The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expansion franchise in 1969, and has played in 4 World Series, winning in 1985 and 2015. The name “Royals” pays homage to the American Royal, a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and championship barbecue competition held annually in Kansas City since 1899. Entering the American League in 1969, the club was founded by a Kansas City businessman. Since April 10, 1973, the Royals have played at Kauffman Stadium, formerly known as Royals Stadium. The new team quickly became a powerhouse, appearing in the playoffs seven times from 1976 to 1985, winning one World Series championship and another AL pennant. The team remained competitive throughout the early 1990s, but then had only one winning season from 1995 to 2012. For 28 consecutive seasons (1986 – 2013), the Royals did not qualify to play in the MLB postseason, one of the longest postseason droughts during baseball’s current wild-card era. The team broke this streak in 2014 by securing the franchise’s first wild card berth and advancing to the 2014 World Series, where they lost to the San Francisco Giants in seven games. The Royals followed this up by winning the team’s first AL Central division title in 2015 and defeating the New York Mets in five games in the 2015 World Series to win their second World Series championship.