Philadelphia Athletics - The Final Years (1940-1954)
 
   
 

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        Yr P W L   Yr P W L   Yr P W L               1940  
        1940 8 54 100   1945 8 52 98   1950 8 52 102               Decade  
        1941 8 64 90   1946 8 49 105   1951 6 70 84               Click  
        1942 8 55 99   1947 5 78 78   1952 4 79 75               on Logo  
        1943 8 49 105   1948 4 84 70   1953 7 59 95                  
                1944 5 72 82   1949 5 81 73   1954 8 51 103                  
                                                       
   
  Titles: None Top Athletics Players of the Final Years in Philly   
     
  BallPark: Shibe Park Pitchers:  
    Phil Marchildon (10.85) -   46  
  Team Name: Athletics Alex Kellner (5.75) -   39  
    Dick Fowler (8.44) -   35  
  Owner: Connie Mack Bobby Shantz (17.45) -   35  
    Russ Christopher (9.81) -   31  
  Managers:  Jesse Flores (13.38) -   30  
  Connie Mack (1940-1950) Lou Brissie (6.66) -   22  
  Jimmy Dykes (1951-1953) Joe Coleman (4.1) -   19  
  Eddie Joost (1954) Carl Scheib (0.58) -   18  
    Lum Harris (3.86) -   16  
  No Hitters: Bobo Newsom (8.53) -   16  
  Dick Fowler (1945) Harry Byrd (2.57) -   15  
  Bill McCahan (1947) Joe Berry (7.51) -   13  
    Roger Wolff (7.01) -   13  
  Hall of Famers:    
  Connie Mack Catchers:  
  Nellie Fox Blimp Hayes (9.93) -   30  
  George Kell Buddy Rosar (3.11) -   18  
  Al Simmons Joe Astroth (1.11) -   11  
       
  Rookie of the Year: First Basemen:  
  Harry Byrd (1952) Ferris Fain (21.86) -   63  
    Dick Siebert (7.19) -   39  
  MVP: None    
  Bobby Shantz (1952) Second Basemen:  
    Pete Suder (0,88) -   21  
  Notable Events: Irv Hall (0.99) -   15  
    Benny McCoy (4.12) -   10  
  1935 - 1946 - The A's average 56 wins over this twelve year  Nellie Fox (6.27) -   0  
  stretch. They had one almost decent year in 1944 where the    
  A's almost caught up to the competition due to the sheer attrition  ShortStop:  
  of the other clubs due to the war. Mack completely stopped Eddie Joost (26.16) -   56  
   trying. It was a disgrace. Any money that Mack was making    
   would be put into the ballpark to ensure that his progeny would  Third Base:  
  have something concrete, so to speak, to inherit when he died. Hank Majeski (10.88) -   29  
  Little did he know that that's not how it works. It doesn't matter Jim Finigan (2.63) -   10  
  how nice the building that you are playing in is if your team stinks.  George Kell (3.22) -   9  
  The A's had owned Philadelphia for most of Mack's tenure, partly    
  because of the great teams he created from time to time and Outfield:  
  partly because his National League competition, the Phillies,  Elmer Valo (23.29) -   85  
  were even worse than the A's, Mack frittered that advantage Sam Chapman (16.39)  -   65  
  away with his blatant disregard for putting a decent product on Gus Zernial (6.27) -   31  
  the field for his fans from the mid Thirties right into the Fifties..  Indian Bob Johnson (11.78) -   31  
    Bobby Estalella (8.71) -   29  
  1943 - The A's drop twenty games in a row, tying an AL record Wally Moses (7.89) -   24  
    Barney McCoskey (8.09) -   21  
  1946 - Philly trades future Hall of Famer George Kell to the     
  Tigers for veteran outfielder Barney McCoskey in 1946 Notable Events:  
       
  1949 - The Mack-men trade future Hall of Famer Nellie Fox to the  1954 - Arnold Johnson purchases the A's and moves them to  
  White Sox for journeyman catcher Joe Tipton in 1949 Kansas City for the 1955 season. This is the culmination of   
    everything that Connie Mack didn't want, but that he caused.   
  1949 - Philadelphia finishes at .500 or above for the third straight Mack had wanted to leave the A's to his three sons. However,   
  season, falsely giving them some hope for the future infighting between all three and Mack, himself, led to a stalemate  
    as to whether to try to make the club more competitive or be more  
  1950 - Connie Mack retires as manager after fifty years at the helm austere. The result was that the austere brothers, Roy and Earl,   
  mortgaged the team to the hilt to buy out the competitve brother,   
  1952 - The A's bounce back to mediocrity for a season after having Connie Jr. The mortgage was the final nail in the coffin and the team  
   slid back to being the old familiar A's for two seasons. Philadelphia  was sold before it would go bankrupt. Now, not only did Connie's sons  
  is led by a pitching staff anchored by two aces, the league MVP in not only not own a team, the A's weren't even in Philly anymore.  
   lefty Bobby Shantz and the league ROY in righty Harry Byrd Lose - Lose. Connie wasn't even lucky enough to not outlive this   
  ultimate fiasco. He died in 1956 after watching this trainwreck that   
  he was responsible for happen in slow motion right before his eyes.