 In 1972 Klein left the Democratic party to support the 1972 Presidential candidacy of the incumbent Republican, Richard Nixon.Always an avid sports fan, but an entrepreneur who recognized the potential on the U.S. West Coast, in 1960 Klein unsuccessfully lobbied Major League Baseball owners to obtain an American League franchise for the city of Los Angeles; the American League baseball team went to "singing cowboy" Gene Autry, which began play as the Angels in 1961.On December 20, 1966, Klein and business associate Sam Schulman, plus a group of minority investors, obtained the National Basketball Association franchise for the city of Seattle, Washington.