Remembering Tony Bennett's special ties with Giants

The Giants lost a performer who they cannot replace.

Tony Bennett, the celebrated singer who died Friday at 96, highlighted some of the Giants’ greatest events by accompanying them with live renditions of his signature hit, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” The song, which Bennett recorded in 1962 and was released later that year, has been played on the public-address system after every Giants home victory for decades.

Bennett’s most resonant mini-concert occurred before the Giants’ home opener at Candlestick Park on April 12, 1993, in the wake of the offseason sale of the franchise to the Peter Magowan-led investor group that prevented the team from moving to Tampa-St. Petersburg. That afternoon, the song’s concluding lyrics (“When I come home to you, San Francisco, your golden sun will shine for me”) bore extra significance for every Giants fan.

Another Bennett appearance came as a welcome surprise. On Oct. 31, 2012, he emerged from San Francisco’s City Hall to sing “I Left My Heart …” and conclude the ceremony following the parade that celebrated the ballclub’s four-game World Series sweep over Detroit.

Bennett also sang “I Left My Heart …” before Game 1 of the Giants’ 2010 World Series opener against visiting Texas and Game 3 of the 2002 Series when San Francisco hosted the Angels, among other occasions. He also led the crowd in “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch of Game 3 of the 2014 NL Division Series between the Giants and Nationals.

The Giants tightened their bond with Bennett in August 2016, when they observed his 90th birthday in a pregame function at Oracle Park. Giants legend Willie Mays joined Bennett on the field during the festivities. That night, the Giants began raising a victory flag in Willie Mays Plaza after every win at home. The flag is decorated with a Giants logo and a heart -- visually representing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

The Oracle Park suite at the end of the right-field line is named in Bennett’s honor. Vintage Bennett record albums and other Bennett-related memorabilia dominate the suite’s décor.

Before or after his ballpark appearances, Bennett sometimes relaxed in the team’s clubhouse -- specifically, in the office of former Giants clubhouse manager Mike Murphy, where many celebrities took refuge through the years. Murphy and Bennett originally met in the 1960s through influential mutual friends -- the Swig family, former owners of San Francisco’s famed Fairmont Hotel. The Fairmont was a regular stop for Bennett when he went on tour.

In his autobiography published in 2020, “From the Stick to the Cove,” Murphy fondly recalled crossing paths with Bennett.

“He called me for an autographed baseball from [Buster] Posey a couple of years back, and I sent it to him,” Murphy wrote. “Our rapport deepened when I saw him playing tennis at the Hilton hotel in Pittsburgh after the Swigs had introduced us. We sat in the lobby and talked for about an hour. We just talked about baseball. He’s a huge baseball buff.”