Padres Sold to Hamburger King

The National League club owners unanimously agreed yesterday to sell the San Diego Padres to hamburger tycoon Ray A. Kroc, apparently ending months of controversy over the club's ownership.

It took the League's team owners 90 minutes to reach a decision. League president Charles "Chub" Feeney said afterwards that the owners were assured the Padres would remain in San Diego "for the forseeable future."

Yesterday's agreement ended on-again, off-again efforts to move the money-losing Padres to Washington, D.C. Feeney said the league felt no political pressure to sell the Padres to Joseph Dansansky, who said he would bring them there.

Kroc reportedly paid $12 million for the San Diego franchise. He was not present at yesterday's meeting, but his attorneys represented him.

Kroc is the 71-year-old chairman of the board of the MacDonald's hamburger chain.

Meanwhile, in New York, former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey defeated his landlord in a legal battle to keep from being evicted from the Broadway restaurant he has run for 37 years. Jack Dempsey's does not serve MacDonald's burgers.