Ted Turner died on Wednesday at 87, leaving behind an impressive legacy as one of the pioneers in cable television.
The CNN founder also had a long history in sports as the former owner of the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks. He also owned the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, who relocated to Winnipeg in 2011, and World Championship Wrestling, a major competitor to WWE in the mid-1990s.
In 1976, Turner purchased a Braves franchise that averaged roughly 6,600 fans per game the previous season and quickly worked to make the team an attraction. The problem, however, was the franchise was terrible on the field, reaching the postseason just once since relocating from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. It wasn’t until 1991 that the Braves became a perennial playoff contender.
Turner, a decorated yachtsman, had to get creative to increase attendance, and he and his team certainly didn’t lack for ideas. Below are his five best promotional events ranked in reverse order:
5. Karl Wallenda’s tightrope across stadium
On April 24, 1977, Turner borrowed from the division rival
Philadelphia Phillies‘ playbook, among others, by welcoming Wallenda, who had previously tightroped across Veterans Stadium and Busch Stadium II. He performed the same death-defying stunt in Atlanta with the Los Angeles Dodgers in town.
In an interview in 1978, a Braves staff member recalled Turner trying to call off the act the day of because of high winds, but Wallenda performed as planned. The same couldn’t be said for the Braves, who lost 16-6 amid a 17-game losing streak, the franchise’s longest since moving to Atlanta. The loss prompted Turner’s infamous one-game stint as manager. (h/t Stathead)
