KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Twenty-six years ago last month one of the most influential and respected men in Kansas City sports history died.
Ewing Kauffman lived a life worth a movie, a self-made billionaire whose success created hundreds of millionaires and bought a baseball team even though he didn't know much about the sport. He thought it would be nice for his city.
Kauffman wanted that to last, too, which only amplified the importance of who would own the Royals after his death. Kauffman's wishes became clear: The team must stay and Kansas City must remain a major-league city. Eventually, he identified the man he hoped would take the job.
Bud Selig, then the acting commissioner for Major League Baseball, is believed to be the last man to see Kauffman alive. Selig can still remember Kauffman's words. He wanted David Glass to run his team.
"And I think Ewing Kauffman would be proud," Selig said.
Glass is selling the Royals for a reported $1 billion to Kansas City businessman John Sherman, a transaction that can't become official until the owners vote after the season. Glass bought the club for $96 million in April 2000. The Royals are in their 51st season and have had just two owners.
This column is about Glass' nearly 20 years in charge, which is sort of like writing about politics, because most interested parties have seemingly already made up their minds.
