The year was 1936. The Depression was at its height. San Diego–then considered nothing more than a sleepy border town–had always desired to become a big city. Securing a major professional baseball franchise would be the first step in fulfilling this dream.

Finally, San Diego took that first step by securing a team in the fabled Pacific Coast League. After a community-wide contest, the team was christened the San Diego Padres. That team turned out to be not only an interesting ballclub, but also a very good one. In retrospect, the club was even more remarkable. Two of its players–Bobby Doerr and Ted Williams, aka The Kid –became members of the Natinal Baseball Hall of Fame. They had one of the DiMaggio brothers roaming the outfield. Another outfielder played alongside Babe Ruth on the 1927 Yankees. To quote Bobby Doerr: It was quite a team.

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