Kansas City Royals
2013 Kansas  City Royals season
Established	1969
Team logo Cap insignia
Major league affiliations
American League (1969–present) Central Division (1994–present)
Current uniform
Retired numbers	5 · 10 · 20 · 42
Colors
Royal Blue, White, Powder Blue
Name
Kansas City Royals (1969–present)
Other nicknames
The Big Blue Bus, The Boys in Blue
Ballpark
Kauffman Stadium (1973–present) Municipal Stadium (1969–1972)
Major league titles
World Series titles (1)	1985
AL Pennants (2)	1985 · 1980
Central Division titles(0)
West Division titles(6) [1]	1985 · 1984 ·1980 · 1978 ·1977 · 1976
Wild card berths (0)
[1] The Royals also qualified for the 1981 American League Division Series by winning the AL West in the second half of the 1981 season, which was split by aplayers' strike. Kansas City lost in the ALDS to the Oakland A's.
Front office
Owner(s)	David Glass
Manager	Ned Yost
General Manager	Dayton Moore
President of Baseball Operations	Dan Glass

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since 1973, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium. The Royals have participated in two World Series, winning in 1985.

The "Royals" name originates from the American Royal, a livestock show, horse show, and rodeo held annually in Kansas City since 1899.[1] The name also followed a theme of the other professional franchises in the city, including the Kansas City Chiefs football team, the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League, and the-then Kansas City Kings basketball franchise.

Entering the American League as an expansion franchise in 1969, along with the Seattle Pilots, the club was founded by Ewing Kauffman, a Kansas City businessman. The franchise was established following the actions of Stuart Symington, then-United States Senator from Missouri, who demanded a new franchise for the city after the Athletics (Kansas City's previous major league team from 1955 to 1967) moved to Oakland, California.

The new team quickly became a powerhouse, appearing in the playoffs 7 out of 10 seasons from 1976 to 1985, including one World Series championship and another pennant, led by stars such asGeorge Brett, Frank White, Willie Wilson and Bret Saberhagen. The team remained competitive throughout the mid-1990s, but has had only one winning season since 1994.

The 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was hosted by the team on July 10, 2012. The 2012 season marked the third time the All-Star Game was played in Kansas City, with Kauffman Stadium (then named Royals Stadium) previously hosting the event in 1973. The event was also held at Municipal Stadium in 1960, when the Athletics were based in Kansas City.

Franchise history

Main article: History of the Kansas City Royals
For historical Kansas City baseball franchises, see List of past and present Kansas City sports teams.

1969–79: Taking off
The Royals began play in 1969 in Kansas City, Missouri. In their inaugural game, on April 8, 1969, the Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 4–3 in 12 innings.

The team was quickly built through a number of trades engineered by its first General Manager, Cedric Tallis, including a trade for Lou Piniella, who won the Rookie of the Year during the Royals' inaugural season. The Royals also invested in a strong farm system and soon developed such future stars as pitchers Paul Splittorff and Steve Busby, infielders George Brett and Frank White, and outfielder Al Cowens.

In 1971, the Royals had their first winning season, with manager Bob Lemon leading them to a second-place finish. In 1973, under manager Jack McKeon, the Royals adopted their iconic "powder blue" road uniforms and moved from Municipal Stadium to the brand-new Royals Stadium (now known as Kauffman Stadium).

Manager Whitey Herzog replaced McKeon in 1975, and the Royals quickly became the dominant franchise in the American League's Western Division, winning three straight division championships from 1976 to 1978. However, the Royals lost to the New York Yankees in three straight American League Championship Series encounters.