San Francisco Sea Lions
Baseball team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The San Francisco Sea Lions were a Negro league baseball team in the West Coast Negro Baseball League, based in San Francisco, California, in 1946.[1] Following the collapse of the league, the Sea Lions played as an independent barnstorming team.
| San Francisco Sea Lions | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| League | |
| Location | San Francisco, California |
| Established | 1946 |
| Disbanded | 1946 |
History
Following the 1946 season, the Sea Lions became independent. In 1949, the Sea Lions were engaged in tour of Western Canada, when money problems led to seven players leaving the team for the integrated Buchanan (Saskatchewan) All-Stars.[2]
In modern culture
The San Francisco Giants have paid homage to the Sea Lions by recreating and wearing their jerseys five times. The Giants wore a road jersey in 2014, and a home jersey once a season from 2021–2024. The Giants record is 2–3 in the Sea Lions uniforms.
San Francisco Giants Games Wearing Sea Lions Uniforms
| Date | Home/Away | Uniform Color | Opponent | Score | Stadium | City | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 2014 | Away | Gray | Atlanta Braves[a] | 3–1 | Turner Field | Atlanta, GA | [b] |
| June 19, 2021 | Home | Cream | Philadelphia Phillies | 6–13 | Oracle Park | San Francisco, CA | [c] |
| July 17, 2022 | Milwaukee Brewers | 9–5 | [d] | ||||
| August 26, 2023 | Atlanta Braves | 7–3 | [e] | ||||
| June 20, 2024 | Away | St. Louis Cardinals[f] | 5–6 | Rickwood Field | Birmingham, AL | [g] | |
- Playing as the Atlanta Black Crackers
- On May 3, 2014, the Giants wore the Sea Lions road jerseys against the Atlanta Braves in a regular season game at Turner Field. The Braves wore a Negro leagues throwback uniform for the heritage game which were Atlanta Black Crackers uniforms.[3][4]
- On June 19, 2021, as part of their celebration honoring Juneteenth, the Giants wore replica uniforms of the San Francisco Sea Lions against the Phillies. The jerseys were intended to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the team that played in the West Coast Negro Baseball Association league during the 1940s.[5] During a pre-game ceremony, the family of Toni Stone, the first female known to play on a professional men's baseball team when she played for the Sea Lions, was given a jersey honoring her legacy.[6]
- On July 17 of 2022, the Giants honored African American Heritage Day at a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Oracle Park by wearing Sea Lions uniforms and giving away Sea Lions caps to fans in attendance.[7]
- Playing as the St. Louis Stars
- On June 20, 2024, the Giants and Cardinals played at Rickwood Field. The Giants wore the Sea Lions home uniforms despite being the designated away team.[9]