Early history of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Portsmouth Square

It has been speculated that the game of baseball was played in California by men during the

Gold Rush of 1849 The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

when

Alexander Cartwright Alexander Joys Cartwright Jr. (April 17, 1820 – July 12, 1892) was a founding member of the New York Knickerbockers, New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club in the 1840s. Although he was an inductee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Mu ...

, who is sometimes referred to as "the father of baseball", came to San Francisco and is reported to have brought his baseball to the city in 1849.

The Daily Alta California The ''Alta California'' or ''Daily Alta California'' (often miswritten ''Alta Californian'' or ''Daily Alta Californian'') was a 19th-century San Francisco newspaper. ''California Star'' The ''Daily Alta California'' descended from the first ...

newspaper reports a game of base ball being played upon the Plaza (Portsmouth Square) "by a number of the sporting gentlemen about town", on February 3, 1851. Mention of the play of a game of Townball at Portmouth Square is recorded in The Daily Alta California newspaper on January 14, 1852. An early town leader serving on the city council as ''second alcalde'', or assistant mayor, of San Francisco during the years 1849-1854 was Frank Turk a

New York Knickerbocker The New York Knickerbockers were one of the first organized baseball teams which played under a set of rules similar to the game today. Founded as the "Knickerbocker Base Ball Club" by Alexander Cartwright in 1845, the team remained active unti ...

. According to historian Frank Joel, baseball was formally introduced into California, at San Francisco in 1859.

The beginning years, 1860s

In the 1860s baseball grew in prominence in San Francisco, with the first game reported to be between the Eagles and the Red Rovers on February 22, 1860. The San Francisco Directory in 1860 identifies three base ball clubs, the Eagle, Em Quad, and Excelsior Clubs. In 1867 it was reported that "baseball clubs are now the rage" and the game of baseball drew plaudits from influential quarters. That year marked the establishment of the first baseball league in San Francisco known as the Pacific Coast Base Ball Convention with play 14 clubs from San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Clara county. The San Francisco clubs were named the Eagles, Pacifics, Lafayettes, Knickerbockers, Atlantics, Bay City, Empires, Brodericks and the Cosmopolitans. The 1867 championship game, between the Atlantic and Cosmopolitan clubs, was won by the Cosmopolitans by a score 50 to 45 on April 27, 1867. In the 1870s additional teams were named the Libertys, Wide Awakes (Oakland), Alhambra, Americans, Excelciors and the San Franciscos.

First baseball park, Recreation Grounds

Recreation Grounds Ballpark 25th & Folsom 1875

RecreationGroundsAdvertFeb201869 DailyAltaCalifornia

California's and San Francisco's first enclosed professional baseball park, located in the heavily Irish workingman

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

, was named simply 'The Recreation Grounds' and opened November 26, 1868 and operated until November 23, 1884. Built on the site of the

Pioneer Race Course Pioneer Race Course, also known as the Pioneer Race Track, was a horse race track opened in March 1851, in the southern Mission District of San Francisco, California. Pioneer was the first race course in San Francisco. At the time that it was buil ...

, a horse race track owned by George Treat, the facility was used for multiple purposes including base ball games and cricket matches as early as October 1860. The grandstand accommodated initially a capacity of 12,000 fans and was later expanded to hold 17,000. Home of the Pacific Baseball League beginning in 1878, the ballpark was owned and operated by the politically active Captain Al Fritz of the influential Workingman's Party of California in partnership with

Samuel Shear Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

on land leased from San Francisco Mayor Andrew J. Bryant. In later years, after the death of Fritz, the Recreation Grounds was leased by Waller Walace and Andy Pierce for organized ball play with the preeminent team of that era being the Haverlys. In 1879 league play included a new Military League, organized by newspaper reporter Joseph H. McCloskey, drawn from teams of local militias which were generally aligned along ethnic lines. The period of 1881 to 1886 saw league play from the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

which failed to achieve much organizational competence; during the year 1883, for instance, there were only 36 games among four teams. The ballpark was bounded by Harrison, Twenty-Fifth, Folsom and Twenty-Sixth Streets, including present day

Garfield Square Garfield Square, also known as Garfield Park, is a city park located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. It is bounded by 25th Street to the north, 26th Street to the south, Treat Avenue to the west, and Harrison Street to the ...

Photo.
Other teams playing in Recreation Grounds included the Eagles, Wide Awakes, Niantics, Woonsockets and Reddingtons.

