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Mar. 31, 1976 * Offseason Issue
CONTRACTS * FA & DRAFT
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Texans Moving to Pacific Northwest
SEATTLE (Mar. 18) -- The saga of the struggling Dallas Texans neared a conclusion today with the announcement that the club would play the 1976 season in Seattle, Washington, pending a permanent solution. The troubled club will be the first tenants of the newly-built King County Multipurpose Domed Stadium, or "Domed Stadium" for short, which features a newfangled short-pile synthetic turf playing surface that promises to revolutionize the game. With only two weeks until Opening Day, the Texans proposed altering their schedule to open the season with a four-week road trip, buying time for the club to find a home. Texans players were told after an intra-squad game that Boeing CEO Thorton A. Wilson had purchased the club and offered to fly the team to Seattle on his private Boeing 747 jumbo jet. GM Eric Clemons was thrilled that the drama was coming to an apparently conclusion, and hoped that the change of scenery would do the club good, adding "I've heard of this fancy no watering grass and can't wait to try it out." The "Seattle Texans" will open the season at home on April 1 against the Manhattan Gray Sox. 
FREE AGENCY
Defending Champs Snag Bailey DETROIT (Feb. 15) -- Bob Bailey signed the biggest free agent contract in the first round of bidding, inking a two-year pact at $3.5 million per year. Bailey, 33, was a first round pick in 1963 and won the Isotoner Award for at third base in Triple-A Houston in his first pro season. He played 12 seasons in Dallas, batting .256 and compiling 1364 hits and 193 home runs, and his best season was 1971 (.279-25-95, .817 OPS). He hit .255-17-63 in 1974 but played only seven games last year after an elbow injury in the first week sidelined him for the rest of the season. Detroit led the league in home runs and slugging, and Bailey fills one of the Griffins' only lineup gaps, allowing Dick Allen to move to first base. Elsewhere, Los Angeles signed SP Joe Coleman, the best pitcher in the FA pool, and C Gene Tenace to $3 million contracts. The Outlaws also picked up CF Garry "The Maddox, and 1B Bill Madlock, who was cast off by the Voyageurs after they traded for George Brett. Dallas signed slugging OF Bobby Bonds and solid glove man 3B Doug DeCinces, Denver added a power man to their lineup with LF Roy Foster, and a pair of former All-Star, and World Series-winning second basemen, Dick McAuliffe and Ron Hunt, went to San Francisco and St. Louis, respectively. 
Club Without a Home?
DALLAS (Jan. 15) -- The fiasco that began here last summer when the Dallas Texans front office lost its lease renewal documents for Turnpike Stadium (see "Texans Future in Doubt") has taken a turn for the surreal. The struggling West Division club has been scrambling all winter to negotiate a renewal that will keep them in the Big D, only to learn this week that the dilapidated ballpark, their home since 1962, has been sold to Six Flags Over Texas for a parking lot expansion for the state's largest theme park. The Texans have had only three winning seasons since their 97-win inaugural campaign in 1962, and attendance has averaged less than 1.5 million over the last three years. Reports last year linked the club to a possible move to Colts Stadium in Houston or American Legion Field in Memphis (their Triple-A affiliate). Other options include the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which could be reconfigured for baseball, and the shortlisted cities from the 1974 UL expansion: Havana, Portland, St. Paul, and Seattle. Dallas GM Eric Clemons was unavailable for comment. Homeless Texans Book One-Way Tickets to Spring Training DALLAS (Mar. 1) -- Reports from spring training in Florida are that the Texans have not yet scheduled their return flights to Dallas, pending the resolution of their unsettled stadium situation. Club officials are scrambling to find a city and stadium to host the club, even temporarily if necessary, but the clock is ticking with Opening Day just 30 days away. A Dallas Morning News report that the Cotton Bowl was being retrofitted for baseball was denied by stadium officials who clarified that the work was to install new press boxes at the aging football stadium. GM Eric Clemons, apparently vacationing on the Florida Gulf Coast, was unavailable for comment. Mayor of Memphis Spotted in Texans Camp FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Mar. 5) -- Memphis Mayor Wyeth Chandler was seen at the Dallas Texans training camp today, fueling speculation that the vagabond ballclub might be moving to the birthplace of rock and roll. The Memphis Chicks have been the Texans' Triple-A affiliate since 1974, and GM Eric Clemons has ties to the city, but the 8,000-seat American Legion Stadium is not considered a viable long-term option. A mysterious businessman named "T. Wilson" was also seen in the hotel lobby speaking to Texans front office personnel, according to the hotel bartender. No further details were available. 
Frank Headlines Big Names in Free Agency Pool
NEW YORK (Feb. 1) -- Star players abound in this year's free agency pool of 190 players. Sure, they may be well past their prime, but few other year's have featured such big names as Bobby Bonds, Lou Brock, Dean Chance, Rocky Colavito, Sparky Lyle, Bill Madlock, Tim McCarver, Tug McGraw, Willie McCovey, Denny McLain, Rick Monday, Tony Perez, Vada Pinson, Frank Robinson, Ron Santo, and Mel Stottlemyre. Frank Robinson is 60 shy of 3,000 hits. The 40-year-old batted .293 last season in 44 games with Denver and became the second member of the 600 home run club on June 23, just weeks before Orlando Cepeda. Complete free agent pool. |
Movement in the Minors: Bees and Classics Join Junior Circuits
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 1) -- Profit margins for minor league sports teams are razor thin, just ask the owners of the San Diego Admirals and the New Orleans Pelicans. The Triple-A and Double-A franchises, respectively, have endured years of troubles both on the field and on the balance sheets, prompting their owners to pull up the stakes and move to greener pastures. The Admirals, the farm club of the Los Angeles Outlaws, have played to the smallest crowds in the 14-team International League and have failed to make the playoffs since the mid-60s. Outlaws owner Peter Vays gave the green light to the club's relocation to Salt Lake City, where the club will play in Derks Field as the Salt Lake Bees.
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The independent, Southern-based American Association has seen more churn than any of the three tiers of UL leagues, despite its small size of originally four, and now six, clubs. The league, which was founded in 1967, was thilled to land a team in New Orleans as one of its inaugural teams. But years of losing records resulted in small crowds and massive red ink, prompting the owners began looking for a new home last summer. The Pelicans considered a return to Birmingham or a move to the historic capital city of Montgomery, but ultimately settled on Pensacola, Florida, a Gulf Coast vacation spot just 200 miles from the Big Easy. The move was facilitated by sponsorship by the Coca-Cola Company and the team will play as the Pensacola Classics in Spooner Park on the campus of the University of West Florida. The other five clubs in the AA are the Asheville Moonshiners, Charleston Cadets, Chattanooga Lookouts, Durham Tobacconists, and Nashville Twang, and previous clubs have played in Birmingham and Memphis.
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