Houston Colt .45s/Cleveland Indians Executive
Paul brought to Houston fellow Cincinnati executives Tal Smith and Bill Giles and began to lay the foundation for the team's 1962 debut, but he did not stay long. He clashed with majority owner Roy Hofheinz and reportedly had a standing offer from the Cleveland Indians to take over their front office, following the resignation of Frank Lane. So in April 1961, Paul returned to Ohio to assume command of the Indians, leaving the Colt .45s almost 12 months before the team ever played an official game.
The Indians of the early 1960s were a middle-echelon team in the American League that had contended for a pennant only twice (1955 and 1959) since its 1954 AL title. It had lost its most popular gate attraction, slugger Rocky Colavito, in a Lane-engineered trade just before the 1960 season and the young players summoned from the team's farm system failed to capture the city's imagination. On November 26, 1962, Paul became a part-owner, as well as president, treasurer and general manager, but the Indians continued to tread water in the standings and struggled badly at the gate. On multiple occasions, the Indians were rumored to be headed elsewhere. In 1964, the club's board of directors authorized Paul to investigate transferring the Indians to one of three cities: Oakland, Dallas or Seattle. But a new stadium lease with the city of Cleveland staved off the move.
On the field, Paul brought to Cleveland pitching stars Sam McDowell and Luis Tiant and, in 1965, reacquired Colavito in a bid to win more games, and more fans. But, after an encouraging 1968 season, the Indians plummeted in the standings. For a while, Paul gave up his general manager title to field manager Alvin Dark in an effort to change the club's fortunes.
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