I was eight years old in 1942 when my father took me to my first baseball game at Seals Stadium. I don't remember the game but I quickly adopted Ferris Fain (pictured at the right) the Seals young first baseman as my favorite player. I could hardly wait until he returned from the war to see him play for the Seals again in 1946. I attended Seal games through out the war years and by the time I was 10 in 1944 I was taking the '22' and 'H' street cars to Seals Stadium by myself. Imagine a ten year old doing that today or even during the 1960's, the decade devoted to the 'dignity of man'. Oh how things have changed!
My enthusiasm and interest for the game was further enhanced since my uncle Clem Glynn was a boyhood friend of a great major league hitter Frank 'Lefty' O'Doul the Seals manager for 17 years. I was provided with many thrills and perks including bats, autographed major league baseballs, player photos and even an opportunity to sit in Seals dugout for a couple of innings.
The Pacific Coast League hit its peak following the war in the 1940's as the west continued to grow. Major League baseball finally discovered the potential with Giants and Dodgers moving in 1958. On September 15, 1957, I sat in a box seat right behind home plate to witness the last games the Seals ever played. What wonderful memories they provided me!
I became a Giant's fan during their unbelievable run for the pennant in 1951 topped by Bobby Thomson's 'shot heard around the world'. In 1954 the night before I left to fight the Korean War on the European battlefront, I was very fortunate to attend the second game of season between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants at the historic Polo Grounds. The ex-San Francisco Seal great Larry Jansen (pictured at the left) pitched for the Giants that night. The Dodgers prevailed in that battle but the Giants won the war being crowned world champions later that year.
In 1958 The Giants came to San Francisco and thanks to an old friend Gerry DeRyan for standing in a long line we were able to purchase 90 cent tickets in the right field bleachers to attend the first game. In those early years I quickly became a great fan of Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons (pictured below) radio descriptions of the Giants games and years later actually cried when I heard of the death of Russ Hodges.
I followed the Giants every year some times closer than others depending on the quality of the team, career and family responsibilities. My daughters Jane and Katie settled in southern California so we followed them south in 1997. We would have never had moved it wasn't for the satellite that allows us to watch almost all Giant games. Through the years The Giants have experienced many ups and downs but we should never forget Bob Lurie and Peter Magowan for what they did to save the Giants from leaving San Francisco.
The Giants finally won the World Series Championship in 2010 after over fifty years in San Francisco, a moment that can never be taken from loyal Giant fans. When you consider all the great Giant players that have thrilled us over the years and still they could not bring back the title that shows how difficult it is to win a World's Championship.
I have cut back on many things I have been doing which provides me with the opportunity to express my views as a Giant fan. The great part of being a fan of baseball is that everyone seems to have a different opinion about a player or a strategy which makes the game interesting, fun and great. For the past couple of years I have been e-mailing my comments about the Giants to some of my friends and my daughter Katie suggested that I start a blog. I know I will enjoy it.
Homer Sweeney
PS If you plan to attend a game at AT&T say hello to my cousin Jim who runs the souvenir stand in front of MoMo's across from AT&T. If your staying in San Francisco think about the Sir Francis Drake where my cousin Tom is the famous doorman.
