Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium and Its Menagerie

This former Negro League ballpark became a short-term home for the migrant Athletics—and their pets.

by Rich Watson

After coming from Philadelphia, the Athletics lived in Kansas City only twelve years. This period isn’t discussed often—these A’s never made the playoffs—but it laid the groundwork for the A’s dynasty of the early seventies in Oakland. It was also the cause of further major league expansion in the late sixties.

The A’s played in Municipal Stadium, a place with an extensive history. One of the game’s most colorful and controversial owners began his tenure here. Among the impressions he left included turning the ballpark into a kind of zoo.

The Only Baseball Game Played in the Snow Was At Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium

A snowstorm didn’t stop the American League debut of MLB in Canada.

by Rich Watson 

The Toronto Blue Jays entered Major League Baseball as an expansion team in 1976. A plan to move the Giants from San Francisco was blocked due to a court ruling. The Canadian metropolis was awarded an original team instead, in a wave that also gave birth to the Seattle Mariners.

The name “Blue Jays” had been used by the Phillies in the fifties for a time, but Torontonians selected it as part of a fan contest.

Canadian National Exhibition Stadium, a football venue built in 1948, was the chosen home site. It had been outfitted recently with AstroTurf, new at the time. The city council had also approved $2.8 million (Canadian) for stadium renovation.

An expansion draft assembled the players, among them Vancouver native Dave McKay. A schedule was drawn up, and tickets sold. The new team would play its first game on April 7, 1977 against the White Sox.

Everything went fine—as long as no one looked at the weather forecast.