Baltimore shows interest in troubled Driveball club.
The New York Times
January 15, 1969
Three days have passed since the Colts suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of the New York Jets in last Sunday's pro football championship. But that didn't stop Baltimore businessmen from expressing an interest in purchasing a troubled franchise in a different sport.
Jerold Hoffberger, once head of National Bohemian beer, now owns the Baltimore Orioles, who arrived from St Louis some fifteen years ago. Today, Hoffberger heads a group of local businessmen who will descend upon the United Driveball Alliance's headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Hoffberger and his partners hope to purchase the struggling Detroit Roadsters with the intention of relocating the franchise to Baltimore.
As of this year, Detroit has a higher population than Baltimore, but the Roadsters have been fighting an uphill battle for attention in the Motor City throughout their entire history. When the Roadsters first came to be in 1954, the Tigers struggled, but the Red Wings and Lions owned much of the city's hearts. By 1957, the Ft Wayne Pistons of the NBA arrived in Detroit, adding yet another obstacle for the Roadies, as they were sometimes known, in their struggle to attract eyeballs.
Since their founding in 1954, the Roadsters have made eight playoff appearances and have won only one playoff game, a 1963 wild card victory over the Boston Unicorns.
But since Driveball is a relatively young sport compared to the other major professional entities, the loyalties between cities and franchises is not quite strong. Except of course if you like our very own New York Heroes, or if you are a Mad Hatters fan in Cleveland.
Of course, as is the case with other relocations in professional sports, the Baltimore buyers need eighteen of the twenty-six UDA owners to approve any plans to transfer the Roadies to the Charm City.
Apart from not being able to get over the playoff hump, or not being able to get the same level of respect as Gordie Howe, Alex Karras or Dave Bing, there is one other factor that has hurt the Roadies in Detroit. The civil turmoil of recent years has taken a toll on both the Roadsters' players and the club's fan support. Players on the Roadsters' roster made many well meaning public pleas for the violence to stop, but sadly, those pleas have been largely ignored.
Despite heightened security at Tiger Stadium in recent years, fans have largely stayed away in droves. So much so, that when CBS comes to Detroit to televise Roadster games, the network has resorted to using pre-recorded footage of actors hired to play Roadster fans cheering from a New York soundstage, mainly to avoid showing empty stadium seats on television.
The New York Times
January 15, 1969
Three days have passed since the Colts suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of the New York Jets in last Sunday's pro football championship. But that didn't stop Baltimore businessmen from expressing an interest in purchasing a troubled franchise in a different sport.
Jerold Hoffberger, once head of National Bohemian beer, now owns the Baltimore Orioles, who arrived from St Louis some fifteen years ago. Today, Hoffberger heads a group of local businessmen who will descend upon the United Driveball Alliance's headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Hoffberger and his partners hope to purchase the struggling Detroit Roadsters with the intention of relocating the franchise to Baltimore.
As of this year, Detroit has a higher population than Baltimore, but the Roadsters have been fighting an uphill battle for attention in the Motor City throughout their entire history. When the Roadsters first came to be in 1954, the Tigers struggled, but the Red Wings and Lions owned much of the city's hearts. By 1957, the Ft Wayne Pistons of the NBA arrived in Detroit, adding yet another obstacle for the Roadies, as they were sometimes known, in their struggle to attract eyeballs.
Since their founding in 1954, the Roadsters have made eight playoff appearances and have won only one playoff game, a 1963 wild card victory over the Boston Unicorns.
But since Driveball is a relatively young sport compared to the other major professional entities, the loyalties between cities and franchises is not quite strong. Except of course if you like our very own New York Heroes, or if you are a Mad Hatters fan in Cleveland.
Of course, as is the case with other relocations in professional sports, the Baltimore buyers need eighteen of the twenty-six UDA owners to approve any plans to transfer the Roadies to the Charm City.
Apart from not being able to get over the playoff hump, or not being able to get the same level of respect as Gordie Howe, Alex Karras or Dave Bing, there is one other factor that has hurt the Roadies in Detroit. The civil turmoil of recent years has taken a toll on both the Roadsters' players and the club's fan support. Players on the Roadsters' roster made many well meaning public pleas for the violence to stop, but sadly, those pleas have been largely ignored.
Despite heightened security at Tiger Stadium in recent years, fans have largely stayed away in droves. So much so, that when CBS comes to Detroit to televise Roadster games, the network has resorted to using pre-recorded footage of actors hired to play Roadster fans cheering from a New York soundstage, mainly to avoid showing empty stadium seats on television.
