Skip to content
YouTubeInstagramTikTokTwitchDiscordTwitterFacebookMail
Login / Register
RetroSeasons
RetroSeasons recaps past sports seasons through stories, photos, videos, and stats from every team, league, and stadium in history. Coverage includes the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, as well as vintage media from defunct teams and leagues.
RetroSeasonsRetroSeasons
  • Players
  • Teams
    • col1
      • Atlanta
      • Arizona
      • Baltimore
      • Boston
      • Buffalo
      • Calgary
      • Carolina
      • Chicago
      • Cincinnati
      • Cleveland
      • Columbus
      • Dallas
      • Denver
      • Detroit
      • Edmonton
      • Houston
    • col2
      • Indiana
      • Jacksonville
      • Kansas City
      • Las Vegas
      • Los Angeles
      • Louisville
      • Miami
      • Milwaukee
      • Minnesota
      • Montreal
      • New Orleans
      • New York
      • Oakland
      • Oklahoma
      • Orlando
      • Ottawa
    • col3
      • Philadelphia
      • Phoenix
      • Pittsburgh
      • Portland
      • San Antonio
      • San Diego
      • Seattle
      • San Francisco
      • St. Louis
      • Tampa Bay
      • Tennessee
      • Toronto
      • Utah
      • Vancouver
      • Washington DC
      • Winnipeg
  • Leagues
    • ⚾ Baseball
      • MLB
      • Negro League
      • Early Leagues
    • 🏈 Football
      • NFL
      • AFL
      • Early Leagues
    • 🏀 Basketball
      • NBA
      • ABA
      • Early Leagues
    • Hockey
      • NHL
      • WHA
      • Early Leagues
  • Stadiums
    • Search / AI
    • Sports Library
    • Podcast
    • Blog
    • Help
    • Sources
    • Profile
  • Players
  • Teams
    • Atlanta
    • Arizona
    • Baltimore
    • Boston
    • Buffalo
    • Calgary
    • Carolina
    • Chicago
    • Cincinnati
    • Cleveland
    • Columbus
    • Dallas
    • Denver
    • Detroit
    • Edmonton
    • Houston
    • Indiana
    • Jacksonville
    • Kansas City
    • Las Vegas
    • Los Angeles
    • Louisville
    • Miami
    • Milwaukee
    • Minnesota
    • Montreal
    • New Orleans
    • New York
    • Oakland
    • Oklahoma
    • Orlando
    • Ottawa
    • Philadelphia
    • Phoenix
    • Pittsburgh
    • Portland
    • San Antonio
    • San Diego
    • Seattle
    • San Francisco
    • St. Louis
    • Tampa Bay
    • Tennessee
    • Toronto
    • Utah
    • Vancouver
    • Washington DC
    • Winnipeg
  • Leagues
    • Baseball
      • MLB
      • Negro League
      • Early Leagues
    • Football
      • NFL
      • AFL
      • Early Leagues
    • Basketball
      • NBA
      • ABA
      • Early Leagues
    • Hockey
      • NHL
      • WHA
      • Early Leagues
  • Stadiums
  • More
    • Search / AI
    • What’s New?
    • Library
    • Podcast
    • Sources
    • Help
    • Profile
Kansas City Royals logo

Kansas City Royals
Seasons 1969-2021 (53 seasons)

  • Franchise Overview
  • Seasons
  • Team Stats
  • Franchise Leaders
  • Season Records
  • Draft Picks
  • Managers
  • General Managers
  • Owners
  • Ballpark History
  • Logo History
  • Audio & Video Clips
  • Articles & Photos
  • Baseball Card History
  • Links Website
    Wikipedia
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Instagram
    YouTube
Teams Kansas City Royals History Seasons

Recap

The team was founded as an expansion franchise in 1969, and has played in four World Series, winning in 1985 and 2015, and losing in 1980 and 2014.

The name "Royals" pays homage to the American Royal, a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and championship barbeque competition held annually in Kansas City since 1899, as well as the identical names of two former Negro league baseball teams that played in the first half of the 20th century. (One a semi-pro team based in Kansas City in the 1910s and 1920s that toured the Midwest and a California Winter League team based in Los Angeles in the 1940s that was managed by Chet Brewer and included Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson on its roster.) The Los Angeles team had personnel connections to the Monarchs but could not use the Monarchs name. The name also fits into something of a theme for other professional sports franchises in the city, including the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL, the former Kansas City Kings of the NBA, and the former Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League.

In 1968, the team held a name-the-team contest that received more than 17,000 entries. Sanford Porte, a bridge engineer from the suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, was named the winner for his “Royals” entry. His reason had nothing to do with royalty. “Kansas City’s new baseball team should be called the Royals because of Missouri’s billion-dollar livestock income, Kansas City’s position as the nation’s leading stocker and feeder market and the nationally known American Royal parade and pageant,” Porte wrote. The team's board voted 6–1 on the name, with the only opposition coming from team owner Ewing Kauffman, who eventually changed his vote and said the name had grown on him.

