Updated Franchise History w/Best•Worst Through 2054

[ballmark]

So the last time I posted this magilla was November of 2022 - six real time months back which equals three SimSeasons ago; we are definitely due for an update! The wife is pulling a 12-hour shift today so let's make it happen!

+++

The GGL continues to be one of the most stable on the site, with all owners returning in 2052 and the NatBo's taking the World Series crown. Other franchise highlights/lowlights:

• Michael (Weaver) set a new record for victories under his guidance with 109!
• Ed (edmortimer) hit the 15-year mark for ownership in the Goose with Cleveland. Way to go!
• Bowfoy - in his third season here back in '52 - set a new mark for wins under his ownership with 90 of them.
• Bob (winkabob) hit a new win record in his fifth year with the rebranded Stars before he left with 74 wins.
• Shane (grist06) hit the 10 year mark in '52 and set a new low with 87 losses that season.
• Kyle (Damien435) hit the quarter-century mark of ownership with the Explorers in 2052. Congrats!

Moving on to 2053...the Youngstuds won back their World Series crown but this time took it from Boston. And all owners returned once again. No new records set, but...

• Mark (ballmark) hit 80 years - wow! - with his Detroit Diamonds. (Personal note: and only 10 seasons of playoffs, but six titles!)

Finally, in 2054 we saw new owner Glug (real world name unknown) take over Miami (more notes below) and everyone else return (yay!) with New York NL taking their second Series Crown in a row from challenger NYA; it was a Subway World Series! The Youngstuds lead the GGL in Golden Trophies. Other notes...

• Danny (danno38852) celebrated his **45th** season in the GGL and is far and away the longest-tenured owner of the Chicago AL franchise.
• Bowfoy popped the champagne on his fifth season here but his Master Horde lost a record 92 games under his tenure this season. (They look like they're rebounding nicely this year.)
• New owner Glug by default set new records for both wins and losses with a 40-122 first season as a new owner in the league, but hey, welcome! We hope you stay a long time!
• Shane went to the World Series by setting a new win record for his Nights with 102 of them!
• Brian (bpearly69) celebrated the 20th season of his move back to his Youngstud's New York roots. Before that he was in Montreal and Los Angeles.
• The Q (Q_142857) in Pittsburgh spent his 30th season in the Goose in 2054. Well done, you! Six more and you'll hold the franchise record for ownership!
• Finally, Kent (daytonjake) - our "Elder Statesmen" - celebrated his **95th** season here in 2054. That translates to almost 16 real time years in the Goose Goslin League. SAAAA-LUTE!!

+++

ATLANTA UNITED
Currently owned by: Weaver (2041- )
Cin-Phi-Atl
Current Best/Worst: 109 wins in 2052; 135 losses in 2046
Franchise Best/Worst: 132 wins in 2015 under Horseradish; 135 losses in 2046 under Weaver
Longest tenured owner: Zheric, from 1953 through 2002 (50 seasons) ~ Cincinnati Starlets
Known as the Troopers their first three years, they were purchased by Claude (Zheric) in 1953 and renamed the Starlets and became one of SimD's first "theme teams" and for the next five SimDecades most of the good players were renamed after prominent Hollywood science fiction starlets and actresses. It's hard to steal second in high heels, the media was repeatedly told. When Claude finally left, Carl Dunn (R.I.P.) bought the franchise from a short-lived DynastyBot and moved them to Philadelphia where he renamed them the Hornets and strategically garnered a top draft pick. Horseradish took over the next year and moved the club south to Atlanta where he renamed the team the EDGE, as he did with most of his SimD teams. When they were about ready to compete, he renamed the squad the Mudhens and set a National League record for victories. He retired from the league in 2022 for health reasons. A Bot held the reins in 2023 and then Dufess joined the GGL in 2024, renaming the team the Atlanta Hawks. Sadly, he only played for the minimum two year buy-in before departing the league. DynastyBot took the reins for the 2026 season to an unremarkable 32-130 record before the return of Shazam, who ran the New York AL/Minnesota franchise from 2018-2020. The franchise was rebranded as the Federal Reserve. Leaving at the end of the 2040 season, veteran SimD Owner Weaver took the reins and rebranded the franchise as the Atlanta United.

