The Royals began play in 1969 in Kansas City, Missouri. In their inaugural game, on April 8, 1969, the Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-3 in 12 innings.

You might assume the name "Royals" came from some sort of connection to royalty, but it actually pays homage to the American Royal, a livestock show, rodeo, and championship barbeque competition held annually in Kansas City since 1899.

Rookie Lou Piniella was the first batter in Royals history. On April 8, 1969, he led off the bottom of the first inning against left-hander Tom Hall of the Minnesota Twins and doubled to left field. He finished the season with a team-leading .282 batting average.

Willie Wilson started the 1979 season as the Royals' fourth outfielder, but by mid-May he had established himself as the team's starting left fielder. He batted .315 and led the league in stolen bases with 83 and singles with 148.

The Royals upset the heavily favored Cardinals in seven games. The Series was popularly known as the "Show-Me Series" or the "I-70 Showdown Series," as both cities are in the state of Missouri, nicknamed the "Show Me State", and both are connected by Interstate 70.

On July 24, 1983, with his team trailing 4-3 in the top half of the ninth inning and two out, Royals' third baseman George Brett hit a two-run home run to give his team the lead. But Yankees manager Billy Martin requested that the umpires inspect his bat, and the umpires ruled that the amount of pine tar on the bat exceeded the allowable amount, nullified Brett's home run, called him out, and gave the Yankees the win. The homer was later reinstated by AL President Lee MacPhail, however, and the Royals won the game after it was resumed several weeks later.

Never an All-Star and usually overshadowed by teammates Steve Busby, Dennis Leonard and Larry Gura, Splittorff's consistency and longevity resulted in his winning more games than any of them, accumulating 166 career victories over a 15-year career with the Royals.

Notable for his submarine-style pitching delivery and his humorous quotes, Dan Quisenberry led the American League in saves a record five times (1980, 1982-85), and retired in 1990 with 244 saves, then the 6th-highest total in major league history.

In 1980, George Brett's batting average was at or above .400 as late in the season as September 19, and the country closely followed his quest to bat .400 for an entire season, a feat which had not been accomplished since Ted Williams in 1941. Although he fell just shy of that mark, he did finish the year at .390, a modern record for third basemen.

In 1987, Kevin Seitzer batted .323, leading the league in hits with 207. He also set Royals rookie records in games, hits, singles, extra-base hits, walks and total bases. He had the misfortune, however, of playing his first full season the same year as fellow rookie Mark McGwire, whose 49 home runs were too much for ROY voters to ignore.