RELATED LINKS Book Excerpts » "We played that first year in Seals Stadium... It only held about 22,000, but they filled it all the time": Nick Testa

The longtime home of the Pacific Coast League's San Francisco Seals, cozy Seals Stadium, with no warning track and a 30-foot-high centerfield wall, was the downtown home of the Giants until Candlestick Park opened in 1960. (SCL)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 27, 1957: Owner Paul I. Fagan agrees to rent Seals Stadium to the Giants until Candlestick is ready. Fagan will pay $125,000 in annual taxes, in exchange for the parking concession, against 5 percent of the gross revenue. » April 15, 1958: The San Francisco Giants defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first ML game played at Seals Stadium, with Ruben Gomez pitching an 8-0 shutout. Giants SS Daryl Spencer hits the first HR. The Giants set an attendance record for Seals Stadium by drawing 23,192 fans. » May 4, 1958: At Seals Stadium, light-hitting OF Roman Mejias of the Pirates hits three home runs in the opener with San Francisco to lead Pittsburgh to a 6–2 win. Mejias will hit just five homers this year. SF's two runs come on homers by Orlando Cepeda. The Giants win the nitecap 4–3 in 10 innings. » May 7, 1958: Pirates Bob Skinner, Ted Kluszewski and Frank Thomas hit home runs in the 5th inning at Seals Stadium, but the Giants win 8–6. » June 21, 1959: Milwaukee's Henry Aaron hits three 2-run home runs at Seals Stadium to power the Braves to a 13–3 win over the Giants. It's the only 3-homer game of Aaron's career. » September 20, 1959: The Giants play their last game in Seals Stadium before moving to Candlestick Park, losing to Los Angeles 8-2. The Dodgers sweep the series and drop the Giants from first to 3rd. The Braves are in 2nd, a half game back.