I'm Going to Disney World: An Open Collaborative Sports TL

[Nivek]

Green Bay Packers and head coach Al Davis

Umm what will be of the raiders future now al davis is Packers HC...and what will be of Lombardy...maybe coaching one of the mad mens teams?

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

- An owner for the alt Cincinnati Bengals if Paul Brown stays in Cleveland.

Art Modell may work. I'm thinking of him as an owner somewhere starting in 1961 but it doesn't matter where. Just not Cleveland - it's been done and Paul Brown really should hang onto that franchise.

- A way to still have the WFL, USFL and World League exist in a post NFL-AFL-CFL merger world.

Hadn't even factored in the CFL since their rules are different - reconciling CFL rules to the American game will be a challenge. The WFL may go the way of the ABA and WHA with a handful of franchises making the jump; also, if it's more successful, it may go international as its goal was to do. The USFL should be more successful and the WLAF may pull an ABA/WHA with a more international league.

- A coach for the alt Houston Oilers before the '59 season to help shed the image of the former Chicago Cards.

I put in Hank Stram. I'm saving Lombardi for expansion, if that's all right.

- A second team to join the St Louis football Cards (to be run by AB) as the newest NFL teams in the early sixties. Either Cincinnati, Miami, New Orleans or maybe Portland if the Delta Dome is greenlit.

Portland would be interesting. My thought was Cincinnati with Art Modell but Miami in 1961 with Joe Robbie may work - picture Shula building them up earlier (yeah, yeah, I'm being a fan here, but the Vikings were in that position IOTL and they accomplished a thing or two.)

The fate of the original Washington Senators, whether Griffith sells the team to a DC, MD or VA buyer, or moves them elsewhere.

The cheap and easy solution is to move them to Baltimore and call them the Orioles.

Whether the alt Baltimore Orioles should come to existence in expansion or relocation.

I was thinking expansion but the Senators could work.

Whether to change the Houston Colt 45's to the Astros, Mavericks, or Comets.

If the Astrodome is still being built, Astros makes sense.

The future of the Warriors, Nationals, Royals and Lakers in the NBA.

The Nationals can't stay in Syracuse and the Royals will have to leave Rochester, but is there any reason the Lakers have to leave Minneapolis if they can make the money work?

An earlier POD for NHL expansion, or a way to merge with the WHA much sooner and have more teams.

Hmm, a highly-rated NFL Championship helped football. Something as highly-rated would speed up the expansion process.

A way to make the ABA stronger to send more teams to the NBA in its merger.

Better management and fewer quirks?

A more stable NASL.

Team USA succeeds in the World Cup?

 

[AltSptHst]

Fall 1959:
The NFL announces that the revival of the Chicago Cardinals will start in 1960 under the ownership of Blackhawks team president Bill Tobin. The NFL is also seeking an owner for the 14th franchise; the league makes an announcement that it will not pursue any member of the Mad Men as a possible owner.

I wonder if it would be someone from Atlanta (like Rankin Smith). He's not part of the Mad Men.

 

[OldNavy1988]

I wonder if it would be someone from Atlanta (like Rankin Smith). He's not part of the Mad Men.

Here are a few other Non-Mad Men

Joe Robbie (Miami)
Lloyd Nordstrom (Seattle)
Hugh Culverhouse (second Florida team)
John Mecom (New Orleans)
Fred Anderson (Sacramento or Oakland)
Harry Glickman (Portland OR)
Jack Kent Cooke (any city)
Charlie Finley (any city)

A few names to consider in later years...
Carl Lindner Jr (successor to Modell in Cincy?)
Alex Spanos
Pat Bowlen
Edgar Kaiser
Gene Klein

An owner we'll need later on...
- Someone to buy the Rams from Dan Reeves and keep them in LA (and a coach to succeed Sid Gillman).

 

[OldNavy1988]

Winter 1959-60

Throughout the summer, fall and holiday season of 1959, one by one, each of the American Football League teams announced their team names to local sportswriters, TV and radio stations.

