After sweeping the Twins in a two-game series at home, the Royals had an off-day as they embarked on their first road trip. First up: the old Kansas City baseball team, the Athletics, who now played in Oakland.

Owner Ewing Kauffman and manager Joe Gordon addressed a chamber of commerce luncheon honoring the new team. Kauffman told the crowd, “(This is) the number one baseball team in the nation,” while Gordon said “I want you to know that in all my years in baseball, these last two ball games have given me my greatest pleasure.” That was high praise indeed, as Gordon had played on five World Series winners in the 1930s and 1940s, during a career that eventually saw him elected to the Hall of Fame.

In other Royals news, and to show what a different time it was, the team announced its television schedule for the year. Twenty-six games, all on the road, would be shown on KMBC in Kansas City, as well as WIBW in Topeka and KMOS in Sedalia. Two of the games in the upcoming Oakland series would be shown. Rather than having separate announcers, the telecasts would use the radio broadcasts featuring Buddy Blattner and Denny Mathews.

Today’s birthdays: Ryan Verdugo (1987), Chris Dwyer (1988)