Saturday, May 21, 2005
Vintage Seals Stadium seats for sale
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.
Sign in, please: New Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young will be signing autographs at the Fan Club, 123 Winchester Blvd. in Campbell, on June 11 from 4-8 p.m.
New store owner Bob Madsen, who recently bought the business from Kent and Mike Herkenrath, said he is expecting about 1,000 fans for the signing, and 400 will be given at opportunity to have a photo taken with the former 49ers quarterback.
Autograph prices are $75 for flat items, $85 for mini-helmets and footballs, $95 for helmets and jerseys and $35 for inscriptions. Package deals are also available.
Man on fire: You hear a lot about the rapidly escalating prices of vintage baseball cards, but one modern card is attracting a lot of attention, too.
That's the 2001 autographed Bowman Chrome rookie card of Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, which is No. 1 on Beckett Baseball magazine's "hot list" for the third straight month.
Raw copies of the card (just 500 were produced) reportedly are bringing a couple of thousand dollars each, according to Beckett managing editor Mike Payne, with gem mint-graded copies going for $11,000 to $15,000.
