The 10 Best Team Moves of All Time.

It looks like things are coming to an end for the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Local officials voted down the Isle of Capri’s slot machine liscence. In exchange, the Isle of Capri would have built the Pens a new arena. Part of me says that this is silly. Where else are you going to find private financing for a new arena? And it would have brought gambling! I understand that not everybody shares my gambling addiction, so the other part of me respects the city of Pittsburgh for not compromising their principles in order to get a quick buck.
This is a sad situation in particular, because the Penguins have a storied history in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has always loved its sports franchises, and the Penguins have a definite future on the ice. Not all of the situations are this grim, however, so lets look at the 10 best moves made in sports team moves of all time. And no, I didn’t steal the idea from Scott Burnside.

10. Minneapolis Lakers -> Los Angeles: It turns out that Los Angeles is a basketball town. The Lakers have turned into one of the most successful NBA franchises in history, and don’t rank higher only because they took a fairly successful frachise out of the Twin Cities, and there aren’t actually lakes (save, maybe, for Toluca) in Los Angeles. It worked out OK in Minneapolis too, as the Timberwolves and a new arena were eventually inserted downtown.

9. Atlanta Flames -> Calgary: This is how hockey moves should be done. Take unpopular teams from warm climes and put them in Canada, where there are raving lunatics of fans. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Calgary has loved their Flames ever since.

8. Milwaukee Braves -> Atlanta: The Braves won thirteen division championships in a row, as well as a World Series, and were home to Hank Aaron when he hit his record breaking home run. Now if we could get Atlanta to notice, this would be perfect.

7. Dallas Texans -> Kansas City: The Chiefs eventually competed in the first Super Bowl and won the fifth, giving us legendary coach Hank Stram and noble owner Lamar Hunt. Their replacement in Dallas wasn’t so bad either.

6. Los Angeles Rams -> St. Louis: This proved to us two things. First, St. Louis is a hell of a sports town, and there is no reason it shouldn’t be a 4 sport city. Second, Los Angeles isn’t. This ended pro football in LA, and they haven’t been in a hurry to get it back.

5a. Washington Senators -> Minnesota,
5b. Washington Senators -> Texas: Perhaps I’m a little biased, but when one franchise moves to create two successful teams, that’s pretty impressive. After the Senators became the Rangers, the Beltway gave up on baseball for thirty years. Makes you wonder how long the Nationals will stick around.

4, 3. Brooklyn Dodgers -> Los Angeles, New York Giants -> San Francisco: Even though it hurt deeply for the Big Apple, this was one of the best baseball moves ever made. It brought California and the West Coast instant baseball, with instant rivalries, and instant talent. It’s hard to say if baseball would have been remotely as successful out west if it had been started with expansion teams. It’s hard to deny that this move established the league as it is today.

2. Quebec Nordiques -> Colorado: So this doesn’t exactly follow the Flames’ blueprint, but Quebec was struggling to draw fans away from the beloved Montreal Canadiens, so the team packed up and moved to Colorado, a move that worked out all around. The Qubecois remain loyal to the Habs, Montreal’s fan base is expanded, the NHL got in on an exploding fan base in Denver, and a new arena that also serviced the Nuggets was set up downtown. Win-win all around.

1. Baltimore Orioles -> New York: Boy, what is it about the DC-Baltimore area? Seriously though, I think the Yankees will work out fine in New York.

Did I miss any? What are your thoughts? Let me know! – Ryan