BALTIMORE NATIONAL BOHEMIANS
Currently owned by: dabigtrain (2002- )
Current Best/Worst: 111 wins in 2045; 94 losses in 2024
Franchise Best/Worst: 112 wins in 1996 under joedirt; 109 losses in 1977 under grist06
Longest tenured owner: dabigtrain, from 2002 through 2054 (53 seasons) ~ Baltimore National Bohemians
A rocky beginning, Baltimore went by the Breeze, then the Steam, then the Mist, then back to the Steam before a solitary year as the Baltimore Blizzard in 1962. The city began to see some ownership stability under joedirt from 1963 to 1975 as the Baltimore Browns and then the Fire with grist06 until current management joined the GGL in 2002, becoming a force for stability.

BOSTON RED SOX
Currently owned by: dgray14 (2017- )
Current Best/Worst: 111 wins in 2042; 115 losses in 2046
Franchise Best/Worst: 111 wins under dgray14 in 2042; 115 losses under dgray14 in 2046
Longest tenured owner: WHEELSRUGS, from 1971 through 2015 (45 seasons) ~ Boston Green Sox
First three owners are Out of SimDynasty, but had dubbed the team the Boston Tea Party, Boston Clammers, and the Boston Chaos. They played for one solitary year in 1962 as the Boston Bombers. Owner tim_ackley held the reins for seven years as the Boston Terriers and then Boston fans put up with the name "Green Manalishi" for the 1970 season. This is your team on LSD. Under Wheels, they were the Green Wave for one year before becoming the well-known Boston Green Sox for many, many years here. Dynasty Bot renamed the team the Boston Bobcats in 2016 and dgray14 restored the legendary Red Sox name to Boston fans upon his arrival in 2017.

CHICAGO CYCLONES
Currently owned by: danno38852 (2010- )
Current Best/Worst: 103 wins in 2020; 113 losses in 2032
Franchise Best/Worst: 128 wins in very first year 1950 under Alsobroken; 122 losses in 1959 under Out of SimD
Longest tenured owner: danno38852, from 2010 through 2054 (45 seasons) ~ Chicago Cyclones
Must be something about the reputation on Chicago's south side. This team started out as the Devils, were the Big Bats for two years, then the Dons, the Monsters, the Villains, and then came into the hands of the infamous owner imalbundy2 (Ron). Ron blamed ABE for every loss Chicago ever had. He refused to understand how a computer simulation, when given a team that was clearly better by all statistical metrics, could ever be allowed to lose to one with patently inferior paradigms. It was obviously a conspiracy of the programmers out to make his team fail and deny him success. While he started off calling his team the Chicago Cougars, he changed the name almost every season as a protest to this unfair and corrupt conspiracy and thus Chicago fans lived through the following litany: High Plains Drifters, Corn Holes, Proctologists, WS Champions, 33 1/3s, 8 Tracks, and Geritol Addicts when the players were aging out. Finally Greg (Descent54) came along and the team became the Black Sox. After only going to the World Series once in more than 25 years, he gave up and turned the team over to danno38852, who rechristened the franchise the Cyclones.

