Howsam was slated to become owner of the Denver franchise, one of the league's eight charter members. Howsam even went as far as to expand Bears Stadium to over 34,000. Rickey, meanwhile, was elected president of the new circuit. As events unfolded, the new league never got off the drawing board; it was doomed once three of its key cities gained Major League franchises in 1961 and 1962: New York and Houston were awarded expansion National League franchises in 1962, while the Washington Senators of the American League moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul as part of the Junior Circuit's 1961 expansion. Howsam was now in a bind. He had taken on a large amount of debt in hopes of bringing the majors to Denver. However, there was little prospect of retiring it in the foreseeable future, as he was now saddled with a stadium far too big for a Triple-A team. He concluded the only way to get additional revenue was to extend his stadium's season by bringing in a football team. Howsam first sought an expansion NFL team for Denver. When that bid was turned down, the Howsams founded the Denver Broncos—one of the eight charter members of the American Football League. (The Howsams and the seven other original owners called themselves the "Foolish Club" for daring to take on the established NFL.) The Broncos played in the AFL from 1960 to 1969 and then joined the NFL with completion of the NFL/AFL merger in 1970. After a disastrous 4–9–1 season in 1960, the Howsam family sold controlling interest in the Broncos and Bears to Gerald and Alan Phipps in May 1961. The team would only get as high as .500 only three times its first 17 years, including when it joined the NFL in 1970. But it was developing a loyal fan base, and since its first Super Bowl appearance in 1977, the Broncos have become one of the most successful operations in the NFL. After selling the Broncos, Howsam returned to baseball. In the wake of the Continental League's demise, Rickey, then 80, rejoined the Cardinals in as a part-time but influential advisor to the Redbirds' owner, Gussie Busch. In mid-August , with the Cardinals seemingly about to finish well behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies, Busch fired general manager Bing Devine and replaced him with Howsam—reputedly at Rickey's urging. On August 17, the day of Howsam's hiring, St. Louis was in fifth place at 63–55, nine games behind Philadelphia.