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Message
re: Why did NOLA never have an MLB team?
Posted on 7/11/22 at 8:31 pm to SaintlyTiger88
Posted on 7/11/22 at 8:31 pm to SaintlyTiger88
The Superdome opened in 1975. Multipurpose, which was the theme of 1970’s stadiums.
Shortly before that MLB was looking to expand 2 teams in the AL.
Seattle had been chosen because they had built their own dome (the Kingdome) and had recently
lost their team in 1970 when they Pilots moved to Milwaukee.
MLB originally planned to grant the franchise that became the Blue Jays to New Orleans, but Toronto offered to build a domed stadium of their own and the opportunity to expand the AL into Canada was far too great- plus all the $$$ and larger population base. It took Toronto 15 years to build that stadium they had promised and the Jays played in a joke of a stadium all that time/ off freezing cold and windy Lake Ontario.
A lot of old timers in New Orleans still refer to the Jays as ‘the team that should’ve been ours’, like with the NBA Timberwolves in 1993.
Had we gotten the Jays, New Orleans would’ve had NFL, MLB, and NBA during the oil boom period of the late 1970’s.
Shortly before that MLB was looking to expand 2 teams in the AL.
Seattle had been chosen because they had built their own dome (the Kingdome) and had recently
lost their team in 1970 when they Pilots moved to Milwaukee.
MLB originally planned to grant the franchise that became the Blue Jays to New Orleans, but Toronto offered to build a domed stadium of their own and the opportunity to expand the AL into Canada was far too great- plus all the $$$ and larger population base. It took Toronto 15 years to build that stadium they had promised and the Jays played in a joke of a stadium all that time/ off freezing cold and windy Lake Ontario.
A lot of old timers in New Orleans still refer to the Jays as ‘the team that should’ve been ours’, like with the NBA Timberwolves in 1993.
Had we gotten the Jays, New Orleans would’ve had NFL, MLB, and NBA during the oil boom period of the late 1970’s.
1
Posted on 7/11/22 at 10:22 pm to BRich
NOLA population started to drop in the 70s. I wonder why. Lol
Posted on 7/11/22 at 10:23 pm to SportsGuyNOLA
Why'd the Jazz leave?
Posted on 7/11/22 at 10:25 pm to SaintlyTiger88
NOLA tried (and got relatively close) to getting the Minnesota Twins back in the day (the Twins also played in a dome at the time).... the deal fell through, and that was a wrap for MLB in Louisiana.
Posted on 7/11/22 at 10:27 pm to MetroAtlantaGatorFan
quote:
Why'd the Jazz leave?
The owner was a Mormon
Posted on 7/11/22 at 10:30 pm to Tarpon08
quote:
Hundreds of empty seats. Saturday afternoon. Indoors. Against some of the biggest stars in baseball on the 4th largest city in America.
Houston is boring
Posted on 7/11/22 at 10:37 pm to SportsGuyNOLA
quote:
The owner was a Mormon
Nah it looks like it was because of an 11% amusement tax in the state of LA. The 2 primary owners were Jews from NYC.
Posted on 7/11/22 at 11:11 pm to MetroAtlantaGatorFan
Nah.
Sam Battistone was a Mormon.
He owned the restaurant chain Sambo’s and wanted to move the team to Utah because he lived out West and rarely visited New Orleans.
Check it out.
LINK
Sam Battistone was a Mormon.
He owned the restaurant chain Sambo’s and wanted to move the team to Utah because he lived out West and rarely visited New Orleans.
Check it out.
LINK
Posted on 7/11/22 at 11:25 pm to BRich
BRich, excellent posts.
One point, the 1977 Pels were AAA, in the American Association in the Cardinals' farm system. I listened to the radio broadcast every night with Dom Valentino and Steve Shannon.
One point, the 1977 Pels were AAA, in the American Association in the Cardinals' farm system. I listened to the radio broadcast every night with Dom Valentino and Steve Shannon.
This post was edited on 7/12/22 at 9:21 am
Posted on 7/12/22 at 9:45 am to RedPop4
quote:
One point, the 1977 Pels were AAA, in the American Association in the Cardinals' farm system.
Thanks. Fixed it.
Posted on 7/12/22 at 2:30 pm to SaintlyTiger88
Louisiana politics probably fricked it up back somewhere.
Posted on 7/12/22 at 2:41 pm to slutiger5
Portland is the 22nd market in the US and they have only had minor league teams.
Posted on 7/13/22 at 9:25 am to SaintlyTiger88
It is really really difficult to fill a baseball stadium over 82 games even in massive markets. It would be almost impossible in NOLA
Posted on 7/13/22 at 9:28 am to Eat Your Crow
quote:
Wasn't New Orleans like one of the 10 or 20 largest cities in America at some point last century? I guess from that standpoint, it is a little odd that they never had a team.
by the time the MLB was looking to move south Atlanta and Houston were already passing New Orleans by.