CLEVELAND BLUES
Currently owned by: edmortimer (2038- )
NYA-Min-Cle
Current Best/Worst: 91 wins in 2038; 120 losses in 2042
Franchise Best/Worst: 112 wins as New York Blackhearts in 1977 under Kozpan; 120 losses as Cleveland Blues in 2042 under edmortimer
Longest tenured owner: burns41253, from 1982 through 2014 (33 seasons) ~ New York Skyscrapers
Franchise began life as one of two New York teams. They were the MAFIA (all caps) until 1955, when Kozpan took over the team for a whopping 27 years and great success as the Blackhearts. Ballmark's son took the team for only one season following that but did rename the team the Skyscrapers and burns41253 liked it enough to keep it for the next three SimDecades. Todibus joined the GGL for three years, calling the team the Dead Rabbits, after an old New York Irish street gang. Shazam came along after Todibus, shifted the franchise from New York to Minnesota and called them the Diamondbacks. After three seasons, he gave way to a DynastyBot, and then in 2022 chance4103 relieved the Bot of its command and its nickname, and Minnesota became the Mudd Soxs. After a quartet of seasons, the team traded in their Muddy Soxx on some new lumbering equipment and became the Wood Chippers under new ownership and new owner Frankenstrat, who took the team to a World Series title and retired from the league. New ownership moved the franchise to Cleveland, which hasn't had a team since the days of German owner Panele (that franchise is now located in Oakland).

DETROIT DIAMONDS
Currently owned by: ballmark (1974- )
Current Best/Worst: 114 wins in 2029; 124 losses in 1977
Franchise Best/Worst: 114 wins in 2029 under ballmark; 124 losses in 1977 under ballmark
Longest tenured owner: ballmark, from 1974 through 2054 (81 seasons) ~ Detroit Diamonds
Detroit, one of the league's original 16 teams, began as the "Dead Men Voting" for the GGL's first decade, then were the Detroit Deluge for a baker's dozen of years before being taken over by current owner ballmark in 1974. Only one other owner in GGL history has owned the same team longer. See below.

LOS ANGELES MASTER HORDE
Currently owned by: Bowfoy (2050- )
NYN-CHN-LAN
Current Best/Worst: 90 wins in 2052 under Bowfoy; 92 losses in 2054 under Bowfoy
Franchise Best/Worst: 121 wins as New York Youngstuds under bpearly69 in 1975; 126 losses as New York Newbies under bakdor111 in 1967
Longest tenured owner: bpearly69, from 1970 through 2005 (36 seasons) ~ New York Youngstuds
The team changed hands frequently in the beginning, known as the Highlanders, the Saints, the Knights, and finally as the Whiskey Cats for eight years under Owner anubis. They went back to the Knights for a pair of seasons and then became the Newbies for a trio of years before running into an owner who lavished some love upon them in bpearly69. He took the franchise to the Series 11 times, winning seven titles. He reluctantly left the GGL, but we were fortunate in finding donharris1961 quickly taking over the team and sticking with it for almost three SimDecades before retiring from the league. The DynastyBot that took over rebranded the franchise from the Titans to the Barbarians. The Bot held the reins for not even a full season before Chris Frankum bought the team. He moved the club to Chicago in the offseason. Chris stayed the minimum of two seasons before confessing that Dynasty League game play was just too slow for his liking and he moved on. The Bot that took control, rebranded the franchise the Cheetahs, but lasted just one season before new owner FrosteeTBear, affectionately known as simply "Frostee" in other leagues, took over and renamed the team a Spanglish version of "Good For You." (We think.) Reagan1980 - after leaving the New York AL team he ran, bought the franchise after Frostee was able to do nothing with it, played for one season, renaming the franchise the "Chicago Bulls" and in the off-season moved them to the west coast in Los Angeles. He was there for five seasons before giving up on both the team and the league and the GGL suffered under a DynastyBot for SimYear 2049 before being rescued by Owner Bowfoy, who rebranded the franchise.

MIAMI MANGOES (formerly Miami Stars, nee Admirals)
Currently owned by: Glug (2054- )
ChN-Phi-Mon-Mia
Current Best/Worst: 40 wins in 2054; 122 losses in 2054 (first year under new ownership)
Franchise Best/Worst: 117 wins as Philadelphia -and- Montreal Comptonz Expoz in 2025/2026; 135 losses as Miami Admirals under owner winkabob in 2033.
Longest tenured owner: Damien435, from 1953 through 2016 (64 seasons) when the franchise was on Chicago's North End as the ~ Chicago Cubs
The Goose Goslin League originally had two New York teams and two Chicago teams. This franchise was originally the National League Chicago version, beginning in 1950 as the Bartmans. Kyle (Damien435) became practically their only owner in '53 and renamed them the Cubs and set nearly every franchise record over the next 60+ seasons. Steve (Lawman23) took the reins when Kyle eventually had to drop out and finally felt that the club needed a fresh start in Philly, moving the team and renaming them the 76ers. He remained at the helm six more years when Mario (Compton10101) returned to the GGL after his short stint in Montreal a few SimYears back. One of his first acts as Owner was to move the franchise back to the chilly environs of Quebec, where he set a new victory total his first year there. After squeezing every ounce of talent he could from the veterans he traded for, Compton10101 once again left the GGL for another owner to pick up the pieces. Enter winkabob, who rebranded the franchise after a move to a much warmer environment, and a new "theme team" strategy of renaming players after military naval Admirals. After 16 years as the Admirals and fairly exhausting the list of naval admirals, both past and present, the franchise rebranded itself the Stars, going with a theme of legendary Hollywood celebrities, which should last considerably longer. Unfortunately, winkabob didn't, leaving the GGL after only six seasons as the Stars. New owner Glug joined the league and the franchise was rebranded, though many player names remained unchanged.

MILWAUKEE MAD COWS
Currently owned by: abarkov (2011- )
Current Best/Worst: 111 wins in 2028; 113 losses in 2011
Franchise Best/Worst: 115 wins as Brew Masters in 1986 under Mike0221; 124 losses as Mudhens in 1972 under Horseradish
Longest tenured owner: abarkov, from 2011 to 2054 (44 seasons) ~ Milwaukee Mad Cows
Horseradish, one of the GGL's original owners, owned this team through 1982 as the Mudhens before giving way to its second-longest owner, Mike0221, who kept Milwaukee traditions alive, naming the team the Brew Masters. The early 2000s saw some ownership fluctuation between a pair of DynastyBots and a three-season stretch with an owner named Arianah, but abarkov has returned stability to this proud Wisconsin club, even while poking fun at the state's strong reputation for dairy cattle.

NEW YORK NIGHTS (formerly New York Knights)
Currently owned by: grist06 (2043- )
KC-NYA
Current Best/Worst: 102 wins in 2054; 87 losses in 2052
Franchise Best/Worst: 110 wins in 1990 under WedgeVA; 130 losses in 1981 under WedgeVA while franchise in KC.
Longest tenured owner: WedgeVA, from 1975 through 2015 (41 seasons) ~ Kansas City Kings
Kansas City is known for two things: BBQ and Blues. The team was called the Blues from 1950 through 1966 and its first two owners, then became the KC Carp under jbence from '67 to 1974. Long term owner WedgeVA took over in 1975 and renamed them the Kings. Took the team to six World Series, but could only win one title. berrybasher followed and, like dgray14, restored the team's historical nickname, the Athletics. He held the reins for 18 seasons, won one World Series title and succumbed to life not leaving enough time for the Sim. The Bot that replaced him immediately rebranded the franchise as the Centurions. Reagan1980 ousted the bot, kept the nickname, but moved the franchise to New York. When he left after 9 good years in the league (but he didn't really leave, just changed leagues), an old GGL-mate grist06 (26 seasons w/the Baltimore franchise) came back to us as the new owner in NY and rebranded the franchise, then quietly rebranded it again by simply dropping the "K" at the start of the 2046 season.

