973 – Hope is raised for baseball fans in D.C. as San Diego Padres owner C. Arnholdt Smith announces tindexhat he is selling the Padres to Washington grocery chain owner Joseph Danzansky. Danzansky announces that he will move the Padres to Washington in time for the 1974 season. Despite the Padres having the lowest attendance in the NL for the first 5 seasons of their existence, NL owners stall on a vote to move the team, wishing not to abandon the San Diego market. After eight months of backroom dealing, politics, lawsuits, double dealing and general turmoil, Danzansky withdraws his offer and the Pads are sold to McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc.
