For a shining ten year period, the Royals successfully played the big time team in the small town market. Starting with their first division title in 1976 and culminating with their 1985 World Championship, the Royals were considered a model baseball organization from the owner through the front office to the manager, coaching staff and players on the field.

The Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1955 but after thirteen unlucky seasons, the A's continued westward to Oakland. Baseball plugged the gap left by the A's departure by awarding Kansas City a franchise under the aegis of pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman. The team was named the Royals as a respectful nod to the legacy of the legendary Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League.

Not surprisingly, the Royals did not fare well in their first season, although they did begin their history with a stirring 4-3 win over the eventual division champion Minnesota Twins. They won only sixty-eight more games while losing ninety-three. Despite a roster heavy with veterans, it was a fiery first-year outfielder Lou Piniella who stole the spotlight by winning Rookie of the Year honors.

The Royals surprised the baseball world with a strong second place showing under Bob Lemon in 1971. Otherwise, the franchise's first four years at the major league level were undistinguished. The turning point came in 1973.

That's the year the Royals unveiled a third baseman named George Brett who would become the cornerstone of the franchise for the next two decades. Shortly thereafter, Frank White became the team's second baseman. Also that year, the Royals moved from creaky Municipal Stadium into Royals Stadium, a state-of-the-art facility with artificial turf and distant outfield walls.

The Royals tailored their team to succeed in the new ball park - Brett, White, Amos Otis, Hal McRae Al Cowens and Willie Wilson were all line drive hitters who could bunt and steal on the artificial turf and take the extra base on gap hits. They could also gobble up a lot of the spacious outfield when playing defense. Add to them the traditional slugging power of first baseman John Mayberry and the pitching excellence of Dennis Leonard and Paul Splittdorf, and the Royals became a big time baseball power.

Kansas City Royals History