Category Archives: 49ers

Missing St Francis At Candlestick Park

12 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Canon, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, niners, Remembering Candlestick Park, Saint Francis of Assisi Statue, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants, St Francis of Assisi Statue, tell it goodbye, the stick

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The St Francis of Assisi Statue lit up with the setting sun at Candlestick Park in 1988 when the stadium and statue were still there. Now, they are both gone from this location. When the sun shone thru the halo around the head of the statue, it was truly magnificent.

Old SF Gate Article about St Francis of Assisi Statue

This statue was at Candlestick Park for 40 years. Does anyone know where this statue is now? According to this article, there were plans to build a shopping mall to replace Candlestick Park. This statue was created by the artist – Ruth Wakefield Cravath. It was installed in 1973. This statue was the guard to watch over all the sporting events at Candlestick Park.

During these pandemic times, there has been a lot of loss – lives, jobs, income, money, and daily livelihoods. Whenever we should gather again, there will be people we saw before the pandemic who are gone now. When Candlestick Park was demolished, many old fans went out to watch the different phases of the work. Fans lost an iconic stadium where they spent a significant amount of time enjoying sports while building close relationships. 

Significant loss is difficult to handle in normal times. But during this pandemic life, loss is harder due to our lack of physical interaction with people outside our bubble. Looking at old pictures and remembering the people and this old statute at Candlestick Park gives me comfort. Old photographs allow me to reflect on the good old times and the people who made the memories great. 

Just as the St Francis of Assisi statue guarded the sports events at Candlestick Park, we also need to keep guard of the precious people and events in our life – past and present. We can remember the people we miss during these pandemic times thru photos and think about their wonderful character to mimic in our life.

Photos remind us of what and who we miss!

 

Setting Sun on Candlestick Park

30 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, Remembering Candlestick Park, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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This is the late afternoon before a game at Candlestick Park. I shot this at the south west portion of the stadium. Notice the souvenir and concession stands on the left.

Have you ever noticed the shadows of objects as the sun sets? The shadows of objects become elongated. See the man with the orange jacket walking away from me with a long shadow. It can give an eerie feel to a picture.

Shadows can add an interesting dimension to a photograph. The contrast of the light and dark make shadows interesting.

The sun’s rays are radiating out in the upper portion and provide a nice contrast in this photo.

Showing the contrast with light and dark shades are a nice effect in a photograph.

In life, we need to understand the balance of light and dark in our perspective. We need the light to recognize and understand things in the dark.

We are faced with a critical crisis in our world today. We receive constant updates of this deadly COVID-19 Virus infecting many individuals. We are to remain inside to stay safe. These are dark times with many infected people. Those in the front lines of this battle are working with tremendous difficulties and challenges. We thank all of these people very much who work in the Medical Field, First Responders, Police and Fire Personnel, Grocery and Shop Clerks, Mail and Delivery People, Restaurants Providing Take out orders, and the many other essential people who are working and sacrificing their health and safety. 

We appreciate those who are seeking to find the solutions in the proper “light” to bring about healing.

My wife and I are praying for God’s light to reveal the answers to stop this dark virus and it’s spreading. Just as there is this darkness, there is light to provide hope.

Jesus Christ said in John 12:46 – I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Photos Teach!

Red Chairs From Candlestick Park to Oracle Park

03 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by in 49ers, AT&T Park, Candlestick Park, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, niners, Oracle Park, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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Everyone loves the iconic red and orange seats from Candlestick Park. Whether you prefer red or orange, you can purchase the stadium seat from $599.99 to $689.99. I actually purchased just the seat portion and not the whole chair for a reasonable price. It would take a miracle for my wife to allow me to ever purchase the whole chair.

Since I cannot actually own one of these old chairs, I’m so glad I can sit on one in Oracle Park. It is so cool we can visit these stadium chairs behind the Centerfield Scoreboard at Oracle Park. The chairs are a little aged and old. But are still functional and bring back good memories.

These chairs are one of the few mementos left from the Stick. Many of us share good memories from watching the SF Giants and the 49ers at this stadium. We spent precious moments with friends and family enjoying baseball and football. It is important to preserve these warm feelings to remind us of our past.

Thank you Oracle Park for keeping these old chairs to remind us about our times at The Stick.

I love my old stadium pictures of these chairs. I love how they glowed with the sun shining on the bright colors. The warm glow made them look even more special.

We need to see and keep the old photographs from the past to remind us where we came from. The pictures remind me of the person I was when I first started shooting photographs.

Think about your good memories when you attended sporting events at Candlestick Park. Who were you then? And how have you changed and grown to be who you are today? Are you happy with who you are today compared to the person of your past?

Keep the good memories from Candlestick Park!

The Phone to the Bullpen at Candlestick Park

02 Thursday May 2019

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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This was the scope of the technology for the phone to the bullpen at Candlestick Park. When the manager or pitching coach wanted to call down to the bullpen so a relief pitcher could start warming up, this wall telephone was it. This photograph was taken in the late 1980’s.

