F I R S TP R E V873NEXTLAST

Lefty O'Douls, Union Square
This is totally hypothetical, but let's say you were talked into driving someone down to Union Square for a day of shopping. And, for the sake of argument, you'd rather be watching the 49ers play football that day. If, and again I'm just speculating, you were able sneak away from her for awhile under the pretext of 'gift shopping', then Lefty O'Doul's might just be the place for you.

Entering Lefty O'Doul's is like going back to an earlier time time in America. The walls are covered with photos of ballplayers, boxers, and athletes from a bygone era. The wood-paneled bar features an old fashion cafeteria-style restaurant offering up roast beef and ham to the many sports fans watching the various televised games.

Francis 'Lefty' O'Doul was just a 17-year old kid from San Francisco's Butchertown when he was signed by the San Francisco Seals. However over the coming decades he would become a local legend. O'Doul played a dozen years the New York Yankees as well as playing and coaching for the San Francisco Seals where he helped develop the career of Joe DiMaggio.

Later O'Doul would establish baseball in Japan and serve as the game's good will ambassador there. It was O'Doul who suggested that Japan's first professional baseball team be called the Tokyo Giants (now the Yomiuri Giants) after his beloved San Francisco Giants.

So remember if you find yourself on Union Square and you've reached your shopping limit, you might want to steal away, relax, and have a beer at Lefty O'Doul's. But remember you didn't hear it from me.

The events and accounts depicted in this post are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead, is merely coincidental.

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