Ray Kroc Once Got On The PA And Called His San Diego Padres Stupid In Front Of Everyone

The Padres were once again clobbered in their home opener on April 9, losing 9-5. Kroc spent the game stewing as his team committed such foibles as forgetting the number of outs, and blowing a chance to score with the bases loaded. With the Astros holding onto a 9-2 lead in the ninth, Kroc was finally set off after a pinch runner who’d just entered the game was picked off at first. He stormed from the owners box to the PA booth, grabbed the microphone, and addressed Padres fans as their team’s owner for the first time.

“Fans, I suffer with you. I’ve never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life,” he said. After a streaker briefly interrupted him—Kroc screamed for the man to be thrown in jail—he continued to roast his team. “I have good news and bad news,” he said. “The good news is that the Dodgers drew 31,000 for their opener and we’ve drawn 39,000 for ours. The bad news is that this is the most stupid baseball playing I’ve ever seen.”

Fans in the building cheered, but Kroc faced swift recrimination. “I wish Mr. Kroc hadn’t done that,” Willie McCovey said. “I’ve never heard anything like that in my 19 years in baseball. None of us likes being called stupid. We’re pros and we’re doing the best we can. His words will ring in the players’ ears for a long time.” Astros union rep Denis Menke also called Kroc out, as did MLBPA executive director Marvin Miller. The bad press was enough for commissioner Bowie Kuhn to side with the players against an owner and join their calls for an apology, which Kroc delivered the next day: