Good teams that had poor attendance

[HomeRunHomer]

With the Marlins playing good baseball in front of dismal crowds,

can you guys recall other teams that were very good, but strugged mightily with attendance?

[bryanac625]

With the Marlins playing good baseball in front of dismal crowds,

can you guys recall other teams that were very good, but strugged mightily with attendance?

Would the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers fall into this category? Did those teams move because they said attendance was falling off? Or because they wanted new stadiums?

[Honus Wagner Rules]

The three time World Series winning Oakland A's (1972-74) had the following attendance.

1972: 921,323 (5th of 12)
1973: 1,000,763 (8th of 12)
1974: 845,693 (11th or 12)

[Buzzaldrin]

The 1914 A's- winner of their 4th straight pennant- finished fifth of eight teams in the AL in attendance. This was what supposedly prompted Mack to dismantle the team; they just didn't make any money. The White Sox and Yankees both finished 30 games out of first place and had better attendance.

[KHenry14]

The three time World Series winning Oakland A's (1972-74) had the following attendance.

1972: 921,323 (5th of 12)
1973: 1,000,763 (8th of 12)
1974: 845,693 (11th or 12)

And they didn't even sell out during the WS Wags. I actually bought walk-up tickets for those Series!

[ipitch]

1971 SF Giants - 1,106,043 (10th of 12). 1st place in the NL West with Willie McCovey, Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Juan Marichal, and Gaylord Perry.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

And they didn't even sell out during the WS Wags. I actually bought walk-up tickets for those Series!

Are you serious?! Wow. Why do you think the A's had such poor attendance for such a great team?

[HomeRunHomer]

Are you serious?! Wow. Why do you think the A's had such poor attendance for such a great team?

Two words: Charlie Finley.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Two words: Charlie Finley.

Ok, what did he specifically to turn fans away? I know Finley was cheap and didn't like to pay big salaries but that's one thing. Fans not coming to games is another.

[Steve Jeltz]

1994 Montreal Expos: Argubably the best team in the majors during the strike shortened season. 74-40, 1st in NL East. Drew 1,276,250, 11th of 14.

2003 Florida Marlins: 91-71, won World Series and drew only 1,303,215, which was 15th out of 16.

2007 Cleveland Indians: 96-66, first in AL Central. Drew 2,275,912, 9th of 14.

[Chickazoola]

The fanbase in the Bay Area has always been pretty indifferent. With San Fran I think it has a lot to do with their old park, and also the culture of the city. Even with the new park I wouldn't be surprised to see attendance decline again without Barry Bonds around.

Oakland's stadium is pretty uninspired as well, and I think that keeps fans away.

Also don't forget that both cities are football towns, and both the football teams pre-date the baseball teams. The baseball teams play second fiddle.

[parlo]

Would the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers fall into this category? Did those teams move because they said attendance was falling off? Or because they wanted new stadiums?

1947 Dodgers 1.8 million 1st of 8 NL teams
1949 Dodgers 1.6 million 1st/8
1951 Dodgers 1.28million 1st/8
1952 Dodgers 1.08million 1st/8
1955 Dodgers 1.03million 1st/8

1947 Giants 1.6million 2nd of 8 NL teams
1951 Giants 1.05million 2nd/8
1954 Giants 1.15million 2nd/8
1956 Giants 629,179 8th/8

[parlo]

1947 Dodgers 1.8 million 1st of 8 NL teams
1949 Dodgers 1.6 million 1st/8
1951 Dodgers 1.28million 1st/8
1952 Dodgers 1.08million 1st/8
1955 Dodgers 1.03million 1st/8

1947 Giants 1.6million 2nd of 8 NL teams
1951 Giants 1.05million 2nd/8
1954 Giants 1.15million 2nd/8
1956 Giants 629,179 8th/8

My mistake. The 1955 Dodgers were 2nd in NL attendance.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

The fanbase in the Bay Area has always been pretty indifferent. With San Fran I think it has a lot to do with their old park, and also the culture of the city. Even with the new park I wouldn't be surprised to see attendance decline again without Barry Bonds around.

Oakland's stadium is pretty uninspired as well, and I think that keeps fans away.

Also don't forget that both cities are football towns, and both the football teams pre-date the baseball teams. The baseball teams play second fiddle.

San Francisco wasn't really a "football town" until Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, etc., showed up. If you were to list an all-time 49ers team I bet about 85% of team would be from the 1980-2004 time frame. Also, I seriously doubt the 1960s 49ers were more popular than the 1960s Giants with Mays, McCovey, Marichal, etc.

[parlo]

San Francisco wasn't really a "football town" until Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, etc., showed up. If you were to list an all-time 49ers team I bet about 85% of team would be from the 1980-2004 time frame. Also, I seriously doubt the 1960s 49ers were more popular than the 1960s Giants with Mays, McCovey, Marichal, etc.

The Giants drew well in the Mays/McCovey era. I think the sub par stadiums, combined with a somewhat small market for two teams, played a big part in the poor numbers of the 1970s.