If Fred Whitacre had been a travel adviser in 1988, his clients might have wondered if he had his destinations mixed up.
But Whitacre wasn’t in the travel business. He was in the baseball business, and it made perfect sense to move the Hawaii Islanders franchise in the Pacific Coast League to a new home in Colorado Springs.
Whitacre joined the Islanders’ franchise for the 1987 season as president and general manager. Owner Dave Elmore said he wanted to give it one more year in Honolulu before exploring alternatives if the Triple-A team didn’t do better financially. It didn’t.
“We had to reimburse every team half of their airfare when they came from the mainland to play in Honolulu,” Whitacre said. “It was a scheduling problem for the league with all the other teams located on the mainland.”
So, with the money drain for traveling expenses and a lack of interest among fans, Elmore dispatched Whitacre on a mission to find a new home. He soon found Colorado Springs waiting with open arms to have professional baseball for the first time since a Single-A team played there in the 1950s.
“The city really wanted us,” Whitacre said. “There wasn’t an adequate place to play Triple-A baseball. The city donated some land and some financial help to build a new stadium.”
Thus the Colorado Springs Sky Sox were reborn, but the relocation wasn’t as simple as Rockies manager Jim Tracy putting Carlos Gonzalez into his starting lineup.
“We built the stadium in 70 days for $3.2 million,” Whitacre said. “We had to play our first homestand in the 1988 season in Yuma, Arizona. We were three weeks into the season before we played a game in Colorado Springs.”
Even then, the Sky Sox played a few games at Memorial Park, in an old downtown stadium that had poor lighting. Games had to begin by 4 p.m. because the lighting wasn’t considered adequate for night baseball. Sky Sox Stadium finally opened June 18. Back in 1988, its location on the east side of town was out in the middle of grasslands.
“When we started playing in the new park, there only was one house in sight,” Whitacre said. “I was watching a game after we moved in and a sheriff’s deputy delivered a notice that we were violating a noise ordinance. I don’t know if it was for real or not.”
Whitacre and Elmore are being inducted into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 27. On his induction plaque, Whitacre is called the “Father of Baseball in Colorado Springs.”
When the Sky Sox moved to the Front Range, they were an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. In 1993, three years after Whitacre resigned to become executive director of the Colorado Springs Sports Corp., the Sky Sox became the Triple-A affiliate of the Rockies.
Leaving baseball, a sport he loved, was a difficult decision.
“I had a hard time calling Dave Elmore to tell him I was leaving,” Whitacre said. “I finally called him at 5 a.m. in Honolulu. I like baseball people. They’re a wonderful group, and I’ve worked hard to maintain the contacts.”
Whitacre’s time in baseball includes a stop with the Montreal Expos in 1969 when they joined the National League as an expansion team. He once bought the West Palm Beach Expos minor-league franchise for $1 as incentive to stay in the organization. He also was in the San Diego Padres organization in 1984 when they were National League champions. His baseball acquaintances include John McHale, the owner of the Expos; Larry Doby, who broke the color barrier in the American League; and Goose Gossage, the Hall of Fame pitcher from Colorado Springs.
Whitacre is “accused” of never having a negative thought. He has been dynamite as a consultant for the Colorado College hockey program.
But his ultimate level in the power of positive thinking occurred a year ago, when his wife, Mary Anne, fell critically ill with a burst intestine. She was given little chance to recover, but Whitacre kept the faith and worked to help her rally. She recovered, and they now work out daily at a local health club.
Fred Whitacre
Born: Dec. 2, 1936, in Chicago
High school: West, in Nashville, Tenn.
College: Vanderbilt
Family: Wife Mary Anne, son Mike, daughter Paige
Hobbies: Listening to jazz, reading, skiing
Future: Taking every day with a smile
