1965 Age 13
It was 1962 when 3 American guys came to our local sand lot while my friends and I were playing Cricket in North Innaloo, Perth, Western Australia, the suburb where I grew up. They had all of this Baseball equipment with them. They were from the “Giants” organization and were out to promote Little League Baseball. I had been playing Cricket with the other kids in the area for years and soon we all converted to baseball. Two totally different games but Baseball gave every kid a more hands-on experience during the game. We ended up having 4 teams in our area. The teams were all named after American Indian tribes: Sioux, Apache, Kiowa and Shoshone. I remember it was so cool having a uniform and all the gear. I was 3rd base then in right field for the Sioux. I remember bringing home a template to place over a white T shirt and then “apply with iron”. Very cool to do this as a kid. I played until I was 15 but after that there was nowhere else to go and play. The end of the road for my baseball career. I outgrew playing Baseball but will forever be a big fan.
Years later I wanted to visit San Francisco and see the real thing. I got this pleasure in 1978. The New York Giants had moved to the West Coast. They were first at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park and then moved to Candlestick Park. Great stadium but cold and windy. Beers were $1.50 and bleacher seats were $10.00. There were always a couple of fights by the 7th innings. It was a long drive from where I was living in San Francisco and by the time a night game was over it was well after midnight when I got home. I loved the game even more after seeing it live at ‘The Stick’.
At one game I snagged a foul ball from Jose Uribe…had that glove and ball for years. I think I gave the ball to my nephew in Australia but I didn’t give up my glove. Where is it now???? Misplaced!
A good friend of mine from Melbourne, James McMillan visited San Francisco in the late 80’s and I took him to his first game. And a few more during the summer months he stayed with me. To this day we can both recall the entire starting lineup of the 1989 Giants. ‘On 1st base is Will ‘The Thrill’ Clark, on 2nd base is Rrrrrrobby Thompson, on 3rd base is Kevin Mitchell and Short Stop is Jose Uuuurreeeebay!’ And it keeps going until ‘playing in right field is Candy Maldonado!’ You can just hear the crowd cheering. Hummmm Baby!
When the new Ballpark was built it made going to a game more comfortable and enjoyable as a spectator. Of course more expensive but can’t deny the feel of seeing the Giants at AT&T Park. Every time when Max and I visited San Francisco we try to catch a game or two. Sometimes we would take our sailboat Gypsy Blue and drop anchor in McCovey Cove. W
hile BBQing and listening to the game on the radio, we would watch the kayakers and swimmers chase home run or foul balls when they were hit out of the park. It’s called ‘The Splash Zone’ for a reason.
Since we are such big Giants fans, we seem to remember where we were for certain big World Series.
In 1989, we were watching the World Series with the Giants against the Oakland A’s. This is known as the Earthquake Series. People who were at Candlestick when it happened wondered if they would get out alive. We were house sitting for friends near Golden Gate Park. Loosing power and bookshelves and the TV falling down. San Francisco was a mess. The Series was put on hold and alas, when it restarted the Giants lost.
In 2010 we were in Grenada and able to hear most of the World Series over the internet which is always interesting as the streaming is slow. But we saw the final winning game at Village Cay in Tortola, BVI’s.
In 2012 we were in Panama for the series. We saw a few games at 
the bar at Shelter Bay Marina. We then went out to some islands but returned to an out of the way gringo bar in Portobello to see the final – and winning – game.
People sometimes think it is odd that as an Australian loves baseball so much. I do love other sports – of course! But baseball is my fav!
