60 Fun Facts About Kansas City Royals

The Royals name pays homage to the American Royal, an annual Kansas City event featuring what?

The event has run since 1899 and also includes a championship barbecue competition; the name won out of 17,000 contest entries.

The Royals began play as an expansion team in which year?

They entered alongside the Seattle Pilots, who lasted one season before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers.

Which pharmaceutical entrepreneur founded the Royals and later gave the ballpark his name?

He built Marion Laboratories from a $5,000 investment, and cast the lone board vote against the name Royals before it grew on him.

Which Missouri senator threatened baseball's antitrust exemption to get Kansas City a team?

His pressure moved the start date up from 1971 to 1969, which may have helped sink the unready Seattle Pilots.

Which team left Kansas City for Oakland after the 1967 season, prompting the push for the Royals?

Owner Charlie Finley had explored elaborate relocation schemes and essentially shunned the city before finally moving.

The Royals' crown-and-shield logo was designed by an artist at which Kansas City company?

Shannon Manning drew the crown atop a shield with 'KC' inside; the crown even turned black for a few years in the 2000s.

Which future manager won the AL Rookie of the Year Award as a Royals outfielder in 1969?

He later spent years as a Yankee, and admitted his New York teams did not much like Kansas City after three straight ALCS wins.

The Royals won their first game, on April 8, 1969, in 12 innings against which team?

The 4-3 win came at Municipal Stadium, their home until Royals Stadium opened in 1973.

Royals Stadium was renamed Kauffman Stadium in honour of the founding owner in which year?

The renaming came on July 2, a month before the owner died; the park had opened in 1973.

Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium together make up a sports complex named after whom?

Building separate baseball and NFL stadiums side by side defied 1960s conventional wisdom, which favoured multipurpose bowls.

The best-known feature of Kauffman Stadium is a display of what behind the right-field fence?

At 322 feet wide the 'Water Spectacular' is the largest privately funded fountain in the world.

The Royals' first game at their new stadium in 1973 was a 12-1 win over which opponent?

A crowd of 39,464 turned out, and the park hosted the All-Star Game that same summer.

The Royals adopted their iconic powder blue road uniforms in which season?

The same year they moved into their new stadium and switched to pullover jerseys.

Which manager led the Royals to three straight division titles from 1976 to 1978?

He was fired after 1979 and later beat his old club to the pennant as Cardinals manager, then lost to them in the 1985 World Series.

The Royals lost the ALCS three years running from 1976 to 1978 to which team?

They finally got revenge with a three-game sweep in 1980, capped by George Brett's homer off Goose Gossage.

The Royals' only 100-win season came in which year?

That team still lost the ALCS to New York; the 2015 champions won 95.

George Brett hit what batting average in his 1980 MVP season?

It remains a modern record for a third baseman and the highest single-season mark since 1941 apart from Tony Gwynn's strike-shortened .394.

The Royals lost their first World Series, in 1980, to which team?

Game 6 drew 54.9 million television viewers and remains the most-watched game in World Series history.

In the 1983 Pine Tar Incident, George Brett's bat had pine tar more than how far up the handle?

AL president Lee MacPhail reinstated the homer, reasoning the rule was about not discolouring baseballs rather than unfair advantage.

Which Yankees manager came out of the dugout to challenge Brett's bat in the Pine Tar Game?

Umpire Tim McClelland signalled Brett out, and Brett's furious charge from the dugout became one of baseball's most replayed clips.

The Pine Tar Game was resumed 25 days later and finished with the Royals winning by what score?

The game picked up from the point of the reinstated home run on August 18, 1983.

The 1985 all-Missouri World Series between the Royals and Cardinals is nicknamed the what Series?

The two Missouri cities are linked by that interstate; the Royals came back from 3-1 down to win.

Which umpire's disputed safe call on Jorge Orta opened the Royals' ninth-inning rally in the 1985 World Series?

Replays showed the throw beat Orta; a dropped popup and a passed ball followed, and a pinch-hit single won it.

Who pitched a shutout in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series as the Royals won 11-0?

He had already won the AL Cy Young Award that season and would win another in 1989 with a franchise-record 23 wins.

Which pinch hitter's walk-off single won Game 6 of the 1985 World Series for Kansas City?

He had won a ring with the Cardinals three years earlier.

Whose go-ahead three-run triple off Dave Stieb won Game 7 of the 1985 ALCS in Toronto?

The Royals had trailed that series three games to one, the first year the LCS was best-of-seven.

George Brett's 1990 batting title made him the first player to win one in how many different decades?

He also collected his 3,000th hit in the early 1990s and finished with 3,154, second among third basemen.

Which two-sport star hit a leadoff home run in the 1989 All-Star Game while playing for the Royals?

Wade Boggs followed with another homer, and Vin Scully's 'Bo Jackson says hello!' became a signature call.

The Royals waived their two-sport star in spring 1991 after he injured his hip playing which other sport?

He had won the 1985 Heisman Trophy at Auburn and was starring for the Los Angeles Raiders in the off-season.

The Royals have retired No. 5 for George Brett and No. 20 for which second baseman?

Manager Dick Howser's No. 10 was retired after his death in 1987, and No. 29 has sat unused since Mike Sweeney left.

