You already knew that once upon a time, the Giants were set to move to Tampa Bay. Owner Bob Lurie couldn’t get Bay Area taxpayers to foot the bill for a new stadium, so he wanted to get out of baseball. Tampa Bay had been trying to get a team for years, going so far as to build a domed stadium before ever having a team.
All of this came to a head and was made public on this date 26 years ago.
In a “secret meeting” that both the Tampa Bay and San Francisco TV stations learned about and reported on, Lurie agreed to sell the Giants to Vince Naimoli’s ownership group for $110 million, stunning Giants fans and players alike.