History of professional baseball in Milwaukee
1969&ndash;70: Roots in Seattle
### 1969–70: Roots in Seattle

Seattle initially had a lot going for it when it joined the American League in 1969\. Like Milwaukee, Seattle had long been a hotbed for [minor league baseball](/wiki/Minor_league_baseball "Minor league baseball") and was home to the [Seattle Rainiers](/wiki/Seattle_Rainiers "Seattle Rainiers"), one of the pillars of the [Pacific Coast League](/wiki/Pacific_Coast_League "Pacific Coast League") (PCL). The [Cleveland Indians](/wiki/Cleveland_Indians "Cleveland Indians") had almost moved to Seattle in the early 1960s. Many of the same things that attracted the Indians made Seattle a plum choice for an expansion team. Seattle was the third\-biggest metropolitan area on the West Coast (behind Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area). The addition of a third team on the West Coast also would balance out the addition of Kansas City. Also, there was no real competition from other pro teams. While Seattle had just landed the [NBA](/wiki/National_Basketball_Association "National Basketball Association")'s [SuperSonics](/wiki/Seattle_SuperSonics "Seattle SuperSonics"), the NBA was not in the same class as baseball was in terms of popularity at the time.

The front man for the franchise was [Dewey Soriano](/wiki/Dewey_Soriano "Dewey Soriano"), a former Rainiers [pitcher](/wiki/Pitcher "Pitcher") and general manager and former president of the PCL. In an ominous sign of things to come, Soriano had to ask [William R. Daley](/wiki/William_R._Daley "William R. Daley"), who had owned the Indians at the time they flirted with Seattle, to furnish much of the expansion fee. In return, Daley bought 47 percent of the stock—the largest stake in the club. He became chairman of the board while Soriano served as president.

However, a couple of factors were beyond the Pilots' control. They (alongside with the Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals) were originally not set to start play until 1971\. But the date was moved up to 1969 under pressure from [Sen.](/wiki/United_States_Senate "United States Senate") [Stuart Symington](/wiki/Stuart_Symington "Stuart Symington") of [Missouri](/wiki/Missouri "Missouri"). Professional baseball had been played in Kansas City for all but two years in the 20th century until the [A's](/wiki/Oakland_Athletics "Oakland Athletics") left for [Oakland](/wiki/Oakland%2C_California "Oakland, California") after the 1967 season, and the prospect of having Kansas City wait three years for its return was not acceptable to Symington. Also, the Pilots had to pay the PCL US$1 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to compensate for the loss of one of its most successful franchises. After [King County](/wiki/King_County%2C_Washington "King County, Washington") voters approved a bond for a domed stadium (what would become the [Kingdome](/wiki/Kingdome "Kingdome"), which opened in 1976\) in 1968, the Seattle Pilots were officially born. [California Angels](/wiki/California_Angels "California Angels") executive [Marvin Milkes](/wiki/Marvin_Milkes "Marvin Milkes") was hired as general manager, and [St. Louis Cardinals](/wiki/St._Louis_Cardinals "St. Louis Cardinals") coach [Joe Schultz](/wiki/Joe_Schultz "Joe Schultz") became manager.

To the surprise of no one outside Seattle (Schultz and Milkes actually thought they could finish third in the newly formed AL West), the Pilots were terrible. They won their very first game, and then their home opener three days later, but only won five more times in the first month. Despite this, Schultz managed to keep his patchwork team competitive for much of the early part of the season; they were within striking distance of .500 for much of the spring, and were actually six games out of first as late as June 28\. However, a 9–20 July ended any realistic hope of contention, and a 6–20 August crumbled them to last place for good. They finished with a record of 64–98, 33 games out of first.

