The Mariners were Seattle’s second Major League Baseball team, after the Seattle Pilots played one season in 1969 before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers. Slade Gorton, Washington’s Attorney General, sued the American League for breaking a lease and failing to fulfill its promise to field a baseball team in Seattle. The suit was settled with a deal – Seattle would get a team starting in the 1977 season and in exchange would drop the lawsuit.

The Mariners played their first game at the Kingdome on April 6, 1977 against the California Angels (now named the Los Angeles Angels). A crowd of 57,762 fans watched the game, which was the largest opening night crowd in baseball history. Unfortunately, the Mariners lost 7-0. This image shows catcher Bob Stinson shaking hands with Danny Kaye, part of the Mariners ownership group. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn is visible behind Kaye. The man wearing a Mariners cap is Henry “Scoop” Jackson, one of Washington’s US Senators, who threw the ceremonial first pitch of the game. Behind Jackson stands Les Smith, another owner of the Mariners.

Caption information source: “Seattle Mariners,” HistoryLink, retrieved from https://www.historylink.org/file/9560