1976 Memphis Blues Game Program

And an Excerpt therefrom

There've Been Some Changes Made

Any resemblance between the Memphis Blues of 1976 and the Memphis Blues of 1975 is purely coincidental.

The 1976 Memphis Blues have:

  • New owners
  • New affiliation
  • New offices
  • A refurbished stadium
  • A stadium club
  • A radio contract

    •  
    All of these changes began taking place last Sept. 9 when Denny McLain , the former 31-game winner with the Detroit Tigers, was hired as the club's general manager by then principal owner Dr. Bernard Kraus.
    The first thing McLain did was put together an aggressive sales force which done more in preseason sales than at any other time in the club's brief history.
    Next, after the Montreal Expos announced that they were severing their working agreement with the Blues, McLain convinced the Houston Astros to locate their Triple A team in the Bluff City.
    Then, in an effort to bolster the Blues' sagging attendance, McLain announced plans for a stadium club and he began pushing the City Council for funds to add    		 500 seats to the 5,400 seat Blues Stadium. The funds were subsequently approved. McLain, believing that business should be conducted in a business-like atmosphere, then decided to move the Blues' offices from the tiny trailer, located at the stadium, to Nonconnah Corporate Center.
    Then, in November, McLain announced that he and Kansas City businessman Jerry Bilton had purchased controlling interest in the club from Kraus.
    Finally, after several months of negotiating, McLain secured a radio contract with WLOK (1340) to broadcast the team's entire 140-game schedule. It's the first time since 1972 the club's games have been broadcast on a regular basis on AM radio.
    Even McLain has been surprised at the success the Blues have accomplished thus far.
    "Everything I had heard about Memphis before I came here was that the town was negative," he noted. "But since I've been here, the city has been outstanding in every respect. I don't think we've sold the Blues as much as people here have WANTED baseball.
    "I think Memphis can be what Atlanta has failed to be--the big sports town in the South. The people here are the friendliest I've ever seen. Unlike some other cities I've been in, you can say 'hi' to someone and not be afraid of being shot."!
    The only shot the Blues are aware of is the shot in the arm McLain has injected into the organization since taking over last September.

    Evidently, all the fancy changes put the team deeply in the red, and it went bankrupt sometime during the winter; whether this was before or after the Astros figured out they were moving the AAA team to Charleston, I don't know. It is of course ironic how the piece above glosses over McLain's rather shady history, and McLain comes out of the whole Memphis Blues situation looking shadier than ever. I hope to find out more on this. . .