Eastern Division

BALTIMORE COLTS
Owner: Carroll Rosenbloom, the man whom Clint Murchison beat for the ownership of the former Dallas Texans.

BOSTON PATRIOTS
Owner: Billy Sullivan, a Boston businessman snubbed by the NFL earlier in 1959.

BUFFALO BILLS
Owner: Ralph Wilson, a former minority owner of the Detroit Lions.

NEW YORK TITANS
Owner: Harry Wismer, a former radio announcer for the Washington Redskins.

Western Division

DENVER BRONCOS
Owner: Bob Howsam, a Denver businessman who has worked long and hard to bring professional sports to the Colorado capital.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Owner: Lamar Hunt, son of Dallas based oil man HL Hunt, selected Kansas City as the home of his franchise, as his hometown was already occupied by the NFL Cowboys since '53.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Owner: Barron Hilton, member of the famed Hilton hotel family and founder of the Carte Blanche credit card, hence the club's nickname.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Owner: Max Winter, owner of the highly acclaimed 620 Club in Minneapolis and minority owner of the NBA Lakers.

 

[AltSptHst]

The Nationals can't stay in Syracuse and the Royals will have to leave Rochester, but is there any reason the Lakers have to leave Minneapolis if they can make the money work?

Maybe have someone other than Bob "moving man" Short buy them. Also, it would make more sense for the Nationals to go to SF than the Philadelphia Warriors.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

Umm what will be of the raiders future now al davis is Packers HC...and what will be of Lombardy...maybe coaching one of the mad mens teams?

I made Davis the Packers HC to make them relevant but the plan is Lombardi to the Cardinals.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

Also remember the Raiders only came to be because of a backing out of the original Foolish Club, and in this case, there's no need yet. Doesn't mean the Raiders won't come to be (possibly from relocation, the WFL/USFL, etc.) but they're out for now.

 

[Nivek]

I made Davis the Packers HC to make them relevant but the plan is Lombardi to the Cardinals.

Also remember the Raiders only came to be because of a backing out of the original Foolish Club, and in this case, there's no need yet. Doesn't mean the Raiders won't come to be (possibly from relocation, the WFL/USFL, etc.) but they're out for now.

Lombardi to the Revived Cards? well that will be interesting, maybe in his meanwhile free time he would got to doctor and found his cancer early? in 50's with right treatment he can be saved and life extra time.

Well Raiders are gone for now and people forgot how talented was al davis(before insanity reached him) so packers will be fine

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

Winter 1960: Problems arise with Bill Tobin's ownership in Chicago and questions arise as to whether the Cardinals will start play on time. Also, the NFL approaches Harry Glickman about a franchise in Portland. Some good news for the Cardinals is that Giants offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi, fresh off a 27-10 win over the Cowboys in the NFL Championship, has agreed to be the first head coach as long as the franchise begins on time.

Both major leagues have begun discussions on absorbing PCL franchises. The AL and NL have agreed to absorb two franchises apiece starting in 1961; the PCL has countered by asking for each league to absorb four franchises. The Continental Series will go as scheduled for 1960 but MLB wants to get a deal done in order to go ahead with expansion.

The Washington Senators scout locations for a new home.

Blackhawks owner James Norris scouts the St. Louis area for a possible expansion franchise for the NHL.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

Lombardi to the Revived Cards? well that will be interesting, maybe in his meanwhile free time he would got to doctor and found his cancer early? in 50's with right treatment he can be saved and life extra time.

Well Raiders are gone for now and people forgot how talented was al davis(before insanity reached him) so packers will be fine

Given how far back from his death we are at this point, prevention makes a lot of sense (I'm thinking an improved diet to prevent the digestive problems that precedes his cancer diagnosis) so yes, this could make him as long-served as Tom Landry or Don Shula IOTL.

On the other hand, they'll have to find another name for the Super Bowl trophy.

 

[Nivek]

On the other hand, they'll have to find another name for the Super Bowl trophy.

