Rochester Cheetahs - 2009-2023
J.R. Richardson, GM
Franchise #11
History
Brief: The Franchise #11 is perhaps
the most troubled franchise in all of TCBA. In fact, the secretive handling
of ownership transfer by the league offices to J.R. Richardson in 2009
remains a mystery. The franchise was originally formed in 1975 as the South
Starrucca Ainspans, with Marty Fiehl as its head. And it was the same Marty
Fiehl who oversaw the title transfer from a league co-op to Richardson in
late 2008! Fiehl released his original hold on the franchise in 1978,
selling out to Irish investor Paul McGowan. The team was sold to
speculators Al Jenkins in 1982 and Wes Peters in 1983, after which it was
disbanded. In 1985, Fresno activist Joe Woznicka was granted control of
Franchise #11. He tried for five years to stabilize the team to no avail.
Ownership changes in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, and 1998 left the franchise
reeling, empty of talent, and with no fan base to support it. In 1999,
hot-shot litigator Bob Scharnberger took control,
using the force of his public relations know-how to inform the league that
he would be the savior of Franchise #11. He surrendered in 2003, paying off
his bar bill by handing the franchise over to brewmeister
Bill Kirwin. Four years later, Kirwin disappeared, and the league was once
again forced to assume control of Franchise #11. Then, in 2009, J.R.
Richardson suddenly announced that HE would solve the mystery. Just what
machinations occurred to allow Richardson to move the team to Rochester is
largely unknown. What we do know is that, prior to 2016, only three times
since 1975 had a Franchise #11 team finished in first place, only thrice
had a Franchise #11 team been a Wildcard, and never had a Franchise #11
team even been in a League Championship series, let alone win one. It's a
mystery; but apparently J.R. was the one to solve it. The Rochester version
of Franchise #11 won the league crown in 2016, racing their way through
three worthy playoff opponents!
In the winter of 2023-2024,
JR did a real-life inventory and realized that he could no longer count the
members of his household on just one hand. Having run out of fingers, and
needing two hands to feed the clan, JR made the difficult decision to step
down as head of Franchise #11’s Today team.
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