Entering the American League in 1969 along with the Seattle Pilots, the club was founded by Kansas City businessman Ewing Kauffman. The franchise was established following the actions of Stuart Symington, then-U.S. Senator from Missouri, who demanded a new franchise for the city after the Athletics (Kansas City's previous major league team that played from 1955 to 1967) moved to Oakland, California in 1968. Since April 10, 1973, the Royals have played at Kauffman Stadium, formerly known as Royals Stadium.

The new team quickly became a powerhouse, appearing in the playoffs seven times from 1976 to 1985, winning one World Series championship and another AL pennant, led by stars such as Amos Otis, Hal McRae, John Mayberry, George Brett, Frank White, Willie Wilson, and Bret Saberhagen. The team remained competitive throughout the early 1990s, but then had only one winning season from 1995 to 2012. For 28 consecutive seasons (1986–2013), the Royals did not qualify to play in the MLB postseason, one of the longest postseason droughts during baseball's current wild-card era. The team broke this streak in 2014 by securing the franchise's first wild card berth and advancing to the 2014 World Series, where they lost to the San Francisco Giants in seven games. The Royals followed this up by winning the team's first AL Central division title in 2015 and defeating the New York Mets in five games in the 2015 World Series to win their second World Series championship.

Close
Season Overviews Seasons List
2021 Kansas City Royals Season
2021 Kansas City Royals
74-88 (.457)
Missed Playoffs
2020 Kansas City Royals Season
2020 Kansas City Royals
26-34 (.433)
Missed Playoffs
2019 Kansas City Royals Season
2019 Kansas City Royals
59-103 (.364)
Missed Playoffs
2018 Kansas City Royals Season
2018 Kansas City Royals
58-104 (.358)
Missed Playoffs
2017 Kansas City Royals Season
2017 Kansas City Royals
80-82 (.494)
Missed Playoffs
2016 Kansas City Royals Season
2016 Kansas City Royals
81-81 (.500)
Missed Playoffs
2015 Kansas City Royals Season
2015 Kansas City Royals
95-67 (.586)
Won World Series
2014 Kansas City Royals Season
2014 Kansas City Royals
89-73 (.549)
Lost World Series
2013 Kansas City Royals Season
2013 Kansas City Royals
86-76 (.531)
Missed Playoffs
2012 Kansas City Royals Season
2012 Kansas City Royals
72-90 (.444)
Missed Playoffs
2011 Kansas City Royals Season
2011 Kansas City Royals
71-91 (.438)
Missed Playoffs
2010 Kansas City Royals Season
2010 Kansas City Royals
67-95 (.414)
Missed Playoffs
2009 Kansas City Royals Season
2009 Kansas City Royals
65-97 (.401)
Missed Playoffs
2008 Kansas City Royals Season
2008 Kansas City Royals
75-87 (.463)
Missed Playoffs
2007 Kansas City Royals Season
2007 Kansas City Royals
69-93 (.426)
Missed Playoffs
2006 Kansas City Royals Season
2006 Kansas City Royals
62-100 (.383)
Missed Playoffs
2005 Kansas City Royals Season
2005 Kansas City Royals
56-106 (.346)
Missed Playoffs
2004 Kansas City Royals Season
2004 Kansas City Royals
58-104 (.358)
Missed Playoffs
2003 Kansas City Royals Season
2003 Kansas City Royals
83-79 (.512)
Missed Playoffs
2002 Kansas City Royals Season
2002 Kansas City Royals
62-100 (.383)
Missed Playoffs
2001 Kansas City Royals Season
2001 Kansas City Royals
65-97 (.401)
Missed Playoffs
2000 Kansas City Royals Season
2000 Kansas City Royals
77-85 (.475)
Missed Playoffs
1999 Kansas City Royals Season
1999 Kansas City Royals
64-97 (.398)
Missed Playoffs
1998 Kansas City Royals Season
1998 Kansas City Royals
72-89 (.447)
Missed Playoffs
1997 Kansas City Royals Season
1997 Kansas City Royals
67-94 (.416)
Missed Playoffs
1996 Kansas City Royals Season
1996 Kansas City Royals
75-86 (.466)
Missed Playoffs
1995 Kansas City Royals Season
1995 Kansas City Royals
70-74 (.486)
Missed Playoffs
1994 Kansas City Royals Season
1994 Kansas City Royals
64-51 (.557)
No Postseason
1993 Kansas City Royals Season
1993 Kansas City Royals
84-78 (.519)
Missed Playoffs
1992 Kansas City Royals Season
1992 Kansas City Royals
72-90 (.444)
Missed Playoffs
1991 Kansas City Royals Season
1991 Kansas City Royals
82-80 (.506)
Missed Playoffs
1990 Kansas City Royals Season
1990 Kansas City Royals
75-86 (.466)
Missed Playoffs
1989 Kansas City Royals Season
1989 Kansas City Royals
92-70 (.568)
Missed Playoffs
1988 Kansas City Royals Season
1988 Kansas City Royals
84-77 (.522)
Missed Playoffs
1987 Kansas City Royals Season
1987 Kansas City Royals
83-79 (.512)
Missed Playoffs
1986 Kansas City Royals Season
1986 Kansas City Royals
76-86 (.469)
Missed Playoffs
1985 Kansas City Royals Season
1985 Kansas City Royals
91-71 (.562)
Won World Series
1984 Kansas City Royals Season
1984 Kansas City Royals
84-78 (.519)
Lost ALCS
1983 Kansas City Royals Season
1983 Kansas City Royals
79-83 (.488)
Missed Playoffs
1982 Kansas City Royals Season
1982 Kansas City Royals
90-72 (.556)
Missed Playoffs
1981 Kansas City Royals Season
1981 Kansas City Royals
50-53 (.485)
Lost ALDS
1980 Kansas City Royals Season
1980 Kansas City Royals
97-65 (.599)
Lost World Series
1979 Kansas City Royals Season
1979 Kansas City Royals
85-77 (.525)
Missed Playoffs
1978 Kansas City Royals Season
1978 Kansas City Royals
92-70 (.568)
Lost ALCS
1977 Kansas City Royals Season
1977 Kansas City Royals
102-60 (.630)
Lost ALCS
1976 Kansas City Royals Season
1976 Kansas City Royals
90-72 (.556)
Lost ALCS
1975 Kansas City Royals Season
1975 Kansas City Royals
91-71 (.562)
Missed Playoffs
1974 Kansas City Royals Season
1974 Kansas City Royals
77-85 (.475)
Missed Playoffs
1973 Kansas City Royals Season
1973 Kansas City Royals
88-74 (.543)
Missed Playoffs
1972 Kansas City Royals Season
1972 Kansas City Royals
76-78 (.494)
Missed Playoffs
1971 Kansas City Royals Season
1971 Kansas City Royals
85-76 (.528)
Missed Playoffs
1970 Kansas City Royals Season
1970 Kansas City Royals
65-97 (.401)
Missed Playoffs
1969 Kansas City Royals Season
1969 Kansas City Royals
69-93 (.426)
Missed Playoffs