I’m sure there are some younger folks or children who never saw one of these old phones. It is interesting to contemplate the evolution of the telephones. At least, this one had push buttons instead of the old dial.

Now practically everyone is carrying some sort of smart phone with the ability to surf the internet, call folks, text contacts, stream media, listen to music and whatever functionality an app can provide.

It is nice to reminisce about the old fashioned phone – when a phone was just a phone. Candlestick Park represents a simpler time. We could enjoy a baseball or football game and just focus on the game. We could enjoy a good time with those who attended the game with us. We did not look at our cellphones to see our emails, look up something on the internet or text other friends.

What is our lesson from Candlestick Park? Maybe we should try to focus a little more on the primary task at hand. Can we just focus to watch the SF Giants play baseball now without looking at other distractions?

Let’s try it and see what it is like to focus only on the SF Giants play baseball.

Who was the biggest Free Agent to sign with the SF Giants?

08 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in 49ers, AT&T Park, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, niners, Pacific Bell Park, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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The answer is one of baseball’s all time great, Barry Bonds. I took this photograph at Pacific Bell Park during Fuji Photo Day.

Barry Bonds signed with the Giants in 1992. The Giants were still playing at Candlestick Park. He was playing with the Pittsburg Pirates before becoming a free agent. He was the most sought after free agent available in 1992. He signed a record 6 year $43.75 million deal. The deal was orchestrated by Peter Magowan. He became the highest-paid player in baseball history. Barry Bonds played for the Giants for 15 years.

Barry Bonds played left field at Candlestick Park. Al Michaels, the ABC broadcaster for Monday night football, stated left field at Candlestick Park was one of the most expensive piece of real estate in any sports stadium during a 49’ers game in 1992. Al was referencing the large contract paid to Barry Bonds who would play in left field (the north end zone) of Candlestick Park for the 1993 season.

Here’s info about Barry Bond’s deal with the Giants

I was thinking about the Barry Bonds deal as the Giants are contemplating signing huge free agent Bryce Harper. Let’s see where Bryce Harper signs.

It Will be Nice when the Saint Francis of Assisi Statue Sees the Light of Day Again

09 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, niners, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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Back Lit Statue of Saint Francis of Assisi was photographed in front of Candlestick Park in the late 1980’s. The steel and concrete statue by Ruth Wakefield Cravath was  moved from the ballpark when it was torn down in 2015. It was put in storage in Oakland and will be refurbished. The new location for installing the statue is to be determined. The statue was installed at Candlestick Park in 1973 after the project to add seats and enclose the stadium for the 49ers.

Mass Transit to Candlestick Park Back in the Day

09 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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This was the Double Decker Escalator which was going up to the main concourse area at Candlestick Park. I remember going to Candlestick Park a long time ago and marveling at the escalators there. They were extremely impressive in moving large amounts of people to and from the parking lot to the stadium concourse areas. They were very reliable as I don’t remember them being broken for any SF Giants or 49’er games I went to back then. They transported us quickly to the concourse levels so we could get our food before the games started. It is too bad all six of the escalators were torn down when Candlestick Park was flattened.

The image was photographed using color film with a 35mm Canon camera mounted on a tripod utilizing a slow shutter speed to get the blurred effect of the people moving.

Candlestick Park’s Eye Catching Red Exterior

07 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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Candlestick Park had a very distinctive exterior look because of the support beams, light standards, and the red color. The support beams and light standards were painted dark green in the 1990’s. Candlestick Park was visible from US 101 for over a mile away before it was torn down. It was torn down in 2015 but it is still strange when driving down US 101 and seeing an empty space where it used to be.

I hope they will create a Candlestick Park museum on site when they build up the area in the future. There is so much history there and a lot of stories to tell.

Red Chairs at Candlestick Park

24 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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The unmistakable Red Chairs at Candlestick Park in the lower box seat area photographed in September 1989 before a night SF Giants game. I have so many memories of going to SF Giants and 49’ers games and sitting in either The Red or Orange Chairs.

There were red and orange chairs in different parts of the stadium.

It was sad that Candlestick Park was torn down and that all the Red and Orange Chairs were removed.

I bought an orange Candlestick Park seat bottom to use for a background for taking my product photographs.  Due to expense and lack of space, I did not buy the entire chair.

Perhaps in the future, I will purchase a Red or Orange Chair from Candlestick Park for sentimental purposes.

Behind Home Plate at Candlestick Park

23 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, niners, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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Lower Box Seats behind home plate at Candlestick Park during batting practice before a SF Giants game. You can see the luxury boxes that circled above and the press box up on top of the stadium.

These were great seats with good chances of foul balls coming in this section. I rarely got to sit in this section because the seats were much more expensive and were harder to come by. When I did sit here, I always brought my glove just in case a foul ball came my way.