Bing Russell

Although best known as the deputy on Bonanza (1959) and Robert in The Magnificent Seven (1960), Russell was also well-known on a national level as the owner of the Portland Mavericks Baseball Club. Helming the only independent team in the Class-A Northwest League, Russell was an innovator. Before Bull Durham (1988), there were the Mavericks. Russell kept a 30-man roster because he believed that some of the players deserved to have one last season. His motto was one 3-letter word. Not WIN, although the Mavericks did just that. No, the word was FUN. He created a park that kept all corporate sponsorship outside the gates, hired the first female general-manager in professional baseball, and the the next year hired the first Asian-American GM/Manager. That season his team set a record for the highest attendance in minor-league history and went on to win the pennant. Ex-major leaguers and never-weres who couldn't stop playing the game flocked to his June tryouts, which were always open to anyone who showed up. Players from as far away as France and Cape Town would head to Portland for a chance with Russell's Mavericks.