Take 5: Share The Wealth, 10 Years Later
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Glow1
That was a magical night. I remember when we were walking out, I think it was actually a mixture of cheers and boos from those who were staying. I vaguely remember disgust being spewed by the ESPN talking heads that night when I got home to watch the replays.
And hey GH, do you know what happened to Karpinski?
Bill
I was there that night in the outfield GA and greatly appreciated all the KK brainwashed idiots who left…because after they did my friends and I went and took their front row seats. It was a good night.
Even then I knew KK was full of idiotic hyperbole. He had a point…but it was just another one of his many stupid radio stunts playing on many in KCs inferiority complex.
Ptolemy
I did not participate in the walk-out for philosophical reasons.
The principle behind the movement was “if you had more, you should pay more to make the little guy warm,” and that concept was far too FDR New Deal Socialism for the world we live in. People die in other parts of the world under those types of totalitarianism governments.
Is that suddenly OK if we just want a winning baseball team again?
Bluestrike
It was a lot of fun that night. The people who took it seriously were missing the point–we weren’t trying to change the world that night, we were just trying to support this little station that somehow seemed ‘ours’.
That was a long time ago.
I do remember Whitlock that night, leaning against the 1510 van and taking it all in. I want to say Bill Maas was with him that night. The free ice cream stand in the center of the lot. The fans chanting ‘1510, 1510’ when Kietzman got up to speak to the crowd.
I’m not a real fan of WHB any more, but I’ll always remember that night with a smile…
greg
Glow-
I googled Karp and it looks like he is still in radio at a station in NYC. He also worked for the Red Sox for a while. Here’s a link to his LinkedID: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/5/52b/aa2
smartman
Greg:
Another great column. Thanks for doing what you do. Loved the retro column las t weekend!
MLB should institute a rule that if you are the worst team in baseball…you gotta sell the team. I’m sure they could line up an approved bunch of buyers and come up with a fair way to value the worst team. See what happens then.
As for KK and the bunch; Power corrupts…the thrill is gone…the edge is off. If they want WHB to continue to thrive they gotta reinvent themselves, get some new blood. Even Soren Petro who I use to love to listen to has gotten old and stale. And if the money is tight as you say it is can they really survive?
Glow1
Thanks GH for the Karp update. I went to school with him. He was a good guy, I need to look him up.
And Bill, glad you enjoyed the seats.
Duane Cunningham
I remember it really well, because I printed the shirts. A friend of mine and I were thinking about opening a screenprinting business when KK went on the air looking for a local screenprinter to donate the shirts. We had just bought our first press, and a little bit of ink. We didn’t have a physical location yet.
I called the station and offered our services, not expecting to make any money, necessarily. Two other local screenprinters also offered, and we wound up printing a little over half of them, with the other two places doing the rest.
As it turned out, the KCTE guys asked for a “suggested donation” from the fans, just to cover the cost of the shirts. It wasn’t required, but most people gave $10. This was well over the cost of the shirts, but KCTE didn’t want to keep any money from the event so they gave it all to us. We didn’t get rich from the amount of money we received, but it was enough to put down a cheap deposit on a downtown storefront (back when it was cheap downtown), and Swillhound Studios at the corner of 16th and Grand was born.
Over the next few years we printed a ton of shirts for local clients, including WHB for the first few years. My partner got out after three years, and I sold the business after five, talking a job offer as a designer for a local clothing company. The old Swillhound Studios space became Mercy Seat Tattoo & Gallery. I became the host/play by play announcer for the Kansas City Roller Warriors.
The “Share the Wealth” walkout was a huge turning point in my life. It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years.
Shawn
I remember it well because April 30th is my birthday, and friends of mine got a bunch of 1st base club-level seats. I couldn’t walk out because it would have been insulting to them, but I think the spirit was correct.
greg
Duane,
Great story. It is amazing what twists and turns our lives take and what a dramatic effect a single event can have. Pretty darn cool.