There was a time in the 1950's when San Francisco was home to two mascots who have long been forgotten in society: a mule named Clementine and a seal named Major. This is their story.
Clementine
The 49ers have long associated themselves with the gold mining legends of San Francisco and even have a costumed mascot named Sourdough Sam who embraces all that the team holds dear. But in the 1950s, Sourdough Sam did not exist. With costumed mascots being so scarce in those days, the 49ers "hired" a living mule for entertainment purposes.
Named after the popular folk son "Oh My Darling, Clementine", handsomely "paid" $45 a month and adorned with a red saddle blanket bearing his name, the mule did very little in leading the crowd in cheer. Instead, the mule often just stood there, braying when the 49er scored. Other than kneeling down and rolling over, Clementine proved to be a bit of a dud and by the early 1960s was phased out of the 49ers' memory.
Major
The heading of the March 17, 1950 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle read " Seals Sign Sea Lion". However, further along in the article, the author used the words "sea lion" and "seal" interchangeably. That right there was a sign that the local baseball club didn't exactly know what it was doing. It didn't even know the gender. After choosing "Major" as the mammal's name following a public contest, the Seals stated that they were willing to change its name to "Majorette" if a knowledgeable fan could confirm the gender. None ever came forward.
The club built a tank for the creature in Seals Stadium and painted ocean views all along its walls. Unfortunately, Major tried sunbathing on the fake rocks and after several times of bopping his nose on the walls, discovered the horrible truth. He had been duped.
A year old and already the size of a large dog, the seal was expected to grow as large as 200 to 300 pounds and was quickly outgrowing his surroundings. His handler, Seals secretary Lila Wulf, tried to cut down his diet of 18 pounds of filet of sole down to 14 pounds a day, but it quickly became obvious to all that Major had no place in the Mission District.
Eventually, Seals vice president Charles Graham returned Major to the Steinhart Aquarium in Golden Gate Park and the Seals mascot was phased out by the start of the 1951 baseball season. In 1997, the Giants debuted a costumed Lou Seal in an effort to connect with the city's roots and today he is a thriving member of the Giants community.
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