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<title>Comments on &quot;That time when Toronto went stadium crazy&quot; - blogTO</title>
<link>http://www.blogto.com/feed/recentcomments/?32679</link>
<description>Comments recently made in this post on blogTO</description>
<copyright>Copyright 2013</copyright>
<lastBuildDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 07:08:39 EDT</lastBuildDate>
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<title>bulldogbarks55</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Arnold Johnson was a buddy of Yankee owners Del Webb and Dan Topping. He wanted an MLB club of his own. In order to help Johnson get his team the Yankeea used their influence by pressuring other owners who may have to sell their teams (but not necessarily move them) with holding up their deals. Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland would all be sold before the end of the 1950s and Washington would move to Minneapolis for 1961.

In Johnson's KC A's the Yankees got in effect a farm team in their own league. Clete Boyer, Hector Lopez, Roger Maris, Joe DeMaestri and Bud Daley were all key parts of the Yankees 1960-64 A.L. champions. Johnson took over-the-hill Yankee stars in return. When Johnson passed away during spring training of 1960 Charlie Finley bought the A's and shut off the pipeline, much to the Yankees' chagrin.

Who knows? If Jack Kent Cooke had purchased the A's in 1954 would there then have been the Los Angeles Kings, a Fabulous Forum, the dominant Lakers and once-dominant Redskins?

All I know is that the Yankees helped screw Toronto back in 1954. And the Canadian dollar was worth slightly more than the U.S. dollar at the time of the A's sale. Oh, what might have been.]]>
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<link>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1383161</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1383161</guid>
<category>Toronto, City</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Dec 2012 22:08:39 EST</pubDate>
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<title>Sharkey</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Toronto's own Jack Kent Cooke, who of course went on to own the Redskins, LA Kings and Lakers, very nearly bought the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954.  His plan was to move the A's to a heavily renovated Maple Leaf Stadium in 1955.  The deal fell through, and for the life of me I can't remember the reason why (it's in Stephen Brunt's book about the first 20 years of the Blue Jays).  The A's would be sold by the Mack family to Arnold Johnston, who moved the club to Kansas City in a heavily renovated Municipal Stadium...and of course now the A's are in Oakland, at least for the next couple of years.  My dad went to Maple Leaf Stadium during the last years of the AAA franchise.  Boy, what could have been in Toronto.]]>
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<link>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1382268</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1382268</guid>
<category>Toronto, City</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:22:29 EST</pubDate>
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<title>Nick</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I often wonder what the Toronto pro baseball scene would be like had

-Maple Leaf Stadium not been torn down 10 years before the Blue Jays
-the stadium been retrofitted for outfield seats and group areas instead of adding to Exhibition Stadium in advance of the 1977 season.

We may have had a Fenway like ballpark and experience today. 

]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1380165</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1380165</guid>
<category>Toronto, City</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2012 22:22:21 EST</pubDate>
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<title>Mike</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Thanks. That was slightly before my time but I recall hearing about the story after the Jays moved into their new home. ]]>
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<link>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1380070</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1380070</guid>
<category>Toronto, City</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:24:57 EST</pubDate>
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<title>Chris Bateman</title>
<description><![CDATA[
The Giants. Check this out:

http://bit.ly/Sm9zXy

And this for rejected names for the Blue Jays (shameless plug):

http://bit.ly/S6g1yH]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1380056</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1380056</guid>
<category>Toronto, City</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:43:22 EST</pubDate>
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<title>Mike</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I recall talk of the Giants (or was it the Pirates?) moving up here before we were awarded a franchise. I'm assuming they would have played out of the Ex?]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1380054</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/11/that_time_when_toronto_went_stadium_crazy/#c1380054</guid>
<category>Toronto, City</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:08:57 EST</pubDate>
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