The 1969 Kansas City Royals season was the Royals' inaugural season. The team finished fourth in the newly established American League West with a record of 69 wins and 93 losses. Offseason A franchise is born The club's inception is connected to the Athletics franchise. On October 18, 1967, A.L. owners at last gave Charles O. Finley permission to move the Athletics to Oakland for the 1968 season. According to some reports, Joe Cronin promised Finley that he could move the team after the 1967 season as an incentive to sign the new lease with Municipal Stadium. The move came in spite of approval by voters in Jackson County of a bond issue for a brand new baseball stadium (the eventual Kauffman Stadium) to be completed in 1973. When U.S. Senator Stuart Symington threatened to have baseball's antitrust exemption revoked, the owners responded with a hasty round of expansion. Kansas City was awarded an American League expansion team, the Royals. They were initially slated to begin play in 1971. However, Symington was not willing to have Kansas City wait three years for another team, and renewed his threat to have baseball's antitrust exemption revoked unless the teams began play in 1969. The owners complied, but it forced the Seattle Pilots to enter the league earlier than expected without a suitable stadium, leading to financial difficulty, and a rapid relocation to Milwaukee in April 1970. The Kansas City franchise was formally awarded to Ewing Kauffman on January 11, 1968. The owner selected Los Angeles Angels vice president Cedric Tallis as the Royals' first general manager, and Tallis began to assemble a front office staff. Expansion draft The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft for the Royals and the Seattle Pilots was held on October 15. Other offseason transactions June 7, 1968: Dane Iorg was drafted by the Royals in the 16th round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign. August 14, 1968: Galen Cisco was purchased by the Royals from the Boston Red Sox. December 12, 1968: Hoyt Wilhelm was traded by the Royals to the California Angels for Ed Kirkpatrick and Dennis Paepke. December 15, 1968: Dennis Ribant was purchased by the Royals from the Detroit Tigers. March 29, 1969: Dennis Ribant was purchased from the Royals by the St. Louis Cardinals. 1968 MLB June amateur draft and minor league affiliates The Royals and Seattle Pilots,