Let’s start by acknowledging that holding a seal captive in a ballpark for fan entertainment wouldn’t work in 2014. But 1950 was a time when doctors endorsed cigarettes and people thought creamed corn was a delicious side dish . I’ve seen photos in the Chronicle archives of a guy who dressed up chimps in New York Rangers jerseys and made them play hockey. In 1950, a captive seal at a ballpark would probably be PETA’s 4,597th priority.

With that said, I’m declaring Major the San Francisco Seal the greatest mascot in Bay Area history.

I’m guessing some traveling circus has coaxed the Oakland A’s to let a real elephant walk across the warning track. I have no doubt that someone (probably an Anaheim Ducks fan) has eaten shark at a San Jose Sharks game. But I’m pretty sure the 1950s Seals are the only major market team in Bay Area history to boast a live mascot in residence.

I heard about Major when commenters shared memories in previous posts about the team. Albie Pearson mentioned it twice during the interview for this Chronicle story that you shouldn’t read without a box of Kleenex. But up until now, photo proof was elusive.

At some point during my last vision quest, it occurred to me that I should be searching in the Chronicle archives under seals, not baseball. A search in our “Animals – Seals” file revealed the photos seen here. I also dug up the Chronicle article announcing the arrival of the mascot …

As you can see, Major was actually a sea lion. Missing, unfortunately, is a photo of the enclosure where Major was placed on display. Seals fans correct me if I’m wrong — I heard it was just inside the main entrance of the stadium.

As I said before, this would never fly today. It’s much easier/cheaper/more politically correct to put someone in a Lou Seal suit and have them dance on the dugout between innings. And considering all of the sea lions that can be viewed along the coast of San Francisco, seeing one in a ballpark would be less of a novelty than, say, a live grizzly bear in the Memphis basketball arena.

But judging by the reaction of the fans below, it was still a fun distraction.

Note that people in 1950 dressed for baseball games like people in 2014 dress only for job interviews and funerals. Except for the sea lion handler, who looks like he just came from his day job changing the oil on a 1946 Hudson Commodore.

The Seals played at Seals Stadium until 1957, the year before the San Francisco Giants moved into the area. I know the sea lion was there for at least a year, but I couldn’t find the exact length of Major’s stay — or if multiple seals were used. (Major would have grown pretty quickly to about 300 pounds.)

I’ve included a gallery of Seals Stadium-related photos below. The park wedged on the border of the Mission District and Potrero Hill was demolished years before I was born. More than anything I miss the Hamm’s Brewery sign. Let me know if you know where it is now …

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog post made a disparaging remark about creamed corn. We understand now that it is in fact delicious, both as a side dish and a possible topping for crab cakes. The Big Event apologizes for the error.

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder/editor of The Big Event. He takes requests. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/peterhartlaub. Follow The Big Event on Facebook.