TORONTO - Paul Godfrey stepped down as president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, ending an eight-year run in which his success on the team's business side was never matched by similarly strong improvements on the field.

The 69-year-old's resignation, effective at the end of the calendar year, comes after a difficult season for the club, in which it finished fourth in the AL East with an 86-76 mark after opening the campaign with post-season aspirations.

His status, as well as that of general manager J.P. Ricciardi, came into serious question after the June 20 firing of field manager John Gibbons. Cito Gaston was brought back to help salvage the situation and he did, earning himself a two-year extension and Ricciardi, who is under contract through 2010, a reprieve.

Godfrey, whose deal was set to expire in December, wasn't as fortunate and may have jumped before he was pushed. "It's better to leave a year too early than a minute too late," he once said.

No replacement was named.

Godfrey leaves with the Blue Jays on a much more stable financial footing than when he took over as president and CEO on Sept. 1, 2000, after Rogers Communication Inc., bought the team from Interbrew SA.

One of his first acts was to give then GM Gord Ash permission to re-sign first baseman Carlos Delgado to a US$68-million, four-year contract. The Blue Jays had a payroll of about US$77 million in 2001, their first full season under his regime, and went on to lose a staggering C$84 million.

It was then Godfrey began the club's transformation from a balance-sheet black hole into a strong asset that served several arms of the Rogers empire.

Yet many fans now vilify him for his steadfast backing of Ricciardi, frustrated by a playoff drought that stretches back to the club's second World Series win in 1993.

Ash was fired Oct. 1, Ricciardi was hired Nov. 14 to slash payroll and compete in the AL East on a shoestring and slowly that stemmed the bleeding. At the same time Godfrey worked his myriad of connections to create new financial lifelines for the club, working baseball commissioner Bud Selig for an annual US$5-million currency imbalance grant while partnering with local power brokers on inventive promotions.

One of the most memorable came in 2003 during the height of the SARS scare in Toronto, when he created a $1 ticket night to bring people out of their homes and show the world there was no reason to avoid Toronto.

A crowd of 48,097 watched a 16-11 loss to Texas that April 29. The night's success spawned a $2 ticket promotion that exists to this day, although it may be cancelled next year after a series of brawls marred this season's festivities.

Financial losses eased annually, helped significantly by the rise of the Canadian dollar, increased revenue sharing in baseball and the heavily discounted purchase of the Rogers Centre in 2005.

Originally known as the SkyDome and built at a cost of C$600 million, Rogers bought it for the paltry sum of C$25 million and give it some badly needed renovations. More importantly, the purchase gave the team control over all stadium revenues, setting up the next step in the club's financial renaissance.

A payroll commitment of $210 million was made for the 2006-08 seasons, giving Ricciardi additional funds to work with. The Blue Jays became a player again that winter, signing free agents A.J. Burnett ($55 million, five years), B.J. Ryan ($47 million, five years) and Bengie Molina ($5 million, one year) while acquiring Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay via trade.

The club finished 2006 at 87-75 with a payroll of US$72 million and received another financial boost after the season, pushing player spending into the $90-$100 million range. A commitment that spending on players would remain at those levels for the foreseeable future was also made.

Attendance also increased steadily over that time, climbing from 1,637,900 in 2002 to 2,399,786 in 2008, an increase of over 760,000 fans.

That helped increase several revenue streams, with stadium signage sales, for instance, rising from C$3 million at the start of the decade to C$19 million this season. The Rogers Centre also turned into a huge promotional vehicle for Rogers' products and services, with ads all over the place and even an in-stadium video store.

The collateral benefits of owning the Blue Jays allowed Godfrey to sell a future with a payroll in the US$100-million range to the poo-bahs at Rogers, who bought in and essentially told him "don't lose more than this."

That figure is a tightly guarded secret, but it represents a reasonable advertising expense given the scope of the club's exposure to fans.

Still, the public mostly recognizes Godfrey for his faith in Ricciardi, and an inability to push the team back into the playoffs was his primary failure on the job.

Godfrey bought into Ricciardi's plan seven years ago hoping to avoid the years and years of losing teams like Tampa Bay and Minnesota endured before becoming competitive.

The Blue Jays did that and have had three straight winning seasons on the field, but they haven't been able to get over the hump. Now they may take a step backwards in 2009 if their pitching doesn't get help.

Those concerns now fall to his successor, who will have to decide whether to continue on the path charted by Ricciardi through the 2010 season, or cut bait and start all over like Godfrey did when Ash was fired seven years ago.