That can be think about, maybe in honour a player? or just the Comissioner trophy? depend and we've a lot of time for it.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

That can be think about, maybe in honour a player? or just the Comissioner trophy? depend and we've a lot of time for it.

One possibility is Bob Kalsu, a former Buffalo Bill who died in Vietnam; basically he was the original Pat Tillman. It probably should bear a name at some point since the NBA has the Larry O'Brien trophy and hockey has the Stanley Cup and a host of other named honors. But yes, no hurry to name it.

 

[Skollar]

Interesting how "west" the NBA isn't at this point in time. Given the financial backing and growth in western cities, could TTL's ABA be started as a western league?

Also, as a Minnesotan, I love the Lakers staying in MN and I'm curious where the Giants and Vikings play. If the Twin Cities keep all their teams it could butterfly in a small amount of growth and prestige to the state.

Not to mention where the Vikings play will have consequences for a certain monument to capitalism built on the site of the old Met, decades down the line.

 

[OldNavy1988]

Interesting how "west" the NBA isn't at this point in time. Given the financial backing and growth in western cities, could TTL's ABA be started as a western league?

Also, as a Minnesotan, I love the Lakers staying in MN and I'm curious where the Giants and Vikings play. If the Twin Cities keep all their teams it could butterfly in a small amount of growth and prestige to the state.

Not to mention where the Vikings play will have consequences for a certain monument to capitalism built on the site of the old Met, decades down the line.

The Giants and Vikings will share Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington till we find a way to build a Metrodome that'll last a little bit longer.

Also, the one person I could think of that could keep the Lakers in Minneapolis would be Wheelock Whitney. Would he be perfect, or would another Twin Cities businessperson like Carl Pohlad or Walter Bush be a better fit?

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

The Giants and Vikings will share Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington till we find a way to build a Metrodome that'll last a little bit longer.

Also, the one person I could think of that could keep the Lakers in Minneapolis would be Wheelock Whitney. Would he be perfect, or would another Twin Cities businessperson like Carl Pohlad or Walter Bush be a better fit?

Hopefully a Metrodome that doesn't have a garbage bag for a roof. That one may last longer.

Also if these Lakers aren't totally desperate financially, they could stay in Minnesota, which would make for a totally different Celtics-Lakers rivalry.

 

[OldNavy1988]

Winter 1960

After three years of searching for an owner willing to keep the team in Minnesota, the Lakers are sold to Wheelock Whitney Jr and HP Skoglund, the local businessmen who were instrumental in convincing Horace Stoneham to bring the New York Giants to the state.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

Spring 1960: Bill Tobin's financial difficulties as Chicago Cardinals owner become public; the NFL threatens to revoke the franchise until Anheuser-Busch steps in to buy the team. A desperate Tobin sells his interest in the Cardinals to the brewing company, and the new Chicago Cardinals become the St. Louis Football Cardinals. Vince Lombardi will still be the inaugural head coach.

Construction of a domed stadium begins in Portland for the 14th NFL franchise.

The San Francisco Seals take an early lead in the PCL pennant race.

The Boston Celtics win their second consecutive NBA championship.

While the Montreal Canadiens sweep the Toronto Maple Leafs, owners in St. Louis and Minnesota petition the NHL for expansion franchises.

 

[Nivek]

Construction of a domed stadium begins in Portland for the 14th NFL franchise.

The Trailblazers/Timbers would become real? I remeber about the Delta Dome, that might remplace Minessota? well not bad, will seattle get his franchise(totems was the runner up game, here it might end be the winner)

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

The Trailblazers/Timbers would become real? I remeber about the Delta Dome, that might remplace Minessota? well not bad, will seattle get his franchise(totems was the runner up game, here it might end be the winner)

Not sure what the name will be yet but this will probably precipitate a team in Seattle. Perhaps an AFL team beats them to it. (Irony would be me averting the Dolphins' existence but I have a plan for Joe Robbie and the Dolphins that doesn't fit OTL.)