The DiMaggio brothers all played there, Joe during his 61-game Pacific Coast League hitting streak in 1933. So did Willie Mays, briefly, before Candlestick Park was built. San Francisco baseball icon Lefty O'Doul managed scores of games there.
Seals Stadium simply oozed history. Now, part of it is for sale.
About 2,500 of the wooden seats that were in the park when it opened in 1931 are for sale by the Tacoma Rainiers of the current PCL.
How did the Seals Stadium seats end up in the Pacific Northwest?
Well, when the San Francisco ballpark closed after the 1959 season and the Giants moved to the just-constructed Candlestick, the seats were installed in Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, before the inaugural PCL campaign there.
That is where they have stayed since.
But now, the Rainiers, a Mariners farm club, are replacing the old seating section, and, after nearly three-quarters of a century, the one-time Seals Stadium seats -- now Tacoma city property -- no longer have a home.
Rather than toss them into the garbage bin, however, Rainiers officials have decided to sell them.
"To help pay for the new seats," Rainiers general manager Dave Lewis said.
The vintage PCL still carries a lot of weight with fans and collectors, and they are responding.
"We've already sold between 200 and 300 of the seats, and we haven't begun marketing in the Bay Area yet," Lewis said.
As sports memorabilia prices are going, the seats are a relative bargain -- $75 each, plus tax and about $25 for shipping. Quantity discounts may also be available.
Lewis said each seat will include the wooden back and base and the metal arm rests, in "as is" condition.
Those interested in making a nostalgic purchase should contact Patti Stacy by phone at (253) 752-7707, by mail at the Tacoma Rainiers baseball club office, 2502 South Tyler St., Tacoma, 98405, or by e-mail at pstacy@tacomarainiers.com.
I ordered one of these today. I think this is a great deal. You can put in a a request for a specific seat, so I ordered #5 for Dimaggio. The seats are still in the stadium and they won't be removed and shipped until mid to late July, but they are going like hot cakes. This is what the seats look like today.
Jim is correct. The seats you see in the picture above are vertical mounted. Each seat purchase includes the two blue wood parts (the back and the base) and the metal arm rests. A purchase of a pair of seats, for example, would have three metal armrests because the two seats share the middle armrest. The wood parts attach to the armrests and the armrests are then afixed to any vertical surface. I was told they can be attached to a wall or an vertical surface you might rig up.
Yes - sorry you canceled your order - still a great value at $75 - but that's why I posted my comments. I do not like wall mount seats at all - too many headaches! Happy Collecting!
Thanks. I looked on the Archer Seating site and they should be able to provide me with what I need if I can't attach it to a wall. I may rig up a simple wood holder...I'll have to see once I get it. The Archer site does give me a good ideas of what the seat may look like once I get it. Link is below.
DiMaggio wore #10 for the Seals... when did he wear #5?
May 23 2005, 5:47 PM
I have a question, I was looking through Barry Halper's auction catalog and I saw the jersey up for sale again in a Grey Flannel auction. Both auctions had a 1933 SF Seals game worn jersey... the jersey is a #10. I talked with the girl at the Rainiers and she said everyone was asking for #5 seats. The only problem is they have been repainted so they seat #'s are not the original ones. There is also a place online.. I'll find it when I get home to where you can buy feet for the seats to make them stand up seats. So I wanted to ask... did Dimaggio wear more than one # while playing for the seals?
Dimaggio wore #5 for the yanks...that is the number he is associated with..that is the number that is retired by the yanks..that's the number everyone care about. I don't really care that the seats have been painted and they are not the original numbers. I just want a nice display item. The #5 just makes it a little more neat, but if I get another number I don't care.
The feet for seats are in the link above. There may be other options to make these stand alone, but above is one option. I spoke to the guy at Archer Seating. Nice guy. He says there are a lot of different ways these seats can easily be mounted. It's a neat piece of history so I don't mind having to do a little extra to mount it. For $75 IMO its a great item and looks awesome.