However, the team's poor play was the least of its troubles. The most obvious problem was [Sick's Stadium](/wiki/Sick%27s_Stadium "Sick's Stadium"). The longtime home of the Rainiers, it had been considered one of the best ballparks in minor league baseball. By the [1960s](/wiki/1960s "1960s"), however, it was considered far behind the times. While a condition of MLB awarding the Pilots to Seattle was that Sick's had to be expanded to 30,000 seats by the start of the 1969 season, only 17,000 seats were ready due to numerous delays. The scoreboard was not ready until the eve of opening day. While it was expanded to 25,000 by June, the added seats had obstructed views. Water pressure was almost nonexistent after the seventh inning, especially with crowds above 10,000\. Attendance was so poor (678,000\) that the Pilots were almost out of money by the end of the season. The team's new stadium was slated to be built at the [Seattle Center](/wiki/Seattle_Center "Seattle Center"), but a petition by stadium opponents ground the project to a halt. By the end of the season, it was obvious that the Pilots would not survive long enough to move to their new stadium without new ownership. It was also obvious that the move would have to happen quickly, as Sick's Stadium was completely inadequate even for temporary use.

During the offseason, Soriano crossed paths with Selig. They met in secret for over a month after the end of the season, and during Game 1 of the [World Series](/wiki/1969_World_Series "1969 World Series"), Soriano agreed to sell the Pilots to Selig for US$10 to $13 million (equivalent to $ million in ), depending on the source.

Selig would then move the team to Milwaukee and rename it the Brewers. However, the owners turned it down in the face of pressure from [Washington](/wiki/Washington_%28state%29 "Washington (state)")'s two senators, [Warren Magnuson](/wiki/Warren_Magnuson "Warren Magnuson") and [Henry (Scoop) Jackson](/wiki/Henry_M._Jackson "Henry M. Jackson"), as well as state attorney general [Slade Gorton](/wiki/Slade_Gorton "Slade Gorton"). MLB asked Soriano and Daley to find a local buyer. Local theater chain owner Fred Danz came forward in October 1969 with a $10 million deal (equivalent to $ million in ), but it fizzled when the [Bank of California](/wiki/Bank_of_California "Bank of California") called in a $4 million loan (equivalent to $ million in ) it had made to Soriano and Daley for startup costs.

In January 1970, [Westin Hotels](/wiki/Westin_Hotels "Westin Hotels") owner Eddie Carlson put together a nonprofit group to buy the team. However, the owners rejected the idea almost out of hand, since it would have devalued the other clubs' worth. A more traditional deal came one vote short of approval.

After a winter and spring full of court action, the Pilots reported for spring training under new manager [Dave Bristol](/wiki/Dave_Bristol "Dave Bristol") unsure of where they would play. The owners had given tentative approval to the Milwaukee group, but the state of Washington got an injunction on March 17 to stop the deal. Soriano immediately filed for bankruptcy – a move intended to forestall any post\-sale legal action. At the bankruptcy hearing a week later, Milkes testified there was not enough money to pay the coaches, players and office staff. Had Milkes been more than 10 days late in paying the players, they would have all become free agents and left Seattle without a team for the 1970 season. With this in mind, Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney C. Volinn declared the Pilots bankrupt on March 31—seven days before Opening Day—clearing the way for them to move to Milwaukee. The team's equipment had been sitting in [Provo, Utah](/wiki/Provo%2C_Utah "Provo, Utah") with the drivers awaiting word on whether to drive toward Seattle or Milwaukee.

Much of the story of the Seattle Pilots' only year in existence is told in [Jim Bouton](/wiki/Jim_Bouton "Jim Bouton")'s classic baseball book *[Ball Four](/wiki/Ball_Four "Ball Four")* (1970\).

After a lawsuit from the [City of Seattle](/wiki/City_of_Seattle "City of Seattle"), [King County](/wiki/King_County "King County"), and the [State of Washington](/wiki/State_of_Washington "State of Washington") was filed against the American League for breach of contract, the Pilots were eventually replaced by another expansion team, the [Seattle Mariners](/wiki/Seattle_Mariners "Seattle Mariners"), who began play in 1977\.


When did the Seattle Mariners begin play?