show how much power the police have and how sensitive they are when unacceptable behavior is displayed.

When the umpires made a bad call they would play, “Three Blind Mice” over the P.A. system! We loved the umps!

According to the Chronicle Sporting Green a few years ago, one of the reasons for the Giants leaving Candlestick was five-year-old kid’s. They would come up behind a seated fan and hold a revolver to his or her head and demand money. The police said they could do nothing to stop this sort of activity.



>>I have been a 49'er fan since the late 1940's, and the Giants since 1958. The Giants got rid of our AAA team - the Seals! Bring back the Seals!
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>Whoa! I recall the Seals, I saw them when very, very young. And was going to Giant games since early on too, out at the Stick. Those dang Dodgers! I am old enough, barely, to vaguely recall seeing Stan Musial play on his final West Coast tour. Saw Frank Robinson, and Aaron as well, hit slams out there, not to mention Mays & McCovey (longest homer I ever saw was hit by McCovey, the type where no one in the entire Stick moved after he hit the ball, for maybe a full minute).
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>>You know how we San Franciscan's view Oakland. Would you believe that during the last few seasons I have actually rooted for the Oakland Raiders and Athletics?
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>Not too surprising to me. When the Raiders beat the Pats back around 76 in that *very* emotional playoff game, I was at work in SF (worked weekends bartending at Carnelian Room). Everyone (mostly SF-folks) was going nuts (TVs, radios on everywhere). That game was *so* incredible...Then the heartbreak of the Immaculate Reception, on the flip side of that coin...but that was some exciting football, either way.