A Short Tale of Two Leagues

In 1900 the American League declared major league status, same as on the line with the National League, which was founded as the first and only major league since 1876. The NL fought the battle, but gave in and in 1903 the World Series was born. In late 1960 another battle with the American League appeared to loom. Houston and New York were awarded National League expansion franchises on October 17th with play slated to begin with the 1962 season. For a short time, however, it appeared Houston may have had an opportunity to begin play in 1961…in the American League.

In 1960 the American League created a big stir within baseball when it announced the move of the Washington Senators to Minnesota (becoming the Twins), replacement in Washington with an expansion franchise (again called the Senators) and a tenth AL team in Los Angeles, where the NL Brooklyn Dodgers had relocated two years prior in 1958. Some thought a more logical choice than Los Angeles would be a city that was a former member of the infamous Continental League, which was created to force and persuade major league owners to expand to more U.S. cities in the early 1960s. Thoughts circled to Dallas/Ft. Worth, a former member of the CL, as a worthy suitor for an AL franchise. A bump in the road occurred when Walter O’Malley, owner of the Dodgers, forbid any team from playing at the LA Memorial Coliseum where his team was playing until Dodger Stadium was finished being built. O’Malley held the contract for the stadium and he did not want any additional tenants.

In November of 1960, just weeks after Houston was awarded the NL franchise, news emerged from the Minor League meetings in Louisville, Kentucky that the American League made a proposal which had both leagues playing in 1961 with nine teams playing an interleague schedule. It was said Houston would be chosen as the ninth team in the NL because their organization was further along than the expansion franchise given to New York. The plan for Houston would’ve had Major League Baseball playing at Busch Stadium (formerly Buff Stadium) where the minor league Buffs played their home games. Territorial rights still had not been settled with the owners of the Buffs by the Houston Sports Association, owners of the Houston expansion franchise.

Speculation quickly rose, however, that Houston was also likely to gain an American League franchise with the Houston Buffs if the Los Angeles stadium situation with Walter O’Malley was not cleared. At the forefront of this news was William Hopkins, the majority stockholder and President of the Houston Buffs. Hopkins was ready to finance and organize the Houston Buffs transfer into the American League for the 1961 season. The owners of the Buffs were ready to pay territorial rights to the American Association, where they had been playing since 1959 after moving from the Texas League. Busch Stadium (formerly Buff Stadium) was solely owned by the Hopkins group and had plans to expand the stadium to 30,655 for 1961 and 46,000 by 1962. Houston, it appeared, was almost set to have both AL and NL franchises similar to what was seen in Chicago, New York, St. Louis and planned for Los Angeles.

By this time, however, Houston and Harris County already voted on a bond issued for a domed stadium (The Astrodome) that would seat at least 43,000 for the Houston Sports Association, the ownership group of the NL expansion franchise. William Hopkins’ group once tried to join the HSA in efforts to get MLB to Houston but was denied. It appeared there was some bad blood brewing between the Buffs and the new NL major league franchise.

In late November, 1960 baseball commissioner Ford Frick announced his opposition by stating, “Any effort by the American League to move into the Houston territory at this time would, in the opinion of the commissioner, be a complete abrogation of all agreements and understandings in connections with the expansion program.” Warren Giles, President of the National League, also stated, “The American League has no more right to go into Houston than the National League into Detroit or any other major league city. As far as I’m concerned, Houston and New York are members of the National League even though they won’t operate clubs until 1962.”

This opposition by baseball’s top brass had William Hopkins quickly responding in defiance. “This territory belongs to the Houston Buffs and the American Association,” he stated. Hopkins also reiterated that the Houston Sports Association had not completed a purchase of the Buffs and associated territorial rights for bringing a major league franchise to Houston. Numbers had been exchanged but nothing settled. It is worth noting that while the news of a possible AL shift to Houston was coming out of the minor league meetings in Louisville, the General Manager of the Buffs, H. B. (Spec) Richardson (future General Manager of the Houston Astros) had a more calming tone when commenting on the matter. “We, in Houston, have no intention of standing in the way of our city entering the major leagues. They (the HSA) have rejected all of our bids, offering $362,500 for the franchise which we do not consider adequate.” The Buffs offered a purchase price of $600,000.

The HSA, always knowing they needed the purchase territorial rights from the Buffs, were very dedicated to staying on the timeline of major league owners in making appropriate plans and presentations regarding a stadium. The group, led by Judge Roy Hofheinz, knew the big key to getting a major league franchise was making sure the domed stadium they proposed was actually built and supported by Houston and Harris County. The HSA felt the rest would fall into place as formalities of bringing the majors to Houston. In early December, 1960 the National League gave the HSA permission to begin to sign players as soon as they cleared any issues with territorial rights.

In the end, the American League did arrive to Los Angeles in 1961. The Angels began playing at Wrigley Field, which had been home to the minor league Angels for decades. The Los Angeles Wrigley Field was designed to look much like the north side Chicago counterpart (minus the ivy walls). To further the carbon copy the ballpark was even named for William Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs. The ownership group of the transplanted Washington Senators encountered an early fight with the American Association in Minnesota over costs of territorial rights as they reemerged as the Twins. The new replacement franchise in Washington D.C., also called the Senators, eventually moved to become the Texas Rangers in 1972.

In Texas, the Houston Sports Association did purchase the Buffs and all territorial rights by mid-January, 1961 and operated the team in the American Association for the final year of minor league baseball in Houston. The final price was $393,750 which was well below the original asking price by William Hopkins. The HSA quickly decided not to continue the name into the National League. The American League in Houston for 1961 was never really more than a short tale of tug of war during an era where the majors were expanding and the minors had to protect their interests. The Houston Colt .45’s emerged in 1962 in the National League playing at Colt Stadium, next to the domed stadium construction site. The Buffs, under ownership of the Colt .45’s, moved to Oklahoma City as Houston’s minor league club and became the 89ers. In three years the .45’s changed their name to the Astros with their home base in the Houston Astrodome, “The Eighth Wonder of the World.” The rest is history. After fifty years in the National League, the Astros have now become members of the American League and balancing the NL and AL by 15 teams each. It has ironically brought this short, but interesting tale full circle.