Home
In a stunning press conference, it was announced to Mustang fans everywhere that the Detroit franchise’s ownership had changed hands. Was the team sold? No. Did the old owner die? No. The team, in fact, was lost.
Mustangs owner and Windsor native Gord McParland III is the owner of McParland Rubber and McParland Manufacturing, the companies his grandfather founded and Canada’s largest maker and distributor of hockey pucks. When MLB folded and the NABL was formed, he was able to secure ownership of the Detroit team. All went well at first, but some of McParland’s habits led to his current hard times.
When he placed his AAA club in his hometown and named them the Gamblers, McParland said it was just a name. But it turned out to also be his favorite hobby. He frequented casinos and back rooms. He bet on just about everything except baseball. “I do have my priorities,” he said. But some would say those priorities were a bit out of whack. He lost more money than his companies and his team were making. Worse, after entering the league he fell in with former Mississauga Spartans owner Victor Flores, a known mob associate. McParland’s gambling problem and Flores’s mob ties led Gord to owe money not only to legitimate debt collectors, but to the mob as well. As he grew more desperate, McParland tried anything to reduce costs and increase profits. Various crazy promotions failed, particularly “Tim Horton’s Donut and Coffee Night,” which was not sponsored by Tim Horton’s and resulted in a lawsuit. Eventually, he tried dumping salaries any way he could. “Ol’ Gord? Yeah, he kind of went crazy there for a while,” remembers Thunder Bay owner Ken Sharp. “He once offered me his top two players for a case of Molson. I jumped at the offer, but the commissioner nixed it.”
With the league currently undergoing a complete restructuring, McParland hit an all-time low. He had no idea what direction his team, his family businesses or his life were going in, and he had just joined his fellow owners in voting to oust Victor Flores as owner of the Spartans. He still owes Flores money, and this gave the mobster another reason to come after him, even from jail. In an act of desperation, McParland put the team up in a high stakes poker game at a Windsor casino; a hand won by 27-year-old Detroit contract lawyer Brendan Michaels. Mr. Michaels used his professional skills to hash out the details over a bowl of Matthews Poutine™ at dinner that night. The contract was perfectly written, and Michaels became the new owner of the Detroit Mustangs. Well, except for the small problem that any contract written and signed in Canada had no legal basis anywhere, so they did the whole thing over again across the river in Detroit.
At the press conference announcing this change of ownership, Michaels also introduced the Mustangs’ first ever GM, Ed O’Malley. “Mr. O’Malley has shown that he has a good baseball mind and can get things done, such as what he’s accomplished with Downington in the AHIBA3,” said Michaels. When it was pointed out that O’Malley has in fact only run the Downington franchise for one year, Michaels responded, “I realize that. But the Snappers franchise has overachieved under his watch, and he comes from the same highly respected baseball family that once ran the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in its heyday.” O’Malley was quick to point out that “I am really only very distantly related to them; I’ve never even met anyone from that side of things,” adding “I intend to put this team on top and keep it there. In order to do that, I’m going to build the best farm system I can, and keep the talent coming.”
Mustangs owner and Windsor native Gord McParland III is the owner of McParland Rubber and McParland Manufacturing, the companies his grandfather founded and Canada’s largest maker and distributor of hockey pucks. When MLB folded and the NABL was formed, he was able to secure ownership of the Detroit team. All went well at first, but some of McParland’s habits led to his current hard times.
When he placed his AAA club in his hometown and named them the Gamblers, McParland said it was just a name. But it turned out to also be his favorite hobby. He frequented casinos and back rooms. He bet on just about everything except baseball. “I do have my priorities,” he said. But some would say those priorities were a bit out of whack. He lost more money than his companies and his team were making. Worse, after entering the league he fell in with former Mississauga Spartans owner Victor Flores, a known mob associate. McParland’s gambling problem and Flores’s mob ties led Gord to owe money not only to legitimate debt collectors, but to the mob as well. As he grew more desperate, McParland tried anything to reduce costs and increase profits. Various crazy promotions failed, particularly “Tim Horton’s Donut and Coffee Night,” which was not sponsored by Tim Horton’s and resulted in a lawsuit. Eventually, he tried dumping salaries any way he could. “Ol’ Gord? Yeah, he kind of went crazy there for a while,” remembers Thunder Bay owner Ken Sharp. “He once offered me his top two players for a case of Molson. I jumped at the offer, but the commissioner nixed it.”
With the league currently undergoing a complete restructuring, McParland hit an all-time low. He had no idea what direction his team, his family businesses or his life were going in, and he had just joined his fellow owners in voting to oust Victor Flores as owner of the Spartans. He still owes Flores money, and this gave the mobster another reason to come after him, even from jail. In an act of desperation, McParland put the team up in a high stakes poker game at a Windsor casino; a hand won by 27-year-old Detroit contract lawyer Brendan Michaels. Mr. Michaels used his professional skills to hash out the details over a bowl of Matthews Poutine™ at dinner that night. The contract was perfectly written, and Michaels became the new owner of the Detroit Mustangs. Well, except for the small problem that any contract written and signed in Canada had no legal basis anywhere, so they did the whole thing over again across the river in Detroit.
At the press conference announcing this change of ownership, Michaels also introduced the Mustangs’ first ever GM, Ed O’Malley. “Mr. O’Malley has shown that he has a good baseball mind and can get things done, such as what he’s accomplished with Downington in the AHIBA3,” said Michaels. When it was pointed out that O’Malley has in fact only run the Downington franchise for one year, Michaels responded, “I realize that. But the Snappers franchise has overachieved under his watch, and he comes from the same highly respected baseball family that once ran the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in its heyday.” O’Malley was quick to point out that “I am really only very distantly related to them; I’ve never even met anyone from that side of things,” adding “I intend to put this team on top and keep it there. In order to do that, I’m going to build the best farm system I can, and keep the talent coming.”
» 2031 Regular season Schedule
» 2030-2031 Off Season Schedule
» 2030 Regular Season Sims
» Form to Join League: Please fill out
» Draft update
» League Website
» Draft Pool
» Charming seeks SP