Hollywood actor Bing Russell embraced Portland’s wild, weird 1970s -- and enticed Elvis with Mavericks, Big League dreams Updated Feb 01, 2021; Posted Jan 25, 2021 Bing Russell, right, created an unusual kind of baseball team in Portland. Former New York Yankees star Jim Bouton, left, couldn't resist the call of the wild. (Netflix) Facebook Share The 1970s weren’t being kind to Portland. Gas shortages caused cars to queue for blocks outside filling stations. The New York Times ridiculed the city for the “bomb-site look” of its downtown. The population had begun to shrink. But a Hollywood actor looked around the struggling blue-collar town in 1973 and couldn’t stop smiling. He called Portland his “favorite city in the world.”