In the winter of

History Brief

The Franchise #11 is perhaps the most troubled franchise in all of TCBA. In fact, the secretive handling of ownership transfer by the league offices to J.R. Richardson in 2009 remains a mystery. The franchise was originally formed in 1975 as the South Starrucca Ainspans, with Marty Fiehl as its head. And it was the same Marty Fiehl who oversaw the title transfer from a league co-op to Richardson in late 2008! Fiehl released his original hold on the franchise in 1978, selling out to Irish investor Paul McGowan. The team was sold to speculators Al Jenkins in 1982 and Wes Peters in 1983, after which it was disbanded. In 1985, Fresno activist Joe Woznicka was granted control of Franchise #11. He tried for five years to stabilize the team to no avail. Ownership changes in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, and 1998 left the franchise reeling, empty of talent, and with no fan base to support it. In 1999, hot-shot litigator Bob Scharnberger took control, using the force of his public relations know-how to inform the league that he would be the savior of Franchise #11. He surrendered in 2003, paying off his bar bill by handing the franchise over to brewmeister Bill Kirwin. Four years later, Kirwin disappeared, and the league was once again forced to assume control of Franchise #11. Then, in 2009, J.R. Richardson suddenly announced that HE would solve the mystery. Just what machinations occurred to allow Richardson to move the team to Rochester is largely unknown. What we do know is that, prior to 2016, only three times since 1975 had a Franchise #11 team finished in first place, only thrice had a Franchise #11 team been a Wildcard, and never had a Franchise #11 team even been in a League Championship series, let alone win one. It's a mystery; but apparently J.R. was the one to solve it. The Rochester version of Franchise #11 won the league crown in 2016, racing their way through three worthy playoff opponents!