Advertisement
Dodgers Now

Dodgers are 12th North American major pro team to file for Chapter 11

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
Staff WriterFollow
Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The Dodgers on Monday became the 12th North American major professional team to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Things turned out OK for some of the franchises. Eventually.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, who filed for banktruptcy in 1975 and 1998, went on to win two Stanley Cups in the early 1990s and another in 2009.

Advertisement

Last year, the Texas Rangers won the American League title and reached the World Series only a few months after being sold in a bankruptcy-court auction to a group led by Nolan Ryan.

Here is a list of the professional teams’ bankruptcy filings and how those franchises fared that year:

1. Seattle Pilots (Major League Baseball), March 1970. The Pilots went on to play the 1970 season as the Milwaukee Brewers and finished with a 65-97 record in the American League West, putting them in fourth place.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins (National Hockey League), June 1985. The Penguins went 34-38-8 during the 1985-86 season, finishing fifth in their division.

3. Cleveland Barons (NHL), 1978. The Barons went 22-45-13 in their final season in 1977-78 before the franchise was dissolved.

4. Baltimore Orioles (MLB), April 1993. The Orioles finished 85-77 and in third place in the American League East.

5. Kings (NHL), May 1995. The Kings finished the 1994-95 season with a record of 16-23-9 and fourth place in their division.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL), November 1998. The Penguins (38-30-14) finished third in their division and advanced to the conference semifinals in the 1998-99 season, losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Advertisement

7. Ottawa Senators (NHL), January 2003. The Senators (39-27-9) won their division in the 2002-03 season and advanced to the conference finals, losing to the New Jersey Devils.

8. Buffalo Sabres (NHL), January 2003. The Sabres finished 27-37-10 in the 2002-03 season, putting them in fifth place in their division.

9. Chicago Cubs (MLB), October 2009. The Cubs finished second in the NL Central with an 83-78 record.

10. Phoenix Coyotes (NHL), May 2009. The Coyotes went 36-39 in the 2008-09 season, putting them in fourth place in their division.

11. Texas Rangers (MLB), May 2010. The Rangers won the American League title before losing to the San Francisco Giants, four games to one, in the World Series.

12. Dodgers (MLB), June 2011. The Dodgers entered play Monday at 35-44, 9 1/2 games behind San Francisco in the NL West.

RELATED:

Advertisement

Bankruptcy Q&A: Dodgers closer to resolution

Frank McCourt and the Dodgers: A chronology

Dodgers file for bankruptcy -- and arrange for $150-million loan

--Ben Bolch

Dodgers Now
Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

Advertisement