NEW YORK YOUNGSTUDS
Currently owned by: bpearly69 (2012- )
Brk-Mon-LAN-NYN
Current Best/Worst: 125 wins in 2048; 133 losses in 2044
Franchise Best/Worst: 125 wins as New York Youngstuds in 2048 under bpearly69; 133 losses as New York Youngstuds in 2044 under bpearly69
Longest tenured owner: Slimlizard, from 1959 through 2007 (49 seasons) ~ Brooklyn Traveling Wilburies
This franchise began life in Brooklyn as the Railbirds. Five years later they became the Traveling Wilburies, which they would remain for the next 53 years. The storied franchise moved north to Canada under compton10101, locating it in Montreal, or MoNtReAl to follow team branding. But only for two years before owner jose1717 turned them into the "Hit Machine" for two years and bpearly69 - a former GGL member who was a long term owner of the New York NL franchise before temporarily leaving the league - returned to claim the ownership vacancy and after one year in Montreal moved the franchise to the USA west coast, reclaiming his former NY-NL nickname, the Youngstuds, in 2019. At the beginning of 2035, LA moved back across country to the Big Apple, to the one-time home of the New York Youngstuds (see Los Angeles Longhorns) and it was like coming home for this once proud GGL franchise.

OAKLAND MAJESTICS
Currently owned by: Marshmallowman (2037- )
Cle-Oak
Current Best/Worst: 122 wins in 2046 *and* 2049; 134 losses in 2039
Franchise Best/Worst: 122 wins in 2046 *and* 2049; 134 losses in 2039; both under Marshmallowman
Longest tenured owner: mrtwolff, from 1997 through 2036 (40 seasons) ~ Oakland Twins
Prior to coming to Oakland, this franchise began in Cleveland as the Knocks, then spent 20 years with owner Satyr as the Ballbusters. Six years with putz37 as the Brigade before a memorable 15-year run with German owner Panele as the Cleveland Curve. Denbone ran the team just three years: One in Cleveland as the Comanches and two as the Invaders, after moving the franchise west to Oakland. Todd (mrtwolff) joined the GGL in Sim1997 and stayed long enough to tie Chicago AL for most World Series trophies. But after 40 years of life in the Goose, he slipped quietly into retirement and the team was taken over by Marshmallowman and the franchise rebranded to begin a new West Coast dynasty.

PITTSBURGH FIREFLIES
Currently owned by: Q_142857 (2025- ) (killed Bot in mid-2024)
Current Best/Worst: 117 wins in 2037; 129 losses in 2049
Franchise Best/Worst: 117 wins as Pittsburgh Fireflies in 2037; 129 losses as Fireflies in 2049
Longest tenured owner: docjwe3, from 1961 through 1995 (35 seasons) ~ Pittsburgh Highlanders
Pittsburgh has always been in Pittsburgh, but has gone through no fewer than nine different team nicknames, at least half a dozen owners (probably more, because four are "Out of SimD"), but does have four World Series titles to its credit, now, which is more than several other franchises. They were the Pillagers for three years, the Rockers for two, the Prowlers for five, back to the Pillagers for a single season, then the renowned Highlanders for a great 35 seasons, during which they didn't win a single World Series title. In fact, they only made the playoffs once during Doc's entire tenure! Lawman23 made his first appearance in the GGL here in Pittsburgh (before Chicago-NL) and ran the team as both the Panthers and the Pythons for 11 seasons, winning one title, finn51 and a DynastyBot led them as Pirates for three seasons, then kingofthemountain met with some success (two World Series titles) over 13 years as the Pittsburgh Jolly Rogers before the team suffered under another DynastyBot for two years, finally being rescued in mid-season 2024 by current owner Q_142857 and renamed the Pengwings. The franchise was rebranded for the 2026 season as the Fireflies and improved every season, finally winning a World Series in 2032.

SAINT LOUIS EXPLORERS
Currently owned by: Damien435 (2027- )
Current Best/Worst: 116 wins in 2034 and 2050; 107 losses in 2029
Franchise Best/Worst: 125 wins as St. Louis Redlegs in 1975 under owner tomsick; 115 losses as St. Louis Redlegs in 1950 under owner tomsick
Longest tenured owner: fg, from 1981 through 2019 (39 seasons) ~ St. Louis Redlegs
While boasting two of the longest tenured owners in GGL History, the franchise has only four World Series titles to its credit. Tomsick began with the team and ran it for 32 seasons as the Redlegs. The club's second owner, fg, stuck with the name. fg, by the way, was an attorney named Nick who picked that avatar name because his friends referred to him frequently as an "effing genius" and he thought this was a good place to use it. Steve (swd4647) took the reins from Nick and called the team the Hammers (as he did with most of his teams) for two years before zzinet bought the club for three years and renamed them the Browns and we began 2025 with yet another DynastyBot before Explorer58 came to the rescue. The franchise was rebranded with the classic Cardinals name for 2026. As happens far too often, Explorer58 stayed only the minimum two years, but with joy the GGL welcomed back Kyle (Damien435), who holds the title of longest-tenured owner of the former Chicago Cubs franchise (now operating out of Miami under owner Glug). Ironically, the team was nicknamed the Explorers under the new owner.

