The breach of contract lawsuit was the result of the selling of the Seattle Pilots to the future Commissioner of Baseball - Bud Selig, and subsequent transfer of the team to Milwaukee. The American League was sued, in 1970, for $32 million for loss of the team.
The lawsuit continued up to 1976, when the American League offered to establish a franchise in Seattle in exchange for dropping the lawsuit. This resulted in the establishment of the Seattle Mariners, to begin play in 1977.
The Mariners played their debut game at the Kingdome – their first stadium, in front of a capacity crowd of 57,762 on April 6, 1977, and lost 7-0 to the California Angels. For the first 13 seasons, the Mariners were a very ordinary team, where they finished last or next to last in 10 of them. The Mariners have won only three Western Division titles, and no American League Pennants and World Series titles.
The Mariners have made four playoff appearances, in 1995, 1997, 2000, and in 2001. The Mariners have the dubious distinction of being one of the only five teams of the MLB to have never appeared in the World Series.
The Ballparks
The Kingdome, or simply The Dome, was the first home of the Mariners, from 1968 - when the franchise was established - up to 1999.
One of the most memorable games for the Mariners, and one of the most significant one for the Kingdome, happened on October 8, 1995 when the Mariners defeated the New York Yankees 6-5, in front of a capacity crowd of 57,411 fans.
The Mariners moved into their new home at the Safeco Field in July 1999, and played their debut game against the St. Diego Padres on July 15, 1999, which the Mariners lost 2-3.
The Honors
The Mariners have not retired any jersey numbers as it is their policy that only players in the National Baseball Hall of Fame who have played for at least five years with the Mariners, or career Mariners players who have narrowly missed being elected to the Hall of Fame, will have their numbers officially retired.
However, the following jersey numbers have not been re-issued:
# 4 - Lou Piniella
# 6 - Dan Wilson
# 11 - Edgar Martinez
# 19 - Jay Buhner
# 24 - Ken Griffey, Jr
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