News Reader:In the early 1920s, an article in a St. Louis baseball news magazine suggested that Toronto had excellent major league franchise potential. Until this past week, more than 50 years later, big league baseball still hadn't been a reality for Toronto. In recent years, Toronto has been eyed as an attractive city for a team, and the CNE Stadium was refurbished, at great expense, with a franchise in mind, even before any serious offers were tendered. Toronto interests, led by Metro Chairman Paul Godfrey, have sought a franchise in earnest for the past two years and thought they'd landed the San Francisco Giants when an agreement in principle was reached in January. However, legal barriers were erected, the National League procrastinated on its decision, and the Giants ultimately found new San Francisco owners and remained in the Bay area. Despite Toronto's disappointment at the last-minute loss of an established baseball team, the American League jumped into the lush Ontario market with a promise of an expansion franchise for next season. Two Toronto groups bid for the team, with the long-suffering Labatt's group winning out. But baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn blocked the move into Toronto, ordering National League owners to put a team into Washington before he'd allow one in Toronto. However, last Monday, the National League, defying Kuhn, voted against expansion to Toronto and Washington, and the American League's expansion into Toronto at last seems secure. Fred Scambatti spoke with the president of the American League, Lee McPhail, at a press conference on Monday and asked him how he felt, now that the issues had been resolved and Toronto is indeed part of the American League.
Lee McPhail:Relieved and extremely pleased. We couldn't be happier. Not only me but everyone in our league.
Fred Scambatti:Is there a situation? Do you feel there'd be any recriminations along the line of the political over this? Lee McPhail:If you mean because of Washington, I know there'll be disappointment in Washington that they didn't get a club. But we really have no We feel, in the American League, no obligation to Washington. We've had two teams there. They both had to move out. We've tried our best to provide American League baseball for Washington through the Baltimore club, and those efforts have been turned down, so we really didn't feel an obligation to go to Washington. Fred Scambatti:As far as stocking the club, can we expect to see a better proposition for the expansion teams than has been apparent in the past?
Lee McPhail:What we have told our two expansion teams, Seattle and Toronto, is that we would work out a formula that would be just as good or better than was the case in the last expansion. Now, those ground rules haven't been set forth yet. We do have a committee selected. Jim Campbell, the general manager of the Tigers, is the chairman. They will start meeting very shortly. Both the Toronto and Seattle clubs will be given an audience before that committee and be given an opportunity to plead their case. But I'm confident. I think our talent situation is such today that we're in a position to expand and that we can provide both teams with a good, young expansion team that will be competitive very soon. Fred Scambatti:If there's a side issue, has the position of the commissioner been diluted somewhat over this controversy? Lee McPhail:Well, I really don't know. It hasn't worked out as he had planned. He's worked very hard to try to get baseball in Washington, and I'm sure he'll continue to do work to do that. Fred Scambatti:Toronto in the Eastern section of the American League?
Lee McPhail:Toronto will be in the American League East, and Seattle will be in the American League West, and you'll be playing you'll be pitted against clubs like Boston, New York, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee. Fred Scambatti:Was there somewhat of a gamble involved here? The American League standing by while the procrastination took place with San Francisco and the National League attitude, and then eventually it evaporated and the American League ready to step in. But was that some sort of a gamble?
Lee McPhail:Well, it wasn't a gamble because we really didn't think that we had an opportunity to get Toronto. We would have always Toronto would have been our first pick, along with Seattle, at any time. But we felt that Toronto probably would go to the National League because of Montreal, and we also knew that Toronto would prefer an established team probably to an expansion team, so we really didn't try to muddy the waters for the National League as long as they were trying to move San Francisco here. But once the San Francisco move went down the drain, then we started working to try to get a club here ourselves.
Fred Scambatti: American Baseball League President Lee McPhail.
The manager of the CNE Stadium, where the baseball team will play its home games, is Gordon Walker, relieved at finally having a baseball tenant for the newly renovated - at a cost of $15-million - stadium. Walker was asked if this would now add to his scheduling problems for the CNE at National Exhibition time.
Gordon Walker:No. As a matter of fact, we anticipate that there will be many baseball games played during Exhibition time for 1977. And, as a matter of fact, in the past, our Argonauts have had to take their train not so much their training camp, but their actual practices during CNE time, they've had to move out of the Exhibition during CNE time. This year, they will be practising at the stadium during Exhibition time, so we are preparing for this particular the eventual happening of baseball games during CNE.
Fred Scambatti:That could be an exciting prospect, with full houses there for a series, drawing from the people who come on the grounds and those who try to get in to the grounds specifically for baseball.
Gordon Walker:Well, plus the fact that we'll be getting about 25 per cent of people coming to the Ex, our American visitors from the Northern states. And there's a market there for 150,000 to 300,000 people on the grounds during a particular given day - just a tremendous market - and I'm certain that they'd love to be able to come in and watch a ballgame. Fred Scambatti:Lee McPhail, the president of the American League, said at the outset, he saw some problems with the CNE Stadium, that he wasn't all that happy, but once he'd seen it, that he was rather delighted. Now, I'm wondering if the American League and the baseball interests have asked for anything extravagant in the way of changes. Gordon Walker:No, nothing as far as changes. In many cases, there are certain areas that we have not gone into to any great extent because we have waited for a tenant to see what their thinking is going to be pertaining to certain areas. There's no problem. Once Mr. McPhail got down and saw the intimacy and the tremendous sightlines that are there for baseball, he was quite enthused about the stadium.
Fred Scambatti: Gordon Walker, of the CNE Stadium, in Toronto.
Dave Cashin is Ontario sales manager for Labatt's, and can hardly be blamed for his obvious relief at the finalization of the deal. Dave Cashin:It's nice to see that baseball has resolved its problems, that the American League, who embraced us some three weeks ago in Tampa, is going to be here, and we're going to be able to get on with getting the franchise organized for '77. Fred Scambatti:You must have had plans. Are you ready just to trigger these plans at this point?
Dave Cashin:No. Actually, Fred, we've been in the background, organizing ourselves, with the hope that the things would be solved shortly, and we're looking at people and getting ready to develop the hierarchy, and there will be announcements in the near future. Fred Scambatti:The first priority as far as the ball club in itself goes?
Dave Cashin:I think the first priority really is to get a hierarchy, to get an organization who can put together the staff to get ready for the draft in October or November so that we can come up with a good team to field in '77. Fred Scambatti:Have you had ticket applications thus far?
Dave Cashin:I would assess the ticket applications somewhere around the 3,000 mark for season tickets, which is very gratifying.
Fred Scambatti: Dave Cashin, of Labatt's. It would be nice to think that Toronto now merely needs to get on with the business of fielding a team to begin play next year, but with two false starts so far this year, fans and owners alike must be waiting for that third strike.