Which submarine-delivery reliever wore the Royals' unofficially retired No. 29 and saved 238 games?

Mike Sweeney later wore the same number, and it has not been issued since 2007.

How many consecutive seasons did the Royals miss the postseason between 1986 and 2013?

Entering 2014 it was the longest playoff drought in the four major North American leagues.

The Royals set their all-time record for losses in 2005 with what record?

That team also lost 19 games in a row and finished 43 games out of first place.

Which Royals pitcher led the majors with a 2.16 ERA and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2009?

He became only the third Royal to win the award and did not allow an earned run in his first 24 innings that year.

The December 2012 trade for James Shields and Wade Davis sent which top prospect to Tampa Bay?

The deal was widely criticised at the time but is credited with catalysing the club's return to winning.

The Royals' 2014 postseason began with a 9-8, 12-inning Wild Card Game win over which team?

They trailed 7-3 in the eighth before the catcher's walk-off single, then won a record eight straight postseason games.

The Royals lost Game 7 of the 2014 World Series 3-2 to which team, with the tying run on third?

Madison Bumgarner came out of the bullpen to finish it, and the last out was a foul pop to Pablo Sandoval.

The Royals' 2014 and 2015 bullpen was anchored by the 'HDH' trio of Herrera, Davis and whom?

Holland saved a franchise-record 47 games in 2013.

The Royals won the 2015 World Series over the New York Mets in how many games?

The clincher went 12 innings after a two-run ninth-inning rally, and Wade Davis finished it.

Who was named MVP of the 2015 World Series?

The catcher started the five-run 12th inning of Game 5 with a single and later became team captain.

Which pitcher did the Royals acquire from Cincinnati in July 2015 for prospects including Brandon Finnegan?

He threw a gem in Game 5 of the ALDS against Houston to send Kansas City to a second straight ALCS.

The Royals' 'ACE 30' jersey patches in 2017 honoured which pitcher, killed in a car accident?

He was 25 and had started Game 6 of the 2014 World Series and three games of the 2015 postseason.

Which manager retired after 2019 with a franchise-record 746 wins?

He took over a 12-23 team in 2010 and rejoined the club as a senior adviser in 2025.

In 2019 John Sherman agreed to buy the Royals from David Glass for roughly what price?

Glass had paid $96 million in 2000 after the Kauffman foundation's search for a local owner.

Jorge Soler set the Royals' single-season home run record in 2019 with how many?

The club's catcher tied the mark in 2021, which was also the record for a primary catcher until Cal Raleigh passed it.

Bobby Witt Jr. was drafted by the Royals in 2019 with which overall pick?

He was considered the biggest Royals prospect since Hosmer and Moustakas.

The Royals' 2022 City Connect uniforms nod to Kansas City's status as the 'City of' what?

The stylised 'KC' on the chest was shaped like a jet of water shooting upward.

The 2024 Royals became only the second team ever to reach the playoffs the year after doing what?

They had gone 56-106 in 2023, then swept Baltimore in the Wild Card round before losing to the Yankees.

Willie Wilson holds the Royals' single-season stolen base record with how many, set in 1979?

He also owns the club's career mark with 612 steals and the single-season hits record of 230.

Which manager won AL Manager of the Year for the 2003 Royals' only winning season between 1995 and 2012?

Shortstop Ángel Berroa won Rookie of the Year the same season; two years later the manager quit mid-season.

In the 1997 realignment, the Royals declined an offer to do what?

The Milwaukee Brewers made the switch instead and have been in the NL ever since.

Who was the Royals' first general manager, who built the early teams with trades for Amos Otis and John Mayberry?

His trades and a strong farm system produced Brett, White, Splittorff and Leonard within a few years.

After its $250 million renovation in 2009, Kauffman Stadium's listed capacity was about how many?

The club has said a proposed new downtown ballpark would seat about 34,000, but voters rejected the funding plan in 2024.

The winning entry in Ewing Kauffman's name-the-team contest came from a fan living in which Kansas suburb?

Sanford Porte cited Missouri's billion-dollar livestock industry, and the American Royal show, in proposing 'Royals'.

Which Hall of Fame pitcher managed the Royals to their first winning season, in 1971?

The team finished second; McKeon took over for the 1973 move into Royals Stadium.

In 1983 Kauffman sold 49% of the Royals to Avron Fogelman, a developer from which city?

The same year John Schuerholz became general manager and began restocking the farm system with young pitchers.

How many games did Bret Saberhagen win in 1989, a franchise record, on the way to his second Cy Young?

Mark Gubicza added 15 wins and rookie Tom Gordon 17 in a rotation that was the envy of the league.

Which free-agent pitcher's five-year, $55 million deal in 2007 was then the largest contract in Royals history?

Kansas City outbid the Cubs and Blue Jays for the right-hander after four 100-loss seasons in five years.

Manager Trey Hillman came to the Royals in 2008 after managing which Japanese team?

He was the 15th manager in franchise history and was fired in 2010 after a 12-23 start.

How many extra-inning home runs did the 2014 Royals hit in the postseason, an MLB record?

They came across eight extra innings in five games, including two in the 10th inning of ALCS Game 1 in Baltimore.