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Once the played Baseball... But after finding out, that it is more funny to hit the other players instead the ball, the changed the game.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Known As Oakland Athletics (1968-present) Kansas City Athletics (1955-1967) Philadelphia Athletics (1901-1954) The Athletics were shortened to A's almost immediately, first by newspaper headline writers. Often, the team was called the "Mackmen", in honor of longtime owner Connie Mack. In the 1970s, when they began winning the World Series every year in Oakland, their free-wheeling clubhouse earned the name "Swingin' A's." Titles 10 World Championships (1905, 1910-1911, 1913, 1929-1930, 1972-1974, 1989) 15 Pennants (1902, 1905, 1910-1911, 1913-1914, 1929-1931, 1972-1974, 1988-1990) 13 division titles (1971-1975, 1981*, 1988-1990, 1992, 2000, 2002-2003) 22 Post-Season Appearances (1905, 1910-1911, 1913-1914, 1929-1931, 1971-1975, 1981, 1988-1990, 1992, 2000-2003) *First-half 1981 AL West title Best Season: 1931, (107-45, .704 - AL Champs) Worst Season: 1916, (36-117, .235 - last, -54 1/2 games) Most Consecutive Winning Seasons: Nine, (1925-1933 and 1968-1976) Most Cons. Losing Seasons: 17 (1950-1966) Near Misses: 1976, (finished 2 1/2 games behind the Royals); 1928, (2 1/2 games back of the Yankees); 1907, (1 1/2 behind the Tigers) Rivals: Yankees, Royals, Cardinals, Giants Historical Regular Season Records vs. Angels (354-300 .541) vs. Mariners (210-148 .587) vs. Rangers (316-309 .506) vs. Royals (256-214 .545) vs. White Sox (924-992 .482) vs. Twins (941-954 .497) vs. Indians (852-977 .466) vs. Tigers (866-951 .477) vs. Yankees (741-1080 .407) vs. Red Sox (829-1013 .450) vs. Orioles (937-903 .509) vs. Blue Jays (161-135 .544) vs. Devil Rays (42-15 .737) vs. NL in interleague (72-47 .605) Ultimate Games (4-5, 2-1 in World Series) 1931 World Series Game Seven, 1972 ALCS Game Five, 1972 World Series Game Seven, 1973 ALCS Game Five, 1973 World Series Game Seven, 2000 ALDS Game Five, 2001 ALDS Game Five, 2002 ALDS Game Five, 2003 ALDS Game Five Ballparks Oakland Coliseum (1968-present) Municipal Stadium (1955-1967) Shibe Park (1909-1954) Columbia Park (1901-1908) All-Star Game Hosts 1943, 1960 (Game One), 1987 The Ultimate Athletic Connie Mack This franchise has a long and rich history. It certainly could be argued that the A's are the second most successful franchise in the American League based upon peak value. Yet the team?s overall record is below .500. Every time the A's got good, they were dismantled and had to start over. In fact the only constant over the first half of the 20th century was the manger/owner Connie Mack. He managed the team from its inception in 1901 through 1950. He won 5 World Championships and another 4 American League Championships. Following the 1914 World Series Mack sold Eddie Collins and then released his 3 star pitchers, Jack Coombs, Plank and Bender. Baker claimed to be homesick for country life but following the 1915 season he joined the clearly urban New York Yankees. After falling to the very bottom of the league in 1916, Mack started to rebuild the A's and by 1925 they were battling for the pennant again. Following a second place finish in 1932 the Great Depression caused attendance to fall off dramatically and Mack had no choice but to sell off his stars again. Sadly, following the 1931 season Connie Mack was never able to led his team to the World Series again. Mack finally retired in 1950 at the age of 87 as a result of a family squabble over team ownership. Mack managed a major-league baseball record 7,755 games. Nobody will ever come close to that record and you can take that to the bank. Best Team 1929 Philadelphia A's The Athletics have had four dynasty-like teams over the course of their history, so it's hard to choose a single team. The 1988 to 1990 team won three straight American League championships but they were upset twice in the World Series (they won one, in 1989, sweeping the Giants. The A's of 1910 to 1914, led by Connie Mack, won three World Series in five years. The stars players were Eddie Collins and Home Run Baker, the pitchers were Chief Bender and Eddie Plank. Then there was Charlie Finley’s green and gold group, the only non-Yankee team to ever win three straight World Series. But the A's team that stands above all is the A's of 1929-1931, who won over 100 games in three straight seasons. In picking the 1929 team out from the others the two main factors were their regular