Posted on 7/13/22 at 9:32 am to Tarpon08
quote:
Against some of the biggest stars in baseball on the 4th largest city in America.
Astros fans are bored of dick slapping the angels.
Posted on 7/13/22 at 1:01 pm to SportsGuyNOLA
Part of it. Part of it was the amusement tax and fees the Jazz paid for the Dome. Everyone but the Jazz made money. The Jazz were treated like second class citizens as well. Mardi Gras....yeah go play on the road for a month. Boat show.....sorry Sam and Barry.
But the Jazz were their own worst enemy. They traded their 77 and 78 Ist round picks for Gail Goodrich and also their highest pick in 79 and a second to the Lakers.....all for Gail Goodrich. Also the Goodrich deal also involved Moses Malone going into the draft pool. The Jazz held the rights to Malone. So you give up Malone for an aging Goodrich who gives them one year of production and 3 first rounders which LA uses to select Magic Johnson in 1979 which of course lead to abysmal records in the 77-78 season and the 78-79 season where the Jazz were the worst team and would have been assured the #1 pick because this was pre lottery.
It's almost like Battistone purposely tanked. Meanwhile the Jazz were leading the league in attendance until 78-79 when the product was unbelievably piss poor.
Despite how bad they were, Edwin Edwards, whatever you think of him tried to save the team. Pleaded with the legislators and Superdome Commission to change things like the amusement tax that the City liked and went to both the city and dome about playing dates during Mardi Gras even going so far as to get a commitment to build a Lakefront arena on UNO's East Campus which was vacant. Say what you will about Edwin Edwards, but he was not about to lose out on money for himself or his friends.
Battistone would not listen.
But the Jazz were their own worst enemy. They traded their 77 and 78 Ist round picks for Gail Goodrich and also their highest pick in 79 and a second to the Lakers.....all for Gail Goodrich. Also the Goodrich deal also involved Moses Malone going into the draft pool. The Jazz held the rights to Malone. So you give up Malone for an aging Goodrich who gives them one year of production and 3 first rounders which LA uses to select Magic Johnson in 1979 which of course lead to abysmal records in the 77-78 season and the 78-79 season where the Jazz were the worst team and would have been assured the #1 pick because this was pre lottery.
It's almost like Battistone purposely tanked. Meanwhile the Jazz were leading the league in attendance until 78-79 when the product was unbelievably piss poor.
Despite how bad they were, Edwin Edwards, whatever you think of him tried to save the team. Pleaded with the legislators and Superdome Commission to change things like the amusement tax that the City liked and went to both the city and dome about playing dates during Mardi Gras even going so far as to get a commitment to build a Lakefront arena on UNO's East Campus which was vacant. Say what you will about Edwin Edwards, but he was not about to lose out on money for himself or his friends.
Battistone would not listen.
Posted on 7/13/22 at 1:55 pm to BRich
quote:
BRich
Outstanding posts like yours are the reason I keep renewing my elite preferred TigerDroppings membership!
A few notes about the 1977 Pelicans who played in the Dome. The roster included these future major leaguers:
Tony LaRussa - player and manager
Jim Riggleman - player and manager
Ken Oberkfell - player and coach
Pete Falcone - player
Pelicans
Average attendance was 3205. More than what the A’s draw today but not sustainable.
Most importantly, I played in an abbreviated Legion game in the Dome one afternoon before a Pelicans game. Flied out to left field.
Take THAT Moonlight Graham!!
Posted on 7/13/22 at 3:01 pm to 81Tiger
John Tamargo, future Zephyrs manager was a catcher on that team splitting duties with Tommy Sandt.
Benny Ayala, RF, was traded to the Orioles and eventually made it to the show.
Dane Iorg, who was a better AAA player than his brother Garth Iorg, did two stints. Garth Iorg was a better big leaguer than his brother.
Rick Bosetti was another I remember being glad to have on the Pels. He was good with other teams, as I recall.
Benny Ayala, RF, was traded to the Orioles and eventually made it to the show.
Dane Iorg, who was a better AAA player than his brother Garth Iorg, did two stints. Garth Iorg was a better big leaguer than his brother.
Rick Bosetti was another I remember being glad to have on the Pels. He was good with other teams, as I recall.
Posted on 7/13/22 at 3:17 pm to SaintlyTiger88
quote:
I would think, in Babe Ruth’s era, New Orleans still had to be pretty high on the list of largest cities in the US by population. For example, in 1930, NOLA was the 16th largest city by population in the USA. Crazy they didn’t have a pro baseball team at that time
There were only 16 teams back then, and New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and St Louis each had two or more.
Posted on 7/13/22 at 3:25 pm to Master of Sinanju
Travel to and from New Orleans would have been a bitch back in the 20s and 30s.
The first team to charter a plane at all was the Reds in 1934, but that was just for one series. It wasn't until the Yankees in 1946 that a team chartered a plane for a full season.
The first team to charter a plane at all was the Reds in 1934, but that was just for one series. It wasn't until the Yankees in 1946 that a team chartered a plane for a full season.
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