The Surf Dawgs were owned by Diamond Sports & Entertainment, previous owners of the GBL and primary investors in the North American League.

The Surf Dawgs were one of the eight original GBL charter teams that began play in 2005 along with the Chico Outlaws, Fullerton Flyers and Long Beach Armada in California; Mesa Miners, Surprise Fightin' Falcons and Yuma Scorpions in Arizona and the traveling Japan Samurai Bears.

After playing in one game with the Surf Dawgs, Canseco requested to be traded to a team closer to his home in Los Angeles[1] and was sent to the Long Beach Armada.

[citation needed] The team joined the Arizona Winter League as the Sonora Surf Dawgs in January 2007,[2] but reverted to San Diego for the 2008 season.

They replaced the San Luis Atleticos and Yuma Scorpions, who were originally scheduled to play in the league, but were dropped prior to the start of the inaugural season.

[citation needed] In 2022, the Federal Baseball League announced a west coast expansion with a division of six tentative host cities: Fresno, Riverside, San Diego, Sonoma, Fullerton, and Stockton.