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Oakland Athletics,
professional baseball team and one of four teams in the West
Division of the American League (AL). Formerly based in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Kansas City, Missouri, the Athletics
(also known as the A’s) play at Network Associates Coliseum in
Oakland, California, and wear uniforms of white, yellow, and green.
The Athletics have enjoyed success in nearly every decade since
their founding in 1901. The team’s first manager and owner, Connie
Mack, guided the club to nine AL pennants and five World Series
titles during his remarkable 50-year career. Among the many Hall of
Famers that Mack managed were Frank Baker, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie
Collins, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Napoleon Lajoie, and Al Simmons.
In the early 1970s Oakland assembled some of the most powerful teams
in major league history. Led by Vida Blue, Bert Campaneris, Rollie
Fingers, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, and Joe Rudi, Oakland won
five consecutive division titles and three World Series
championships from 1971 to 1975. Tony LaRussa directed the A’s to
three straight AL pennants from 1988 to 1990 with the help of
sluggers José Canseco and Mark McGwire and base-stealer Rickey
Henderson.
The Philadelphia Athletics were a charter member of the American
League in 1901, the year that manager Connie Mack began his 50-year
career with the club. Second baseman Nap Lajoie had a sensational
season, leading the league in hitting, home runs, and runs batted in
(RBIs) to win the first Triple Crown of baseball’s modern era. His
.422 batting average in 1901 remains the second-highest recorded
during the 20th century, surpassed only by the .424 average recorded
by Rogers Hornsby of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1924.
Philadelphia won its first pennant in 1902 and added a second in
1905 on the strong pitching of Rube Waddell and Eddie Plank and the
hitting of first baseman Harry Davis. Slugging second baseman Eddie
Collins and third baseman Frank Baker and pitchers Chief Bender and
Jack Coombs brought the A’s four more pennants, in 1910, 1911, 1913,
and 1914, and three World Series championships. With rumors of
gambling surrounding the team’s 1914 World Series loss to the
underdog Boston Braves (now Atlanta Braves), Mack disbanded his
roster, sending the A’s to the bottom of the league where they
remained from 1915 through 1922. The club tallied 117 losses in 1916
for a major league record.
Mack rebuilt the Athletics in the mid-1920s with catcher Mickey
Cochrane, infielder Jimmie Foxx, outfielder Al Simmons, and pitchers
George Earnshaw and Lefty Grove. The A’s rose slowly but finished in
second in 1928 when legends Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker closed out
their long careers in Mack’s outfield.
From 1929 to 1931 the A’s collected three straight pennant titles,
and they captured World Series titles in 1929 and 1930. Cochrane,
Foxx, and Simmons provided much of the offense, while Grove anchored
the pitching staff. In 1930 the durable Grove led the league in
wins, earned run average (ERA), strikeouts, saves, and games
pitched.
Although Foxx won the MVP award in 1932 and a second MVP award and
the Triple Crown in 1933, Philadelphia did not return to the
postseason. The economic upheaval of the Great Depression forced the
A’s to sell many of their stars. From 1935 through Mack’s retirement
as manager in 1950, the club finished in last place ten times, never
finishing above fourth in the AL. In 1954 the Mack family sold the
club to Arnold Johnson, a businessman who moved the team to Kansas
City, Missouri, for the start of the 1955 season.
Although attendance rose during the first few seasons in their new
home, the A’s remained in the cellar. During 13 seasons in Kansas
City, the A’s went through ten managers and never finished better
than sixth. With attendance dwindling, owner Charles O. Finley, who
had bought the A’s in 1960, moved the club to Oakland, California,
in 1968.
The nucleus of a new A’s dynasty had already begun to assemble
before the move, with the acquisitions of shortstop Bert Campaneris,
pitcher Catfish Hunter, and outfielder Reggie Jackson. Outfielder
Joe Rudi, first baseman Gene Tenace, and pitchers Rollie Fingers and
Vida Blue came aboard in Oakland.
Under managers Alvin Dark and Dick Williams, Oakland won five
straight West Division titles from 1971 to 1975 and three
consecutive World Series championships from 1972 to 1974. Blue
earned both the AL MVP award and the Cy Young Award in 1971 for his
outstanding pitching. Two years later Jackson won the MVP award,
having led the AL in RBIs, runs, and home runs. Hunter captured the
Cy Young Award in 1974. From 1976 through 1987 the A’s played in
only one postseason series, in 1981. However, Rickey Henderson stole
his 130th base in 1982 to break the single-season stolen base record
held by Lou Brock.
From 1988 to 1992 the A’s won four division crowns, three AL
pennants, and a World Series title under manager Tony LaRussa.
Starring on those teams were 1987 AL rookie of the year first
baseman Mark McGwire, 1988 AL MVP outfielder José Canseco, and 1990
AL MVP and steals leader Henderson. Anchoring the pitching staff
were 1992 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner Dennis Eckersley and
four-time 20-game winner Dave Stewart. Although an earthquake
delayed the completion of the 1989 World Series, Oakland’s
well-balanced offense and defense eventually swept the San Francisco
Giants. On their return trip to the Series in 1990 the A’s in turn
were swept by the Cincinnati Reds.
Oakland's lineup dispersed in the 1990s, as LaRussa left the team
and Canseco, Henderson, McGwire, Eckersley, and Stewart all departed
as well, in trades, as free agents, or to retirement. From 1992 to
1993 the club went from first to last in the West Division, and it
continued to struggle through much of the mid- and late 1990s.
However, a group of young players led by 2000 AL MVP Jason Giambi
brought Oakland back, and the club won the AL West in 2000.CHAMPIONSHIPS
1910 - d. Chicago in 5 games
1911 - d. NY Giants in 6 games
1913 - d. NY Giants in 5 game
1929 - d. Chicago in 5 games
1930 - d. St. Louis in 6 games
1972 - d. Cincinnati in 7 games
1973 - d. NY Mets in 7 games
1974 - d. Los Angeles in 5 games
1989 - d. San Francisco in 4 games
Won the AL Pennant in
1902, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1972, 1973,
1974, 1988, 1989, 1990
TOP MANAGER
Connie Mack managed the Athletics from 1901-1950 and finished with a
3582-3814 record. Tony La Russa was manager from 1986-1995 and
compiled a 798-673 record. La Russa was named AL Manager of the year
in 1988 and 1992.
MVP
Lefty Grove (1931), Jimmie Foxx (1932, 1933), Bobby Shantz (1952),
Vida Blue (1971), Reggie Jackson (1973), Jose Canseco (1988), Rickey
Henderson (1990), Dennis Eckersley (1992), Jason Giambi (2000, 2001)
CY YOUNG
Vida Blue (1971), Catfish Hunter (1974), Bob Welch (1990), Dennis
Eckersley (1992)
ROOKIE OF YEAR
Harry Byrd (1952), Jose Canseco (1986), Mark McGwire (1987), Walt
Weiss (1988), Ben Grieve (1998)
RETIRED NUMBERS
27 - Catfish Hunter (P)
34 - Rollie Fingers (P)
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