Amateur and practice fields

19th Century amateur and practice fields. During the 1870s and 1880s baseball was a very popular recreation in San Francisco with amateur games and practices held prior to professional games at the professional parks, and at fields located at 15th and Folsom, 25th and Howard in the Mission District, at 8th and Harrison South of Market and at Filmore and Geary in the Richmond. A sand lot baseball field was located at Pierce and Haight Streets
1886 photo.

Union Grounds

;Union Base-ball Grounds or Union Grounds Opened in October 1879. Used for baseball and for other sports. First reference in city directories is 1880, last is 1882. Location: Brannan Street (northwest); 6th Street (northeast); Townsend Street (southeast); 7th Street (southwest).

Central Park

;Central Park 1884–1898 In the South of Market district, known under the name 'Central Park' at the southeast corner (per 1887 and 1900 city directories) of 8th and Market Streets, or 1185 Market Street (per 1905 city directory); a stadium with seating for 15,000, Daniel R. McNeil opened a professional baseball stadium on Thanksgiving Day 1884 (November 27), and was used for play of the

Pacific Coast Baseball League The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

from 1886 until June 1887. This ball park on April 28, 1888 became the home of the newly formed

California State League There were at least three class D California State Leagues in operation at some point in minor league baseball history. Two lasted just a single season (1910 and 1929) and the other lasted three seasons 1913 through 1915. The 1910 version was actua ...

. By 1899, the park's days as a baseball venue were over, as it had been converted into a steeple chase rollercoaster and a building housing the "Battle of Manilla" panorama. An indoor roller skating rink was built on part of the site. It opened to the public for the first time on April 11, 1906. an Francisco ''Examiner'', April 11, 1906, p. 11One week later, the buildings on the property succumbed to the

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

. :Location: Market Street (northwest, home plate); 8th Street (southwest, right field); Mission Street (southeast, center field); buildings and 7th Street (northeast, left field); across Market Street from the city hall (per 1901 city directory
1896 Photo
Initial newspaper reports stated that home plate was "nearest Market Street". an Francisco ''Examiner'', Nov 10, 1884, p.1 a fact confirmed by the photo. :Home of: ::San Francisco – Pacific Coast Baseball League (1886–1887)? ::San Francisco – California State League (1888)? :Currently: Trinity Place
Sanborn map showing Central Park, 1887Sanborn map showing Central Park, 1899

Haight Street Grounds

Haight-Street Recreation Grounds. Following a league dispute at the Central Park grounds, James Fair established a new ball park in 1886 known as the Alameda Ground

on the island of Alameda (adjacent to Oakland) for play of the

, which was moved the following year for play at a new baseball park in the Haight District. With grandstands seating 14,000 and located at the terminus of Market Street Railway Company, a railcar line. 1887 to March 1895. The borders of this ball park were

Stanyan Street Stanyan Street is a north–south street in San Francisco, California marking the eastern side of the Golden Gate Park and the western side of the Panhandle. It is named after Charles H. Stanyan, a city supervisor from 1866 to 1869 who was on th ...

(west, first base); Waller Street (north, third base); Shrader Street (listed as "Rader" Street in the 1889 Sanborn map) (east, left field); and Frederic Street (to the south, beyond right field
Photo.
ref name="urlThe morning call- The Library of Congress"> It was built across Stanyan from the future site of the

Kezar Stadium Kezar Stadium is an outdoor athletics stadium in San Francisco, California, located adjacent to Kezar Pavilion in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park. It is the former home of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders (first AFL se ...

complex. Teams playing in this park included :Greenhood and Morans, both of Oakland :Colonels – California League (1887–1889); :Haverlys / Friscoes – California League (1887–1893)
Most of the ballpark, on a Sanborn map, 1889

California League Grounds

;California League Grounds a.k.a. Sixteenth and Folsom Street Grounds :Sometimes also called Recreation Grounds, potentially confusing historians due to a concurrent facility with the same name (see next section) :Home of: ::San Francisco – California State League (1896 only) ::San Francisco Olympics – California League (1897) :Location: Northeast corner of 16th Street and Folsom Street (per 1897 city directory); 16th Street (south, first base); Folsom Street (west, third base); 15th Street (north, left field); Harrison Street (east, right field) (per 1899 Sanborn map) :Currently: San Francisco Animal Care and Control (animal shelter)
1899 Sanborn map showing the ballpark

Recreation Park (II)

;Recreation Park (II) :Home of: ::San Francisco Olympics / Athletics / Brewers – California League (1898–1901) :: San Francisco Seals –

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 ...

