Any SF Seals experts on board?

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Posted By: jamie

I picked up this photograph which originated out of a San Francisco estate. The uniform has the SF logo (most visible on the lower left player) which seems to match Seals teams of the 40's. However, there are two players who appear to be of Asian descent (right hand side back rows). Does anyone happen to recognize any of the players or perhaps the team here? Someone suggested the Asian player might be Herman Wedemeyer but the local expert on him didn't think so.

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Posted By: Chris Counts

I'm no expert on the Seals or old photos, but your image looks older than the 1940s ... and I'd say it's older than the 1930s as well ... I would guess somewhere in the 1920s, perhaps even the teens ...

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Posted By: Griffin's

If Mark Macrae doesn't know the answer he'll certainly know someone that does. I'd e him a scan.

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Posted By: joe brennan

Jamie, What ever year it is, nice pick up. Joe

People said it was a million dollar wound. But the government must keep that money, cause I ain't never seen a penny of it.

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Posted By: Chris Counts

I would think one of the board's Zeenuts collectors might be a big help ... The Zeenuts sets feature about 30 years worth of black & white Seals' photographs ... just from comparing jerseys, caps and socks, you should be able to narrow down the time period ...

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Posted By: fkw

To me it looks college aged players (USF, SF State) and 1920 era. And if that is the case the Asian/Pacific Islander looking players would also fit since it is San Francisco.

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Posted By: Anonymous

He doesn't look Asian to me - much more Pacific Islander or possibly even Chicano (though I guess the distinction could just be a matter of terminology in some cases).

There were some Hawaiins who played for the PCL, and I think Sacramento had a team called the Senators with a Chinese player sometime around the Thirties....but keep in mind it was a strange climate for Asians even in San Francisco. It would have been around that period there were interment camps with their own baseball teams. I think the above post was a good suggestion since UC had a team that played exhibitions.

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Posted By: jamie

there's actually two players that seem to be of some other ethnicity. one is definitely asian while the other might be chicano, phillipino, or as someone else suggested polynesian. they are actually standing together. here's a closer picture of both:

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

I'd say the photo is not from the teens or early 20s, but is from mid to late 20s or later. I base that on the bats. The bats have a thin handle and big barrel, wich came into favor as Ruth started slugging home runs. Before that, bats were longer, with a thicker handle and smaller barrel. Long bats have a slow bat speed, like swinging a broom or a boat oar, shorter bats get around quicker.

Bat physics was one of the changes that got the game out of the singles and bunts eara. Going from dirty balls to clean balls (see that ball Chase is holding on a T206 in another thread) after the Chapman incident, Babe started swatting, balls were made a bit tighter, no new spitball pitchers were allowed, and bat dimensions. This last change is often overlooked by Sports Illustrated type historians who just want to make a book for a coffee table.

Before Ruth and all of the changes above, a player might use 2 or less bats a season. After Ruth they started swinging from their heels, and the skinny-handled bats shattered. Today, it isn't unusual to occasionally see a batter splinter 2 bats in one at-bat. Those bats in that photo are "new" bats.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I still say that the Hawaiian looking fellow is a dead ringer for Herman Wedemeyer.



Wedemeyer did play baseball at St Mary's College in California and he played Minor League ball with the Sacramento Bees.