The IBL debacle

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Jerry Garland
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The IBL debacle

Post by Jerry Garland » Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:06 am

Hello everyone,

(Redacted by author)
Last edited by Jerry Garland on Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.

tops804
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Post by tops804 » Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:39 pm

As a native Ohioan myself, I can assure you that I followed the league (or tried to) as I love to see these small markets field franchises.

Before you write it off a "debacle", did you realize the territory you were stepping in to?

1) Four teams - One a traveler?
2) One owner, owning an umbrella of teams, therefore pretty much playing commissioner as well?
3) Franchises in College Wood bat markets, using non-College players who couldn't make the Minor League or Independent league cut?

I'm certain that this has been tried before, and is certainly being tried in other regions today as well in every sport. It's called "staying hopeful".

You had to know that these teams were going to bleed money the first few seasons. Unless you have willing owners with deep pockets, or you found tons of local sponsors. Such a start up business is going to lose capital before it can ever break close to even.
Adios, OSC message boards. (2007-2017)

Jerry Garland
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Post by Jerry Garland » Sun Jul 27, 2014 6:40 pm

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Last edited by Jerry Garland on Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

nksports
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Post by nksports » Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:15 pm

Low level minor league sports have become, to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, "the last refuge of a scoundrel."

Jerry Garland
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Post by Jerry Garland » Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:15 pm

I want to clarify two things:

1. I was affiliated with this league for a little over 30 days.

2. It was not my intention to drag any allies and friends into this matter. I was speaking on my own behalf. I have never and will never speak for them. The purpose was to stand up and briefly tell the story for those who got a raw deal and to warn future players to make sure they ask a lot of questions and be 100% sure of business solvency when dealing with a new situation. Count me on that list. I know they didn't need me to do so, but when you care, you speak out. I formally apologize to any allies or friends offended.

I will no longer publicly discuss the IBL season. As I said, I'll choose a different time to finish my thoughts.

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Post by nksports » Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:38 pm

[quote=""tops804""]as I love to see these small markets field franchises.[/quote]

Back in the 1910s, 20s and 30s, about any town of any size had its own minor league team. It was back in the days of the Class C and D leagues and amateur and semi-pro "town teams". The Great Depression pretty much killed it. I was reading about a team our town used to have, where the entire league folded mid-season because of crop failures.

DJ Omnimaga
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Post by DJ Omnimaga » Sat Aug 02, 2014 5:07 am

The arrival of TV also killed many leagues. Quebec City, for instance, had a very popular minor league team shortly after WW2, but when TVs were commercialised, people stopped going to games and most teams folded. THey got another team in the 70's that was affiliated with a major league team but MLB started moving most of their affiliates to USA afterward.

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Post by Pounder » Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:56 pm

The Pacific Coast League cites the era of 1935 (or so) through 1957 as their golden age of sorts. They went so far as to push for major league status for the whole league... and given LA Angels / Hollywood Stars / San Diego / Oakland / San Francisco / Sacramento / Portland / Seattle, they gained AAAA status (or so the story is told) and may have been on their way there.

What some of the history books cite as the end of that effort and the beginning of MLB co-opting is when MLB came to the RADIO in 1951.

Curious, no?
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