The original fog-soaked Saint Mary's College campus in San Francisco enrolled both boys and young men and was born in 1863 from the educational vision of Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany. In 1889, the campus moved to Oakland and was affectionately dubbed the "Old Brickpile." Through fires, earthquakes, two world wars and bankruptcy, the college persevered and matured, eventually moving to its present location in Moraga Valley. From United States Navy cadets and "Slip" Madigan's Galloping Gaels to the Latin Question and iconic phone booth stuffing, historian and retired Saint Mary's College professor Ronald Eugene Isetti offers a detailed look at the college's legacy. Join Isetti as he chronicles the academic vision, institutional challenges and student traditions of one of California's oldest establishments of higher learning.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1878.

San Francisco Bay Area Sports brings together fifteen essays covering the issues, controversies, and personalities that have emerged as northern Californians recreated and competed over the last 150 years. The area’s diversity, anti-establishment leanings, and unique and beautiful natural surroundings are explored in the context of a dynamic sporting past that includes events broadcast to millions or activities engaged in by just a few. Professional and college events are covered along with lesser-known entities such as Oakland’s public parks, tennis player and Bay Area native Rosie Casals, environmentalism and hiking in Marin County, and the origins of the Gay Games. Taken as a whole, this book clarifies how sport is connected to identities based on sexuality, gender, race, and ethnicity. Just as crucial, the stories here illuminate how sport and recreation can potentially create transgressive spaces, particularity in a place known for its nonconformity.