season winning margin (18 games) and their five-game World Series victory over the Chicago Cubs. The A’s had five future Hall-of-Fame players on their roster. They were tied for the league lead in runs per game, averaging nearly six runs a game. Their pitching was superb, over 3/4 of a run better than their nearest rival. Al Simmons and a strapping, 21-year-old Jimmie Foxx were the battling leaders. Lefty Grove and George Earnshaw were the pitching stars. Earnshaw led the league in wins with 24 and Grove had a league best ERA of 2.81. Worst Team 1916 Philadelphia A's 36 wins in a season is an embarrassment. Walter Johnson won 25 games for the Senators who finished 7th. With 117 losses; the Philadelphia Athletics (now that’s an oxymoron, how could this team be called Athletic?) had three pitchers that lost 20 games. The A’s finished 54 games behind the World Champion Boston Red Sox. They were 40 games back of the previously mentioned 7th place Senators. What is really sad is that only two years earlier this franchise was playing in the World Series, but the only things the 1916 A's had in common was the team name, the team colors, and four players. The collapse of the A’s was primarily a financial decision and (as was almost always the case in the era when a favored team lost in the World Series), there were rumors of less than ethical play. So the owner and manager, the legendary Connie Mack, sold, traded or released all his best players to try and make a new start. By 1916, attendance had fallen even further but the A’s franchise was able to continue to operate both fiscally and it was scandal free. Of course they were so bad nobody would have believed them even if the players had admitted to fixing some games. The one relative bright spot was that the team still housed one future hall of fame player unfortunately; the player was a 41-year-old Nap Lajoie who was hanging on for his final season. Honorable Mention: The 1943 Philadelphia Athletics were far from road warriors. The team lost 22 straight games on the road, setting a record for futility away from home. That team's rotation included also-rans Jesse Flores, Lum Harris, Don Black, Roger Wolff and Orie Arntzen. The lineup featured (if we can call them features), Jo-Jo White, Irv Hall, Dick Siebert, Bobby Estalella, Johnny Welaj, Pete Suder, Eddie Mayo and Hal Wagner. The team hit 26 homers (for the season!) and scored 497 runs (3.2 per). Worst Trade The A’s have made some real doozies over their long history. They have traded away Mark McGwire, Lefty Grove, Mickey Cochrane and Jimmy Foxx for virtually nothing. All of those trades were driven by money or rather the A’s lack of it. The A's traded Nellie Fox to the White Sox for Joe Tipton on October 19, 1949. This simply was an example of poor player evaluation. Tipton was a 28-year-old catcher who had spent his first two seasons as a back up. He peaked in 1951 sharing the starting job for the season. By 1955 Tipton was out of the majors. A similar contemporary player would be Greg Zaun except that Zaun will have a longer career. By comparison, in 1951 Fox began a streak of 11 straight All-Star game appearances. Nellie Fox was a three-time gold glove second baseman (he would have won more but they only started giving out the award in 1957) and he won the AL MVP award in 1959. The Veterans Committee elected Nellie Fox to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Best Trade I don’t know, if you’re the Cubs and you’re offered three minor leaguers for Dennis Eckersley and Dan Rohn on April 3, 1987, you are probably happy to get rid of the contracts since both Rohn and Eckersley appear to be washed up. Now as it happens, David Wilder, Brian Guinn, and Mark Leonette never did hit the bigs but then again following the trade Dan Rohn was never seen as a player in a major league uniform either. In Oakland, Tony LaRussa convinced Eck to take the closer role and…well, the rest is history. Team History A well-traveled franchise, playing in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland, the Athletics have been a team of tremendous peaks and dark valleys. Four times they have produced great dynasties, but they have also finished last 30 times in 100 AL seasons. This franchise is commonly known as the A's, earlier also known as the Mack-Men, in tribute to their long-time owner and field manager Connie Mack. Mack, a former catcher, managed and owned the team from 1901 to 1950, the first half-century of it's existence. He guided the A's to the World Series nine