Related Content

Stories, Photos, Videos, Podcasts, and Publications featuring Kansas City Royals Seasons
F i l t e r   &   S o r t  Filter & Sort
F i l t e r
S o r t
S e a r c h
0 matches
Sports Rivals:1985 American League Championship podcast

Play MP3 Audio

Sports Rivals:1985 American League Championship
53 minutes Jan 16, 2019
Mark Gubicza of the Royals and Rance Mulliniks of the Blue Jays look back at this gut-wrenching series that launched
Sports Rivals:1985 American League Championship / Mark Gubicza of the Royals and Rance Mulliniks of the Blue Jays look back at this gut-wrenching series that launched The Royals to their miraculous 1985 World Series Championship.
MLB Baseball's Seasons: 1985 video clip
MLB Baseball's Seasons: 1985
45 minutes 1985
MLB Network's "Baseball's Seasons" series takes a look at the exciting season of 1985; examining...
MLB Baseball's Seasons: 1985 / MLB Network's "Baseball's Seasons" series takes a look at the exciting season of 1985; examining the pennant races, achievements, events and players that made this a memorable year in baseball.
Kansas City Royals Media Guidepublication
Kansas City Royals Media Guide
57 issues 1969-2025
This media guide is a comprehensive resource created by the team to provide detailed information about its players, coaches, history,...
/ This media guide is a comprehensive resource created by the team to provide detailed information about its players, coaches, history, and season schedule. Released annually, it serves journalists, broadcasters, and fans by offering accurate profiles, statistics, and historical records. The guide enhances media coverage, fan engagement, and promotional efforts.

Royals History

  • Franchise Overview
  • Seasons
  • Team Stats
  • Franchise Leaders
  • Season Records
  • Draft Picks
  • Managers
  • General Managers
  • Owners
  • Ballpark History
  • Logo History
  • Audio & Video Clips
  • Articles & Photos
  • Baseball Card History
  • Links Website
    Wikipedia
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Instagram
    YouTube
Tweets by Royals
© RetroSeasons.com (Privacy / Terms)
Historical data obtained from various sources
Logos are registered trademarks of their respective team or league
Go to Top