SAN DIEGO PIRANAS
Currently owned by: rzafan (2037- )
Phi-SD
Current Best/Worst: 115 wins in 2047; 117 losses in 2051
Franchise Best/Worst: 118 wins as Sandlot Mafia in 2006 under owner seahags; 127 losses as Sandlot Mafia in 1984 under seahags
Longest tenured owner: seahags, from 1971 through 2015 (45 seasons) ~ San Diego Sandlot Mafia
Another east coast club that eventually moved west, San Diego began in Philadelphia as the Cheesesteaks with an owner who is Out of SimD. moustique took over the team for 11 years as the Metal Maniaques and then ran them for another seven years as the Metal Men. seahags then bought the club in 1971 and they became the Sandlot Mafia. He moved the club west to San Diego where they were the Sun Devils for one brief year before returning to the Sandlot Mafia nickname. They rang up nearly half a dozen World Series titles over the years. A DynastyBot ran the club under the name of the Corsairs for a single year before SimDynasty veteran Leonard slayed the bot and they became the Crusaders, again on the verge of greatness, but alas, Leonard had to leave the league before achieving it and the team once again fell under the control of the D-BOT for two seasons until being purchased by Owner HawkYourSocksOff, who gave the team a more whimsical nickname of BuckyBalls.. However, his ownership was short-lived and new owner rzafan swooped up front office control and rebranded the franchise.

WASHINGTON PHANTOMS
Currently owned by: daytonjake (1960- )
Current Best/Worst: 110 wins in 2025; 116 losses in 2012
Franchise Best/Worst: 110 wins in 2025; 116 losses in 1952 and 2012 (1952 was by an owner who has left SimD)
Longest tenured owner: daytonjake, from 1960 through 2054 (95 seasons)! Kent (daytonjake) is the most senior owner in the Goose Goslin League and is the longest tenured owner in the history of the GGL ~ Washington Phantoms
Washington has had only two owners. The first is gone from living memory (Out of SimD), but ran the team as the Patriots from 1950 through 1959. daytonjake took over in 1960 and has run it as the Phantoms ever since. Not much else to tell. He is the Elder Statesmen of the league with almost a SimCentury of continuous ownership of one team here!!

+++

Note from Mark: It appears that from 1950 to 1954 there were seven franchises that moved under new ownership or, more likely, there were Expansion Drafts that set up new teams in new cities. For whatever reason, the owners of these early teams in the early years are lost to the memory of the database. I have notated these owners, where needed, by simply calling them "Out of SimD." Also, the teams are no longer listed by league, but simply listed alphabetically.

[Glug]

Wow. Totally outstanding. Let's me learn what I missed in the hostory of the league.

[daytonjake]

Great breakdown as always, Mark! Thanks for keeping the history of the league.

Kent (daytonjake)
Washington Phantoms

[Damien435]

Crazy that is has been almost 20 years since I was referred to SimD. Even crazier is that I would be over 100 seasons (we will stick to regular season discussions for now) if I had not taken a hiatus for a couple of years. Thank you for the trip down memory lane! If you need help with writing up some blurbs about "Ye Old'n Dayf" of the past, Mark, let me know. I can throw in some little tidbits of info, like the part about how I HATED Brian with a burning passion for his first several seasons in the GGL; damn young pup coming in and showing up all the old timers with his success and titles, no respect!