The Capitales would certainly not celebrate 25 years without the stubbornness of Miles Wolff, who decided in 1999 to invest in Quebec to become the owner of the team despite contrary opinions. Among these voices was that of a leader of the defunct Rafales de Québec, who implored the baseball man to look elsewhere.
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Twenty-five years later, tongues are wagging and it is fascinating to listen to Wolff look back on the team’s beginnings during a telephone interview.
Wolff, who was initially supposed to settle in Quebec in order to find investors who could quickly replace him, ultimately kept the team at arm’s length until 2010.
And to think that during his first visits to Quebec, a member of the management of the Rafales, who worked in the International League for two seasons between 1996 and 1998, tried everything to dissuade him.
“I knew someone who I won’t name. I met him at the Château Frontenac bar to get his impressions. He told me: “Don’t invest a penny in Quebec, they don’t like Americans here. It’s going to be a failure and it’s a terrible deal,’” Wolff said from his home in North Carolina.
In complete confidence
Miles Wolff in his debut at the head of the Capitals at the Municipal Stadium, now the Canac Stadium. Quebec Journal
Fortunately for the now numerous Capitals supporters, Wolff trusted his instinct, which certainly did not deceive him.
It must be said that he has seen others in his incredible baseball journey. A true founding father of independent baseball, he was identified in 2014 as the 79th most influential person in baseball history by none other than the official historian of major league baseball, John Thorn.
Wolff’s first big move came in 1980 when he bought the Durham Bulls, who were so successful that they inspired the legendary film Bull Durham. He had the same feeling when imagining baseball in Quebec.
“The only thing was that the stadium was in such a deplorable state that I had difficulty believing that it could be renovated. Six months later, work began. Fans were on hand to do the painting because they wanted to have baseball. I saw that as a very good sign,” he explained.
An immense pride
Despite the huge success at Durham, the 81-year-old instead sees the Capitals as his best shot.
“I’ve never done anything that made me so proud. The Durham Bulls were great and financially provided me with the funds to get into independent baseball. But when I look at the Capitals, I love what the team has become. “It’s everything I ever dreamed of about independent baseball, with local players and enthusiastic crowds,” he said.
Laplante’s contribution
Quebec Journal
When we ask Miles Wolff what were the most important moments in the history of the Capitals, he does not highlight the championships.
He prefers to talk about the involvement of local owners and the moment he hired the man who became the handyman in the organization, Michel Laplante.
In 1998, the Val-d’Or pride pitched for the Madison Black Wolf in the Northern League and began considering retirement.
Manager Al Gallagher had held the same position for Wolff in Durham and told him about Laplante.
“I went to Madison and Gallagher said, ‘You definitely want someone like him.’
“I offered to hire Michel full-time so that he could also help in the offices all year round. When you start an organization in a foreign country, you need employees who speak the local language and I didn’t have any contacts in baseball who spoke French. Probably the team would no longer be here if Michel had not been so involved. It is, by far, the most important thing that has happened to this organization,” he praised.
However, it would be absurd not to salute Wolff’s audacity and vision in the Capitals adventure.
“It went from a tour of an old, decrepit stadium to one of the best franchises in independent baseball. When I think about it, it makes me happy,” he summed up perfectly.
2024-05-09 11:20:20
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