1969–70: Roots in Seattle History of professional baseball in Milwaukee

seattle had lot going when joined american league in 1969. milwaukee, seattle had long been hotbed minor league baseball , home seattle rainiers, 1 of pillars of pacific coast league (pcl). cleveland indians had moved seattle in 1960s. many of same things attracted indians made seattle plum choice expansion team. seattle third-biggest metropolitan area on west coast (behind los angeles , san francisco bay area). addition of third team on west coast balance out addition of kansas city. also, there no real competition other pro teams. while seattle had landed nba s supersonics, nba not in same class baseball in terms of popularity @ time.

pilots logo

the front man franchise dewey soriano, former rainiers pitcher , general manager , former president of pcl. in ominous sign of things come, soriano had ask william r. daley, had owned indians @ time flirted seattle, furnish of expansion fee. in return, daley bought 47 percent of stock—the largest stake in club. became chairman of board while soriano served president.

however, couple of factors beyond pilots control. not set start play until 1971. date moved 1969 under pressure sen. stuart symington of missouri. professional baseball had been played in kansas city 2 years in 20th century until s left oakland after 1967 season, , prospect of having kansas city wait 3 years return not acceptable symington. also, pilots had pay pcl $1 million compensate loss of 1 of successful franchises. after king county voters approved bond domed stadium (what become kingdome) in 1968, seattle pilots officially born. california angels executive marvin milkes hired general manager, , st. louis cardinals coach joe schultz became manager.

to surprise of no 1 outside seattle (schultz , milkes thought finish third in newly formed al west), pilots terrible. won first game, , home opener 3 days later, won 5 more times in first month , never recovered. finished last in west record of 64–98, 33 games out of first.

however, team s poor play least of troubles. obvious problem sick s stadium. longtime home of rainiers, had been considered 1 of best ballparks in minor league baseball. 1960s, however, considered far behind times. while condition of mlb awarding pilots seattle sick s had expanded 30,000 seats start of 1969 season, 17,000 seats ready due numerous delays. scoreboard wasn t ready until eve of opening day. while expanded 25,000 june, added seats had obstructed views. water pressure nonexistent after seventh inning, crowds above 10,000. attendance poor (678,000) pilots out of money end of season. team s new stadium slated built @ seattle center, petition stadium opponents ground project halt. end of season, obvious pilots not survive long enough move new stadium without new ownership. obvious move have happen quickly, sick s stadium inadequate temporary use.

during offseason, soriano crossed paths selig. met in secret on month after end of season, , during game 1 of world series, soriano agreed sell pilots selig $10 million $13 million (depending on source). selig move team milwaukee , rename brewers. however, owners turned down in face of pressure washington s 2 senators, warren magnuson , henry (scoop) jackson, state attorney general slade gorton. mlb asked soriano , daley find local buyer. local theater chain owner fred danz came forward in october 1969 $10 million deal, fizzled when bank of california called in $4 million loan had made soriano , daley startup costs. in january 1970, westin hotels owner eddie carlson put nonprofit group buy team. however, owners rejected idea out of hand since have devalued other clubs worth. more traditional deal came 1 vote short of approval.

after winter , spring full of court action, pilots reported spring training under new manager dave bristol unsure of play. owners had given tentative approval milwaukee group, state of washington got injunction on march 17 stop deal. soriano filed bankruptcy – move intended forestall post-sale legal action. @ bankruptcy hearing week later, milkes testified there wasn t enough money pay coaches, players , office staff. had milkes been more 10 days late in paying players, have become free agents , left seattle without team 1970 season. in mind, federal bankruptcy referee sidney volinn declared pilots bankrupt on april 1 – 6 days before opening day – clearing way them move milwaukee. team s equipment had been sitting in provo, utah drivers awaiting word on whether drive toward seattle or milwaukee.

much of story of seattle pilots year in existence told in jim bouton s classic baseball book, ball four.