(Photo via Giants)
The San Francisco Giants will commemorate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, at Oracle Park on Saturday, June 19 when they face the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:05 p.m. PDT. This important day marks the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States.
To celebrate the rich history of African American and Black athletes in baseball on this historic day, the Giants will wear a replica uniform of the San Francisco Sea Lions marking the 75th anniversary of the West Coast Negro Baseball Association team. While the Negro Leagues were not as active on the West Coast as they were in the South and other parts of the country, there were a few African American teams who barnstormed the country from Oakland/San Francisco in the 1940s. Prior to the establishment of the San Francisco Sea Lions, who played for just one season, there was the San Francisco Cubs. It was the defunct Cubs organization, with a bear cub on their uniform, who gave those old uniforms to the Sea Lions for the 1946 season. There was also no logo or emblem on the navy blue caps worn by the Sea Lions.
The family of Toni Stone, the first female known to play on a professional men’s baseball team, will participate in a pre-game ceremony in which they will be presented with a Sea Lions jersey to honor Stone’s legacy. Stone was a member of the Negro Leagues in which she played for the Sea Lions and later the Indianapolis Clowns. Earlier this year the Giants announced that a street will be named after Toni Stone in their Mission Rock development in partnership with Tishman Speyer and the Port of San Francisco.
For more information on African American Heritage special event tickets to benefit San Francisco Juneteenth celebrations and receive a commemorative Sea Lions T-shirt click HERE. The Sea Lions jerseys worn by the team will be auctioned off online at sfgiants.com from June 19-26 with proceeds also benefitting San Francisco Juneteenth celebrations.