Not really. Sh*t had a pre-arranged deal with the Dallas-Fort Worth people
to buy a club and move it there. From day one, that was his intention. As a
former Senators pitcher told me, "We should have known what was up from the
beginning when Sh*t flew us from Florida to play a couple of exhibition
games in Dallas-Fort Worth before we came home to open against the Yankees."
(That was 1969 -- Sh*t's first year as owner.

Not for one millisecond did he think about staying. That's why he was
constantly making bad moves -- to sour DC on baseball so he'd have a good
excuse.

And when it didn't work, he just plain undercounted the fans so the
situation would seem much worse than it was -- and he could keep more money
while he destroyed things.

And even accepting Sh*t's undercounts at face value (which I don't), the
2001 Montreal Expos still drew fewer fans in absolute numbers than the 1971
Senators did.

And the attendance didn't go up (other than a blip) in Texas for three
years -- right when the team started to get good again. The same thing
would have happened here.

Finley, OTOH, operated in KC for seven years. Bartholomay operated in
Milwaukee for 4. Both were in their cities longer than Sh*t was in DC.

Tim
----- Original Message -----
> Short definitely "stinks."
>
> But at least Short thought about keeping the Sens in DC for a
> nanosecond. The all-time worst owner had to be Charlie Finley, who
> wanted to move the A's from KC from day one**. The long-suffering
> K.C. fans lost an A.L. franchise twice in the 20th Century too.
> (Don't forget, *DC* stole the American League Kansas City franchise
> in '00-'01!).
>
> There is also evidence taht Bill Bartholomay bought the Braves in '62
> with the intention of moving them to Atlanta.
>
>
> ** http://www.amazon.com/Kansas-City-At.../dp/0786416106
>
> Here's an excerpt from one of the Amazon reviews:
>
> "Peterson also discusses in depth the movement of the Athletics from
> Kansas City to Oakland. Throughout his ownership of the A's in Kansas
> City Finley constantly tried to move them elsewhere. Additionally,
> Finley was always duplicitous about his commitment to Kansas City.
> Rumors circulated every year that Finley was moving the team, first
> to Dallas, then to Seattle, then to San Diego, then to "who knows
> where." Finley always publicly denied these rumors, all the while he
> was negotiating to move the team first to Dallas, then to Seattle,
> then to San Diego, then to "who knows where." By the time of the
> departure of Finley's A's, few mourned the loss. Missouri Senator
> Stuart Symington summed up the position of most Missourians about
> this move, "Oakland is the luckiest city since Hiroshima." Peterson
> has a whole chapter with this title and it gives a blow by blow
> account of the move."
> --- In thewashingtonsenators@yahoogroups.com, bill gero
> <rebelyell1861@...> wrote:
>>
>> How many of the folks in this group were able to go to the last
> game on 9/23 ?? What memories did you take away from the game ?? I
> had the opportunity to get 3 tickets so I loaded up my 2 nephews and
> did the 150 - mile trek from my home to RFK that day. It was
> something that I felt I had to witness in person. The stadium that
> holds so many memories from my childhood as a Senators fan and
> Redskins fan, the years it sat vacant between the building of Jack
> Kent Cooke Stadium and the Nats arrival in 2005,( I don't count D.C.
> United - just not much of a soccer fan.) The Nats not only won the
> last game, but put on very good pre and post game ceremonies. So what
> memory will I hold onto about that game until my dying day? - the
> folks in the left field bleachers who unrolled the huge banner that
> said "SHORT STILL STINKS " !! That was a classic move that put the
> icing on a perfect day. I don't know the folks are, but if they are
> part of this little chat group, I salute you !!!
>> Thanks for all the good memories RFK - and a special thanks to
> those who bought the banner. Too bad they made you take it down. -----
> ----------------- Bill Gero
>>
>> tirko6969 <tirko6969@...> wrote:
>> yea he still stinks and may i add? so do the texas
> rangers! still
>> no world
>> series.
>>
>>
>> --- In thewashingtonsenators@yahoogroups.com, "Art Audley"
>> <Aa3rt@> wrote:
>> >
>> > I'm sure that most of you Senators faithful don't need (or want)
>> the
>> > reminder, but it was 36 years ago today that the Senators played
>> > their last game at RFK-forfeiting to the Yankees 9-0 (after what
>> was
>> > almost assuredly a 7-5 Senators win) when some of the 14,460 paid
>> > attendees stormed the field halting play.
>> >
>> > Joe Grzenda was the pitcher on the mound with Horace Clarke the
>> next
>> > (possibly last) scheduled batter.
>> >
>> > The 1971 Senators would finish with a record of 63-96 and a total
>> > attendance of 655,156. Resuming play in Texas in 1972 as the
>> Rangers,
>> > they would finish with a record of 54-100 and a total attendance
> of
>> > 662,974-an increase of only 7,818.
>> >
>> > Ted Williams would end his managerial career after the 1972
> season.
>> > It wouldn't be until 1974 before the Rangers would draw over 1
>> > million fans.
>> >
>> > PS-Short STILL Stinks!
>> >
>> > Art Audley
>> > La Plata, MD
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------
>> Luggage? GPS? Comic books?
>> Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search.
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
>
>
>
>
> Messages in this topic (4)
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