San Francisco Seals

In the spring of 1930, a 16 year old Joe DiMaggio had already dropped out of Galileo High school in San Francisco. He tried many an odd jobs including fishing, which he later described as “a lousy way to make a living.” He began spending more and more time playing baseball at the diary-wagon parking lot, an open space where milk drivers parked their horses and wagons, near San Francisco’s fisherman’s wharf. "We used rocks for bases," DiMaggio told a biographer, "and it was quite a scramble among about 20 of us kids to scrape up a nickel to buy a roll of bicycle tape to patch up the ball each day."

Joe first suited up for a team sponsored by a local olive-oil distributor named Rossi. Joe helped Rossi win the championship with two home runs in a game. DiMaggio received two baseballs and $ 16 worth of merchandise for his play.
In March of 1932, Vince, Joe’s older brother made the roster of the city’s minor league team, the SF Seals. Later that year, a shortstop was needed, and Vince recommended his younger brother. It was then that Joe made his professional debut, playing in 3 games to finish out the 1932 season. The following year, 1933, his first full year with the Seals, Joe batted .340 with 169 RBI’s and 28 home runs. It turned out that Joe wasn’t a shortstop, but boy could he play baseball. He had found a career. In a sure sign of things to come, Joe had an incredible 61 game hitting streak in his first full professional season.. Scouts flocked to see DiMaggio as he was beginning to make a national name for himself.

In November of 1934, the Seals owner, Charlie Graham sold the rights to Joe DiMaggio to the NY Yankees for $25,000 dollars and five players. A knee injury kept Joe from reporting to the Yankees that year, forcing him to play for the Seals for one final year. Joe finished his minor league career with an impressive .398 batting average, 154 RBI’s and 34 home runs.