The Story of San Diego Padres

The Story of San Diego Padres — page 5
6 P a d r e s STARTING SLOWLY n the 15th century a Franciscan monk who would later be known as San Diego or Saint Diego lived a life of piety and good deeds in Spain In 1769 another Spanish monk named Junipero Serra dedicated a new mission on southern California’s Pacific coast to San Diego Soon other priests called padres in Spanish arrived at the mission and began teaching Christianity to the American Indians in the region The town of San Diego grew slowly over the next 150 years Then in the 20th century its popularity seemed to explode with the city’s population increasing from 17,000 in 1900 to more than 1 2 million in 2000 Major factors in San Diego’s appeal were its beautiful weather and magnificent ocean location Anyone living in or visiting San Diego wanted to be outdoors as much as possible That was one reason a minor-league baseball team was established in the city in 1936 A local newspaper held a poll to name the new team and Padres was the overwhelming favorite When Major League Baseball decided to expand before the 1969 season San Diego was a logical choice for a new National I