What is Leaving Town Sports?
Sports in its Infancy
Each of the four major North American professional leagues — the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL) — in their infancy endured through a series of franchises relocating or ceasing operations altogether.
A common cause for a majority of this upheaval can be broken down into 3 major reasons:
The founding proprietors of a team lacked sufficient funds to overcome the burden of initial costs for start-up operations.
The original owners established a team for their love of the sport, but lacked the business acumen to operate it for a profit.
The club was established in a market too small to sustain longevity.
The best example of this is the founding NFL teams (in 1920 it was called the American Professional Football Association changed to National Football League in 1922), which were located in Akron, Buffalo, Canton, Chicago (2), Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Decatur, Detroit, Hammond, Muncie, Rochester and Rock Island.
Organized professional baseball dates back to 1871, with the formation of The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. This was the foundation for the National League, which was established five years later. With each generation, the game was passed down and became an integral part of the American fabric. The phrase “The National Pastime” had been attached to the game prior to the American Civil War (1861-65).
The American League, often referred to as the “Junior Circuit”, was officially recognized as a major league, equal in status to the National League in 1901. In 1903 the struggling Baltimore Orioles franchise relocated to New York and was renamed the Highlanders. That name was switched in 1913 to the New York Yankees.
From 1903 to 1952 baseball was a model of consistency with no team movements or expansion. It had survived the competitive Federal League (1913 to 1915), World War I, the Chicago Black Sox Scandal of 1919 (the fixing of the World Series by players), the Great Depression and World War II.
Relocation as a means of survival
On September 2, 1945 Japan surrendered officially bringing an end to the international conflict. Peace meant a restore to some form of normalcy, and a return of many baseball players from military service. Major League Baseball overall attendance in 1946 was 18,506,729 compared to 10, 841,123 in 1945, a new record (source: ballparksofbaseball.com). That figure was surpassed in 1947 (19,874,539) and again in 1948 (20,938,388). A majority of clubs were reporting record crowds and with it new levels of revenues, baseball never seemed as healthy.
Nothing was farther from the truth for three particular clubs; The Boston Braves, Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns. These three teams shared markets in their city from the competitive league (The Boston Red Sox of the American League, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals from the National League). For decades these six franchises had managed to co-exist, albeit like a pendulum swinging back and forth as to which team would survive in a city large enough to support only one MLB enterprise. By 1950 it became only a question of when the Athletics, Braves and Browns would declare bankruptcy. There were no new investors willing to inject funds to keep these teams in operation as long as the remained in an oversaturated market.
Dan Perini owner of the Boston Braves was also proprietor of the minor league baseball team in Milwaukee, where the first ever wholly public funded ballpark had just finished construction. Included in the architectural plans was a blueprint for a seating expansion to accommodate a major league team. City and county officials in Milwaukee had hoped to gain an MLB expansion franchise, but found a willing partner in Perini. While the Braves prepared for the 1953 season in spring training, Perini finalized a deal to transition the Braves to Wisconsin. Rental for the first two years at Milwaukee County Stadium was set at only $1,000 per season. Five percent of gate receipts was established as the fee for the following five campaigns. These friendly terms almost guaranteed that the Braves would turn a profit after years of drowning in debt.
The Milwaukee Braves in 1953 led MLB in attendance with a turnout of 1,826,397 (288,586 more than Yankee Stadium, which were the second best attended ballpark). Until the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, the Braves annually led led baseball in attendance. Perini’s move to Milwaukee was an unmitigated success and changed the face of baseball forever. Under new ownership the St. Louis Browns relocated to Baltimore (where they were renamed the Orioles) for the start of the 1954 schedule. One year later the Athletics found a new home in Kansas City. Repositioning of a franchise if in financial straits, had become an acceptable practice. It took only four years for Walter O’Malley owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to change why a baseball team could be uprooted.
Since 1946, there have been 54 franchises that have transitioned, with the NBA having the most at 19 relocations. Founded on August 3, 1949, with the amalgamation of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL), the NBA is the last of the four professional leagues to have formed. With the merging of the two leagues, some of the smaller market NBL teams did cease operations. There have been 14 moves in the NFL, 12 in MLB, and 9 in the NHL. Leaving Town Sports examines each of these displacements, by sport on a case-by-case examination. It explores what are the key factors in each movement that are scrutinized to find any common ground. Major League Baseball being the trend setter is the first sport to be examined.
The politics behind sports
There is a common perception within today’s society that owner’s greed, in which proprietors are looking to further extend their wealth, is the primary reason for the upheaval in sports teams. The catchphrase “Billionaires (owners) versus Millionaires (athletes)” has been applied to the current state of professional sports. In March 2025, a consortium, headed by private equity executive Bill Chisholm, purchased the NBA Boston Celtics for $6.1 billion. April 2025 was the start of Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s new guaranteed 10-year contract that will compensate him $700 million. These recent transactions lead credence to the theory of billionaires versus millionaires.
Escalating player salaries is not a direct cause of team movements, but it does provide leverage to the club owners in their negotiations with city, county, and in some cases state legislatures, to extract a better lease or additional revenue streams. It is when initial discussions fail to appease the management that the threat of Leaving Town becomes a reality.
Politicians are hesitant to give in to holders of professional sports franchises because they are held accountable for their decisions through the electoral process. Average costs for the construction of a new facility are well above $1 billion, with the new ballpark in Las Vegas for the Athletics projected at $1.75 billion Decision makers are pressured by the public to not lose their beloved team, while at the same time facing the challenge of being responsible for the expenditure of taxpayers’ dollars.
Sports team movement in 2025
The latest case of a professional team uprooting is the MLB Oakland Athletics, who after six decades in the Bay Area are destined to Las Vegas (by way of Sacramento) in 2028 or 2029. Athletics owner John Fisher fits the billionaire label, with an estimated worth, according to Forbes, of over $3 billion. It is unfathomable that Fisher is moving his asset to a minor league ballpark with a seating capacity of 14,000 for a minimum of three years, while a new facility is under construction in Las Vegas. Fisher refused to sign a yearly lease, albeit at a much higher rental fee, to remain at the Oakland Coliseum. Playing in Sacramento guarantees the Athletics will be a losing financial proposition for the remainder of their time in California. This scenario fits the public perception of self-centered billionaires who have no regard for the well-being of their loyal supporters. But has this always been the case?
What’s Leaving Town Sports about then?
Leaving Town Sports dispels the myth of greedy wealthy owners as the sole reason for displacement of franchises. Proprietors of the baseball Athletics, Braves and Browns did so in order to survive, not as a means to further enrich themselves.
Leaving Town Sports examines the key reasons why these 54 teams were uprooted in a quest to find greener pastures, some of which were unsuccessful. In a majority of cases there is a primary factor, but there are other contributing components that supported the final decision. Another complete study could be done on proprietors who threatened to transition but remained in their city.