Where’s the cake? It’s the Royals’ 50th birthday.
It was on Jan. 11, 1968 that Ewing Kauffman was awarded an expansion team, just months after the Kansas City A’s had left for Oakland.
According to Nick Kappel, the Royals Communication and Broadcasting Coordinator, Kauffman spent $5.3 million to buy the franchise. By comparison, the Rays and Diamondbacks each spent $130 million in 1995.
The franchise held a name-the-team contest and Sanford Porte of Overland Park won with his Royals submission. Other suggestions, according to Mental Floss, included the Cowpokes and Mules. According to the book “Baseball Team Names: A Worldwide Dictionary,” other name submissions were the Zoomers, MoKans, Hearts and Eagles.