Also Visit the Charlie O. Finley page WELCOME TO 1974 - The Team of The Century - Sports Illustrated

The Finley Legacy: 1961 to 1980 Charlie O. Finley purchased Kansas City Athletics in 1961 Finley changed the team colors to green and gold 1968 moved team from Kansas City to Oakland Started the designated hitter now in use in the American League Started night games now standard in both leagues Promoted the use of orange baseballs for better visibility (never caught on) 3 consecutive world series champions (1972, 1973, 1974) Post season contenders 5 years in a row ('71 through '75) Playoffs again in 1979 First team to have bright vibrant team uniform colors Charlie O. the Mule was team mascot, a gift from Governor of Missouri 1964 Charlie O. the Mule died in 1977, was cremated, ashes are at Oakland SPCA near the Oakland Colliseum Team sold 1980 The 72-74 team selected as "Baseball Team of the Century" by Sports Illustrated in 2000 CLOSE UP After the sale of the Oakland A's in 1980, the new owners did not want to use the rabbit "Harvey", who popped up at the pitcher's mound to supply new baseballs to the pitcher. Harvey's eyes glowed as he turned in a circle, and descended back into the ground. Whatever happened to Harvey? Look for the answer at a future date. During the World Series era in the early to mid-1970's, the stars of the hit T.V. show "Charlies Angles" were in negotiations to visit the Oakland Coliseum, and sit next to A's owner Charlie Finley. Unfortunately, this fell through. Very similar to Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, Charlie Finley was "enticed" by the City of Oakland to move his baseball team from Kansas City, MO to Oakland, California. After the move was made to Oakland, CA in 1968, the City of Oakland apparently did not follow through with its promises to Charlie for moving the team. Among those promises were heavy marketing, season ticket sales, and completion of the players' locker room, and the front office quarters to executive-office standards. In the end, though, they were left largely concrete walls and exposed air conditioning. Kansas City had much better attendance. Charlie Finley never sued the City of Oakland for breaking these promises. He was not a litigator. In May 1996, the Oakland Coliseum had a Charlie Finley day, in which they presented a green and white street sign that said "CHARLIE O. FINLEY. A replica of this street sign was given to Carl A. Finley, Jr., and three of Charlie's children who attended. The original sign was to be placed in Mesa, Arizona where Spring training is held. Mesa, Arizona???   Where did Finley get the team colors, green & gold? These were the colors for his favorite football team, Notre Dame. AS IT WAS WRITTEN! By Monte Moore in 1968 A's TV & radio announcer "It all started when the American League gave Charles O. Finley permission to move his baseball from Kansas City to Oakland. That occurred in mid-October of 1967 and immediately the work was cut out for the Finley organization ..."  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE From the record book: The first year the A's were in Oakland Catfish Hunter pitched a perfect game. Pitcher Vida Blue joined the team a year after they moved to Oakland. He didn't get a lot of work the first several years, but in 1971 won 24 games and lost 8, with an ERA of 1.82! Rickey Henderson - champion base stealer Ricky Hendson, who spent most of his spectacular baseball career with the A's, was the most prolific base stealer in major-league history, with 1,406 stolen bases. Capable both of breaking a game open with a home run and of disrupting opponents' defenses with his baserunning, he was almost unique among leadoff hitters, perhaps the greatest in baseball history. In 1982 Henderson stole 130 bases, a single-season record, and in 1991 he stole his 939th base, breaking Lou Brock's career record. In 2001 he stroked his 3,000th hit and broke Ty Cobb's career record for runs scored and Babe Ruth's for walks, ultimately scoring 2,295 runs and receiving 2,190 walks. Sports Century ESPN televised a special CHARLIE O. FINLEY August 2000 Interviewed were - Former General Manager Carl A Finley "Dugout Daughter" Nancy H. Finley M.C. Hammer - Garrett Smalley Jr.         WORLD SERIES TEAM RECORDS The Oakland A's and the St. Louis Cardinals share 2nd place for the most world series won over the last century. Below are the winning teams and the number of times they have won the series. 1. New York Yankees (26); 2. Philadelphia-Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals (9) 3. Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn-Los Angeles Dodgers (6) 4. Cincinnati Reds, New York-San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates (5) 5. Detroit Tigers (4); 6. Baltimore Orioles, Boston-Milwaukee-Atlanta Braves and Washington Senators-Minnesota Twins (3); 7. Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays (2).   THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS 1968 STARS FOR THE FIRST FULL SEASON OF PLAY IN OAKLAND Who managed the A's during their 3-time consecutive world series championships: 1972 Dick Williams 1973 Dick Williams 1974 Alvin Dark Send communications by fax to (925) 829-8724  Click here to contact us by e-mail