Pacific Coast League (1977-1978)
California League (1979-1981)
Tombstone
Born: October 1976 – The Sacramento Solons relocate to San Jose, CA
Affiliation Change: 1982 (San Jose Expos)
First Game: April 14, 1977 (W 11-6 vs. Spokane Indians)
Last Game: August 30, 1981 (L 7-0 @ Stockton Ports)
Pacific Coast League Championships: None
California League Champions: 1979
Stadium
San Jose Municipal Stadium (5,042)11981 San Jose Missions Yearbook)
Opened: 1942
Marketing
Team Colors:
- 1977: Green & Gold
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- 1977-1978: Bob Piccinini (leased to Joe Gagliardi)
- 1979: Joe Gagliardi, Henry Schiro & Dick Calafato
- 1981: Joe Gagliardi, Henry Schiro & Lew Wolff
Major League Affiliation:
- 1977: Oakland A’s
- 1978-1980: Seattle Mariners
- 1981: Oakland A’s & Seattle Mariners
Our Favorite Stuff
San Jose Missions Logo T-Shirt
This extra soft, 100% cotton throwback tee for the circa 1977-1981 Missions comes from our friends at Texas-based Royal Retros.
You can also find a great Tee design from San Jose’s other minor league baseball club of that era, the Bees, at the same link provided to the left.
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Background
The San Jose Missions baseball teams of 1977 to 1981 were actual two separate franchises, but we’ve consolidated them into one FWiL entry for simplicity’s sake.
The original Missions of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League arrived in the fall of 1976. The club was the former Sacramento Solons (1974-1976) of the PCL. The Solons had a nice following in the state capital but didn’t have a regulation baseball stadium. The Solons played at Hughes Stadium, a 22,000-seat football stadium with a left field wall only 250 feet away from home plate. (In 1974 the Solons had two right-handed hitters belt over 50 home runs).
Solons owner Bob Piccinini made arrangements to lease his club to Joe Gagliardi, a part-owner of the Class A San Jose Bees (1962-1976) of the California League who dreamed of bringing triple-A baseball to the Bay Area. Once the deal was struck in October 1976 the Bees cleared out to make room for the Pacific Coast League club, now re-named the San Jose Missions.
The Missions were an Oakland A’s farm club in 1977 and a Seattle Mariners affiliate in 1978. Despite the organizational shift, Rene Lachemann managed the team for both seasons, both of which saw the Missions finish in last place.
At the end of the 1978 season Piccinini unloaded the Missions for a reported $175,000 to a truck driver from Utah named Dennis Job. The Pacific Coast League franchise moved to Ogden, Utah for the 1979 season and became an Oakland farm club once again, nicknamed the Ogden A’s.
1979: Return To California League
The single-A California League, which had a long relationship with San Jose dating back to the 1940’s, quickly stepped into the breach and put a new team into San Jose’s Municipal Stadium for the 1979 season. The new ballclub retained the “Missions” name and a parent club relationship with the Seattle Mariners. Key players that played for the Missions during the California League/Mariners era included Bud Black (1979 & 1980), Dave Henderson (1979) and the #1 overall pick in the 1979 amateur draft, Al Chambers (1980), who turned out to be a colossal bust.
1982: Affiliation Change to San Jose Expos
Seattle withdrew its affiliation after the 1980 season. This forced the Missions to play their final season in 1981 without the benefit of prospects from a Major League organization. Following the 1981 season the Montreal Expos took over San Jose’s California League affiliation. The ball club was re-branded as the San Jose Expos for the 1982 campaign.
As of 2014, billionaire Save Mart grocery baron and former Missions owner Bob Piccinini is part of the ownership group of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
Trivia
25-year old outfielder Cameron Killebrew, the son of Hall-of-Famer Harmon Killebrew, played in 15 games for the Missions during the 1981 season.
The Missions were an early pro sports investment for real estate developer Lew Wolff. Wolff would become a major player in the Bay Area landscape, as an active co-owner of the Golden State Warriors (1986-1994) and later the Oakland Athletics and San Jose Earthquakes soccer team in the 21st century.
San Jose Missions Shop
In Memoriam
Outfielder Dave Henderson (Missions ’79) died of a heart attack on December 27, 2015 at age 57. New York Times obituary.
Links
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6 Responses
I have this program. Still have it too. San Jose just wasn’t AAA material.
any chance there is a team photo available of the 1978 San Jose Missions? I was a bat boy and would love to get a copy to show my kids
Hey Michael,
That’ll be a tough one. Many minor league programs of that era would include a team photo of the PRIOR year’s team. So there’s a shot you might find a black-and-white team photo of the 1978 Missions inside the 1979 Missions game program. Just a guess though.
Andrew
Andrew, Thanks so much I did find that 1979 Missions program in a box out in the garage,I didn’t even know I had that program and it is on page 50. Thanks again
Hi Michael
Any chance you can send a picture of the team or myself Rudy Rodolfo Arias C. Would sure bring back memories. If possible.
Thanks
Hi my is Vito I use stand outside that stadium waiting for foul balls collected a ton of baseball’s, I lived right down the street in the Alma neighborhood my friends and I played baseball everyday and never ran out of ball’s thanks to all the teams that came through there!