Ewing Field

Ewing Field was a baseball park in San Francisco, California. It served as the home of the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League for a single season, 1914.

Ewing Field was located in the Richmond District of the city, bounded by Masonic Avenue (east, third base); St. Rose's Avenue (now Anza Street, north, first base) and Geary Boulevard (a block north of St. Rose / Anza); Presentation Convent and Turk Boulevard (south, left field); and Lone Mountain (west, right field).

History

After several years at Recreation Park, Seals owner J. Cal Ewing was faced with some complex legal issues concerned with his ownership and his rental of Recreation Park. He decided to build a new ballpark in a part of the city that at the time had many cemeteries.^[1]

After one season at the new park, and after enduring many complaints about the cold, windy, foggy weather at Ewing Field,^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] Ewing sold the team and the ballpark to Henry and Clarence Berry, who moved the club back to Recreation Park.^[1]

The ballpark was subsequently used by local amateurs for football, soccer, rugby, and using a portable wooden ring that was stored under the stands, for boxing. During a game on June 5, 1926, the wooden structure caught fire from a cigarette, and soon burned down. Windblown embers set fire to approximately 100 houses.^[1] With the ballpark fire raging out of control, the firemen concentrated their efforts on protecting the rest of the neighborhood, including the Presentation Convent behind the left field corner of the ballpark.^[7] The left field bleachers avoided the fire due to a gap between them and the main grandstand..

The field continued to be used for football, with spectators using the bleachers. It also served as the venue for the San Francisco State Gators football, from 1931 until 1935 It was demolished in 1938 to construct a housing development called Ewing Terrace.^[1] The internal looping street is also called Ewing Terrace.

Sources

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hartlaub, Peter (October 15, 2022). "How a forgotten San Francisco ballpark nearly destroyed the western half of the city". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
^ Franks, Joel (2001). Whose baseball?: the national pastime and cultural diversity in California, 1859-1941. Issue 19 of American sports history series. Scarecrow Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-8108-3927-4. ISBN 0-8108-3927-X.
^ Gaar, Greg. "Ewing Field: Lost in the Fog Bank". Western Neighborhoods Project. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
^ Macfarlane, Angus. "Ewing Field: Better than Make-Believe, Part 1". Western Neighborhoods Project. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
^ Macfarlane, Angus. "Ewing Field: Better than Make-Believe, Part 2". Western Neighborhoods Project. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
^ MacFarlane, Angus. "Ewing Field". FoundSF. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
^ "The Story Of Ewing Field, NoPa's Doomed Stadium Of Yesteryear". Hoodline. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

External links

Sanborn map of Ewing Terrace and Convent of the Presentation, 1950 ("Ewing Field" visible under top layer of map)

[Chron-1] Hartlaub, Peter (October 15, 2022). "How a forgotten San Francisco ballpark nearly destroyed the western half of the city". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 16, 2022.

[2] Franks, Joel (2001). Whose baseball?: the national pastime and cultural diversity in California, 1859-1941. Issue 19 of American sports history series. Scarecrow Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-8108-3927-4. ISBN 0-8108-3927-X.

[3] Gaar, Greg. "Ewing Field: Lost in the Fog Bank". Western Neighborhoods Project. Retrieved March 16, 2016.

[4] Macfarlane, Angus. "Ewing Field: Better than Make-Believe, Part 1". Western Neighborhoods Project. Retrieved March 16, 2016.

[5] Macfarlane, Angus. "Ewing Field: Better than Make-Believe, Part 2". Western Neighborhoods Project. Retrieved March 16, 2016.

[6] MacFarlane, Angus. "Ewing Field". FoundSF. Retrieved March 16, 2016.

[:0-7] "The Story Of Ewing Field, NoPa's Doomed Stadium Of Yesteryear". Hoodline. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

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v t e Saint Mary's Gaels football
Venues	Ewing Field Kezar Stadium Saint Mary's Stadium
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Santa Clara: Little Big Game Oregon: Governors' Trophy Game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899–1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951–1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

v t e San Francisco Dons football
Venues	Ewing Field Kezar Stadium
Culture & lore	'51 Dons
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1917 1918 1919 1920–1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952–1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982

v t e San Francisco State Gators football
Venues	Ewing Field (1931–1935) Roberts Field (1936–1941) Cox Stadium (1946–1994)
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

v t e Santa Clara Broncos football
Venues	Ewing Field Kezar Stadium Mission Field (?–1961) Buck Shaw Stadium (1962–1992)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Saint Mary's: Little Big Game
Culture & lore	"Cheer, Cheer, Cheer" "Fight for Santa Clara" Death of Van Dokkelen
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906–1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953–1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

History

Sources

Further reading

External links