(1903–1906 until the

) :Location: 8th Street (northeast, first base); Harrison Street (southeast, third base); Gordon Street (southwest, left field); Ringold Street (northwest, right field) :Currently: L 7 Leasing Center
1899 Sanborn map showing the ballpark

National Park

;National Park :Home of: :: San Francisco Pirates –

Pacific National League The Pacific National League was a minor league baseball league that played from 1903 to 1905. The league evolved from its predecessor, the Pacific Northwest League and was a competitor of the newly formed Pacific Coast League. The league began pl ...

(1903 only – folded with the league before season's scheduled end :Location: corner of 9th and Bryant Streets – "a block and a half" from Recreation Park (II) :Currently: commercial businesses

Recreation Park (III)

Mission District Recreation Park April 6, 1907 through October 19, 1930 (except for 1914). - 1930s :Home of: :: San Francisco Seals –

(1907–13, 1915–30) :: Oakland Oaks –

(1907–12) ::San Francisco Baby Seals – California Baseball League (1910 only) ::

Mission Reds The Mission Reds were a minor league baseball team located in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937. First Missions team In early September of 1914, the failed Sacramento Solons team moved ...

– PCL (1926–30) :Location: 14th Street (north, right field); Valencia Street (east, first base); 15th Street (south, third base); Guerrero Street (west, left field
Photo.
:Currently: Housing project San Francisco –

(1915 only) – appears to have been a road-only team. The league began the season with the intention of playing only Sunday games, figuring to maximize their revenue. Heavy rains in May washed out most of those games, and the league folded at the end of the month.
1914 Sanborn map showing the ballpark

Ewing Field

Ewing Field Ewing Field was a baseball park in San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The ci ...

, 1914 to 1938 (located in the Richmond District, on Masonic between Geary and Turk; the Seals played at Ewing Field for one year in 1914, but returned to the Valencia Street Recreation Park the next year following many criticisms of the cold, windy, foggy weather at Ewing Field) The ballpark continued to be used for local non-professional games. During a game on June 5, 1926, the stadium caught fire from a cigarette, and soon burned down. In the process, embers started fires across the streets and destroyed several homes. With the ballpark fire raging, the firemen concentrated their efforts on protecting the rest of the neighborhood, including the Presentation Convent behind the left field corner of the ballpark. From 1926 until 1938 the field remained unoccupied. In late October 1938, developers announced plans for constructing a new housing development to be named Ewing Terrace. :Home of: :: San Francisco Seals –

(1914) :: Mission Wolves – PCL (1914) :Location: Masonic Avenue (east, third base); St. Rose's Avenue (now Anza Street, north, first base) and Geary Boulevard (a block north of St. Rose / Anza); Presentation Convent and Turk Boulevard (south, left field);

Lone Mountain Lone Mountain may refer to a place in the United States: * Lone Mountain, Tennessee, an unincorporated community * Lone Mountain (California), a hill in San Francisco, California ** Lone Mountain, San Francisco, California, the associated neighbor ...

(west, right field) :Currently: Ewing Terrace (street and housing development)

Seals Stadium

;

Seals Stadium Seals Stadium was a minor league baseball stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Francisco, California; it later became the first home of the major league San Francisco Giants. Opened in the Mission District in 1931, Sea ...

1931 through 1959 :Home of: :: San Francisco Seals –

(1931–1957) ::

– PCL (1931–1937) ::

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

–

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(1958–1959) :Location: Bryant Street (west, first base); 16th Street (south, right field); Potrero Avenue (east, left field); Alameda Street (north, third base) :Currently: Potrero Center, a shopping mall

Candlestick Park

;

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...

April 12, 1960 to September 30, 1999 :Home of:

–

(1960–1999) :Location: 602 Jamestown Avenue :Currently: vacant lot

Oracle Park

;

Oracle Park Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curre ...

March 31, 2000 – present; prev. Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, AT&T Park :Home of:

–

(2000–present) :Location: 24 Willie Mays Plaza (home plate); 3rd Street (southwest, first base); King Street (northwest, third base); 2nd Street (northeast, left field);

San Francisco Bay Trail The San Francisco Bay Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian trail that when finished will allow continuous travel around the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. As of 2020, of the trail have been completed. When finished, the trail will be over of p ...

and

McCovey Cove McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, named after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Bas ...

(right field)