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The man who was commissioner of MLB when the Blue Jays were born, Bowie Kuhn, has passed away at the age of 80.

Though he may be a bit nervous today, wondering what havoc Charlie Finley has wrought in the afterlife in his 11-year head start on the ex-Commish, there's no question that Kuhn wrote well his own epitaph: "I want it to be remembered that I was commissioner during a time of tremendous growth in the popularity of the game," he said, "and that it was a time in which no one could question the integrity of the game."

If you remember back that far, share your remembrances of the man who once said of the job he held, "You've got to develop a sense of humor. You have to be able to stand back and laugh. That's invaluable, or you're apt to go slightly balmy."

R.I.P., Bowie | 3 comments | Create New Account
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Magpie - Thursday, March 15 2007 @ 10:33 PM EDT (#164364) #
Is Bowie best remembered for not allowing Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays to pick up some spare change as casino greeters? That would suck...

Kuhn made a very interesting intervention, using his "best interests of the game" mandate, which the comissioner had back in the Days of Yore. After Messersmith-McNally, Charlie Finley recognized that he would not be able to re-sign his stars. So he attempted to get some cash on the hoof for them, in the tradition of cash-strapped operators since time immemorial. Finley's own predecessor as owner-operator of the A's, the sainted Connie Mack, did it regularly. So Finley sold three of his stars to Boston and New York - Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers for sure, I can't quite recall who the third player was.

Kuhn over-ruled the sale. I don't believe he was out to get Finley, I think he believed it was in the best interests of the game. But as it was, the teams that didn't have the same financial resources as the Yankees got screwed with their pants on. Now they lost their stars for nothing. (I believe that at this time - 1976, if I remember rightly - teams that lost free agents did not get a compensatory draft pick. I think that starts up after the 1981 strike. I could be wrong.)

Mick Doherty - Friday, March 16 2007 @ 10:06 AM EDT (#164376) #

Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers for sure, I can't quite recall who the third player was.

Fingers and Rudi to the Red Sox. Vida Blue to the Yankees. Isn't that right? Then he tried to trade Blue to the Reds for Dave Revering and a bunch of cash and Kuhn voided that, too, I think.


R.I.P., Bowie | 3 comments | Create New Account
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