by Todd Hawley
Tuesday, May 18, 1999
Nuggets on the Diamond is a book by Dick Dobbins and Jon Twitchell that chronicles the history of baseball in the Bay Area, starting with sandlot teams in the late 1850s, to the Greenhoods & Morans (the first professional baseball team in San Francisco), the Pacific Coast League San Francisco Seals and Oakland Oaks, and through the 1993 A's & Giants seasons.
The book was published in 1994, and I first found out about it in April of that year when the Giants and A's paid tribute to the Seals & Oaks by wearing replica uniforms of those teams. I was thrilled they were remembering those teams, since my granddad had told me stories about the Seals when I was a boy. My dad's best friend was a part-time batboy for the 1927 Oakland Oaks and his grandfather had been one of the sponsors for the Greenhoods & Morans!
The book begins by describing the first sandlot teams in San Francisco, then describes the Greenhood & Moran teams, then moves on to chronicle the histories of the Pacific Coast League Seals & Oaks' teams. Both had originally been part of the California League and then joined the PCL when that league formed in 1903. The Seals and the Oaks enjoyed a spirited rivalry from 1903-1955, when the Oaks moved to Vancouver. The Seals and the Oaks briefly had a "neighbor," the Mission Reds, who played in the late 1920s through mid-1930's and then moved to Los Angeles in 1937.
The 1920s was probably the golden age of Bay Area baseball, as the Seals and Oaks combined to win six of the league titles in that decade. Even the Mission team won a title during that period. In the 1930s, of course, the Depression caused many hardships, and several minor leagues failed; however, the PCL managed to carry on. The 1930s also was when a young Joe DiMaggio played for the Seals before moving on to the Yankees. The 1940s brought a World War, but also a title in 1945 for the Seals. In 1948, the "Nine Old Men" of Oakland, along with a young Billy Martin and manager Casey Stengel, won the Oaks' final league title.
The PCL attempted to become the third major league in the late 1940s by getting an "open" classification. However, the major leagues were fearful of getting into a bidding war for players with a "third" competing league and were never serious about granting the league's wish.
This dream was lost forever when the Giants and Dodgers moved to California. The book points out that now there are major league teams in nearly every old PCL city, with Portland & Sacramento being the only exceptions.
Many future Hall of Famers played for either the Seals or Oaks before moving on to the majors. The quality of play in the old PCL was quite good, possibly on par with the majors at times.
As I read the book I gained more of an understanding about the traditions and history of Bay Area baseball. For example, in the pre-Giants days, the league offices were located in San Francisco.
The book not only devotes chapters to various eras of the Seals, Oaks, and Mission Reds, but also contains anecdotes, stories, and bios of famous Seals and Oaks. Several chapters are devoted to chronicling the history of both teams. Before reading this book, for instance, I had no idea that Casey Stengel had been the manager of the Oaks in the late 1940s, or that Charlie Dressen, the old Brooklyn Dodgers' manager, also managed the Oaks. The book is also loaded with pictures of old Seals, Oaks, and Missions players, along with shots of memorabilia.
The book also details the Giants' arrival and early days in San Francisco along with the A's early days in the Bay Area. As I said before the book covers both teams up to the end of the 1993 season. I wonder if now that the 'Stick will be history after this year, someone will write a history of that ballpark.
As with the rest of the book, there are lots of pictures and stories about various Giants & A's players.
If you have an interest in Bay Area baseball history, I strongly recommend buying this book, if you haven't already. It's a very enjoyable and informative look back at our local baseball heritage.
Copyright © 1999 by Todd Hawley
Last updated 6/7/99E-mail Todd at thawley@tdl.com
Gregg Pearlman, gregg@EEEEEEgp.com