times, winning the title five times. The first star Mack had was Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie, who he was forced to sell when AL officials decided they needed him in Cleveland. Other notables during the first decade were pitchers Rube Waddell, Jack Coombs, Eddie Plank, and Chief Bender. Later in the decade Mack formed his famous "$100,000 Infield" of Stuffy McInnis, Eddie Collins, Jack Barry, and Frank Baker. Those four led the team to World Series wins in 1910, 1911, and 1913. In 1914 they were upset by the "Miracle Braves" in the Fall Classic. Faced with financial hardships (as he so often was), Mack sold most of his stars in the mid-Teens, resulting in seven straight last place finishes from 1915-1921. In 1916 they lost 117 games. In the 1920s the A's had to catch up with Babe Ruth and the Yankees, and by 1925 they were in position to do so. A new stable of studs led the team: Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove. All four men were Hall of Famers and they were supported by Bing Miller, Jimmie Dykes, Mule Haas, Max Bishop, George Earnshaw and Eddie Rommel. One of the greatest teams of all-time, the A's won three straight pennants from 1929-1931, earning the World title the first two seasons. This was accomplished despite the presence of the Yankees great Ruth/Lou Gehrig team. By 1933 Mack was selling his stars again; Grove and Foxx (Red Sox), Simmons (White Sox) and Cochrane (Tigers) all left Philadelphia. Dark times soon followed as the team finished no higher than 7th from 1935 to 1943. The bright spots for the A's in the 1940s were outfielders "Indian Bob" Johnson, Wally Moses and Sam Chapman. In the early 1950s Ferris Fain garnered two batting titles with Philadelphia. Jimmie Dykes took over as manager after Mack's retirement in 1951, and by 1955 new ownership moved the team to Kansas City. The thirteen seasons in Kansas City produced six last-place finishes while the A's essentially acted as the farm club for the Yankees. Roger Maris, Ralph Terry, and Hector Lopez were some of the players that Kansas City "traded" to New York. The A's tried eleven managers in Kansas City, with 74 wins the most they could muster in a single season. New owner Charlie Finley switched the team to Oakland for the 1968 season. By then some good drafts and scouting had landed the A's players like Rick Monday, Dave Duncan, Sal Bando, Bert Campaneris, Catfish Hunter, Joe Rudi and Reggie Jackson. That core of players, along with Vida Blue, Gene Tenace, Rollie Fingers, Ken Holtzman and Billy North, won five straight AL West titles (1971-1975). United by their common hatred for Finley, the "Mustache Gang" became just the second team (in addition to the Yankees) to win three straight World Series, from 1972-1974. Each series was a test of the team's pitching and defense, which it was built upon. In 1975 they failed to add a fourth consecutive title, losing to the Red Sox in the playoffs, and the dynasty was over. Finley followed in Mack's footsteps and sold off his stars. Jackson, Hunter, Bando, Rudi, Blue, Fingers, Campaneris, and Holtzman were shipped out via trade, sale, or free agency. In the early 1980s Billy Martin led the A's back into the playoffs with a division title in 1981 built around the efforts of Rickey Henderson, Tony Armas, Mike Norris and Rick Langford. That team burned out quickly and the rest of the 1980s was spent rebuilding. The best all-around player in baseball in the 1980s may have been Henderson, the fleet-footed left fielder. A controversial figure, Henderson bounced to the Yankees, Blue Jays, Padres, Angels, Mets, and Mariners over his long career. He served four stints with the A's, 1979-1984, 1989-1993, 1994-1995, and 1998. he holds the all-time record for steals and is closing in on the mark for runs scored and walks. He won the AL MVP award as an Athletic in 1990. New A's ownership installed former White Sox manager Tony LaRussa at the helm in 1987. The next year, LaRussa guided Oakland to the World Series, where they returned in 1989 and 1990. LaRussa's A's were built around power - provided by Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Dave Henderson and Dave Parker. The team also boasted pitching stars Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley - the best stopper in baseball. The 1988-1990 A's proved less successful in the post-season than the 1970s Finley A's, losing the World Series in 1988 and 1990, despite being favored. The 1990 sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds was especially embarrassing. In 1989, the A's defeated the Giants in one of the most memorable World Series ever, which was marred by the San Francisco earthquake. LaRussa stayed until 1995, adding a division title in 1992. In 1999, Art Howe steered the team to a second place finish, and followed in 2000 with an AL West title, behind sluggers Jason Giambi, Matt Stairs and Ben Grieve. In the post-season, the young A's pushed the World Champion Yankees to five games before losing the Divisional Series. The next year, the A's fell behind the Mariners early and were floundering as late as May, but went on to post the best record in baseball after May and earn another trip to the post-season, this time as a wild card with 102 wins. In the first round they again met the Yankees, winning the first two games in the Bronx. In Game Four Jeremy Giambi failed to slide on a close play at home and the result was a 1-0 loss that sent the series back to New York. The Yankees took care of the A's in Game Five as speculation began as to where Jason Giambi would play in 2002. The slugging first baseman posted MVP-type numbers for the second straight year but was a free agent after the season, signing with the hated Yankees. The 2002 season proved to be an amazing story for the A's, who used their recent recipe for success once again. After a mediocre first-half, the team rolled to the playoffs behind shortstop Miguel Tejada and pitchers Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and Tim Hudson. The A's won 103 games, on the strength of an American League record 20 consecutive wins in August/September. Despite the constant winning, Oakland could not shake the pesky Angels, who came back to briefly regain the AL West in September. But the A's regrouped, and held off Anaheim to win their 12th AL West title. However, it was the same old story in the playoffs, as the A's again lost in Game Five of the ALDS, this time to the underdog Minnesota Twins. The A's had proven they could win even after losing Giambi, but the post-season result was the same. After the season, Howe was jettisoned and replaced by Ken Macha, as GM Billy Beane shuffled his dugout. In '03, low-key Macha picked up where Howe had left off, guiding the A's to their second straight AL West title. History of the White Elephant In 1901 Connie Mack and his Philadelphia Athletics helped form the American League. The following year, New York Giants Manager John McGraw dismissed the A's with contempt, calling them "The White Elephants," implying Mack shouldn't be allowed to spend money without supervision. Mack defiantly adopted the White Elephant as the team insignia, and in 1902, the A's won the American League pennant. The White Elephant remained the team's mascot until later that decade, when it finally made its way to an A's uniform. Its first appearance was on the team's sweaters. In about 1918, the Elephant finally saw game action when Mack had the pachyderm symbol (in blue with a white "A" inside) placed on the left sleeve of every player. By 1920, Mack had fully adopted the A's Elephant as the team's symbol. Gone was the traditional A" on the front of the jersey. In was a blue elephant logo. But after a few poor seasons, Mack decided a change was in order. So, in 1924, the blue elephant was replaced by the white elephant on the team's jersey. The new-look pachyderm seemed to do the trick, as the A's played better ball for the next few years. In 1928, Mack decided the elephant had worn out its brief welcome on the A's jersey fronts. He replaced it with the familiar "A" on the uniforms, and the A's went on to win two World Championships and an AL crown in the next three years. This resurgence was probably due more to the additions of Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, Lefty Grove, Mickey Cochrane, et al., than to the elephant's absence. That was the last year for the elephant on the A's uniform until 1955, when the A's, now in Kansas City, added an elephant patch to their left sleeves. But when Charlie Finley purchased the team in the early sixties, the elephant mascot was once again sent packing, replaced by, of all animals, a mule. This was the last we saw of this loveable A's mascot until 1988. The elephant has once again proven to be a "good luck" charm for the A's, as since its return the Athletics have won three American League pennants and one world championship. |
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| Total | 1 | 0/0/1 | 0.0 | - | 1.0 | 1.0 1.0 0.0 | - | 0.0 0.0 0.0 | 0k |