The Athletics - The Psychedelic Era (1960-1969)

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1960

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1961

Kansas City

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1964

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105

1968

Oakland

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1962

Kansas City

1965

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1969

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1966

Kansas City

Titles: None

Top Athletics Players of the Sixties

BallPark: Municipal Stadium (1960-1967)

Pitchers:

Oakland Alameda Stadium (1968-1969)

Catfish Hunter (8.36) - 34

Chuck Dobson (2.95) - 24

Team Name: Athletics

Lew Krausse (1.3) - 22

Blue Moon Odom (4.9) - 22

Owner: Charlie Finley

John Wyatt (6.83) - 19

Jim Nash (9.66) - 17

Managers:

Jack Aker (3.11) - 15

Bob Elliott (1960)

Ed Rakow (3.3) - 14

Joe Gordon (1961)

Orlando Pena (6.09) - 13

Hank Bauer (1961-1962, 1969)

Dave Wickersham (5.22) - 11

Ed Lopat (1963-1964)

Bud Daley (1.12) - 10

Mel McGaha (1964-1965)

Ray Herbert (5.76) - 9

Haywood Sullivan (1965)

Al Dark (1966-1967)

Catchers:

Luke Appling (1967)

Phil Roof (0.26) - 10

Bob Kennedy (1968)

John McNamara (1969)

First Basemen:

Norm Siebern (11.16) - 42

General Managers: Parke Carroll (1960)

Danny Cater (4.31) - 20

Frank Lane (1961)

Charlie Finley (1961-1969)

Second Basemen:

Hank Peters (1965)

Dick Green (10.68) - 27

Ed Lopat (1966)

Jerry Lumpe (9.21) - 26

Charlie Finley (1967-1969 de facto)

ShortStop:

No Hitters: Catfish Hunter (1968)

Bert Campaneris (16.9) - 54

Wayne Causey (9.61) - 30

Hall of Famers:

Dick Howser (4.23) - 16

Satchell Paige

Reggie Jackson

Third Base:

Catfish Hunter

Ed Charles (14.49) - 43

Sal Bando (13.11) - 18

Rookie of the Year: None

Outfield:

MVP: None

Reggie Jackson (13.9) - 30

Rick Monday (9.67) - 30

Cy Young: None

Bobby Del Greco (1.74) - 14

Mike Hershberger (0.19) - 14

Notable Events:

Jose Tartabull (1.67) - 11

1960 - Owner Arnold Johnson dies

Notable Events:

1960 - Charlie Finley buys the A's and is an extremely hands on

1968 - Chalie Finley was one of the many mercenary owners that populated

owner. He tried everything to turn the franchise around. Promotions,

their ranks during the late Fifties thru the early Seventies. The worst of these guys

manager firings, broadcaster firings, moving fences, changing the.

were short term owners who had no long term interest in the fans or the game itself,

color of uniforms. These things didn't help. Investing in scouting and

but were just looking out for their own short term self interest. The others were in for

the farm system and severing the Yankee feeder pipeline did help.

the long haul but moved despite the havoc they would cause. These owners moved

However, Finley was an exceptionally bright guy, and, at the end of the

teams out of perfectly viable major league cities during this era, screw the fans

day, it didn't take him that long to figure it all out and build a powerhouse

and screw the long term efficacy of the sport in general. They were:

on his own. He determined, correctly so, that he was smarter than all of

□ Walter O'Malley, moved the Dodgers out of Brooklyn to Los Angeles 1958

the usual suspects (the baseball men) and went out and built it himself.

□ Horace Stoneham, moved the Giants out of New York to San Francisco 1958

□ Calvin Griffith, moved the Senators out of Washington to Minnesota 1961

1961 - Frank Lane is hired and fired as GM.

□ Bill Bartholomay, moved the Braves out of Milwaukee to Atlanta 1966

Knowing the two personalities, you knew this wouldn't work

□ Charlie Finley, moved the A's out of Kansas City to Oakland 1968

□ Bud Selig, moved the Pilots out of Seattle to Milwaukee 1970

1962 - Finley tries unsuccessfully to move the franchise to Dallas in 1962.

□ Bob Short, moved the Senators out of Washington to Arlington 1972

The other AL owners reject the move.

There were also a number of other teams threatening to change cities in this era.

Most notably they were the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Cleveland

1965 - Bert Campaneris plays all nine positions in a game.

Indians and later on the Minnesota Twins and San Francisco Giants.

The result of this was that baseball was starting to lose its popularity and fast.

1965 - Satchell Paige starts a game and pitches three scoreless

Fans felt that if you have no loyalty to us, why would we ever be loyal to you?

innings. He was in his sixties at the time. Amazing.

Most of the moves were to get a sweetheart stadium deal, a sweetheart local TV

deal, tax breaks, concessions breaks, sweetheart land deal, etc. by pitting one

1965 - Hank Peters is hired and fired as GM - He would excel later in the

city against another. Not a very good time for the sport.

same role in Baltimore

You'll also note that all of the cities that were victims of moves or were on the verge

of having a move are thriving big league cities today. The moves were bogus.

1966 - Eddie Lopat is hired and fired as GM - It's now obvious to everybody,

including Finley, that there is no way a GM is going to work for Finley,

1968 - People talk about meddling owners running their teams into the

ground. Finley was the opposite of that. Acting as his own GM, he assembled

1968 - The A's move to Oakland. After six years, the AL owners finally let

one of the best young teams in baseball history - a testimony to his genius:

Finley move the franchise. They apparently were unwilling to call his

(Altho' there were other GM's on the payroll during some of these years, you

bluff that he would run the franchise into the ground if they didn't let him

have to figure that Finley had his hands all over the signings/selections below)

move it. Notice that as soon as the A's moved, they became a winner.

□ 1961 - SS Bert Campaneris and RHP Lew Krausse - Amateur Free agents

(Note that Frank Lane was GM in 1961)

1968 - What had to be doubly troubling to Kansas City fans, aside from

□ 1963 - C Dave Duncan, RHP Paul Liindblad, RHP Jim Nash - Amateur Free agents

losing the club that they only had for thirteen years, was the remarkable

□ 1964 - OF Joe Rudi, RHP Catfish Hunter, RHP Rollie Fingers,

group of young talent that Finley had assembled. Kansas City fans were

RHP John Odom - Free agents

about to miss out on Vida Blue, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi,

□ 1965 - OF Rick Monday (Ist overall pick in draft), 3B Sal Bando (6th round),

Catfish Hunter, Blue Moon Odom, Bert Campaneris and Rick Monday

C Gene Tenace (20th round), RHP Chuck Dobson (21st round)

And, of course, to add insult to injury, the A's never had close to a

(Note that Hank Peters was GM in 1965)

winning season in Kansas City. The year they move out of KC and to

□ 1966 - OF Reggie Jackson (2nd overall pick in draft)

Oakland, they finish over .500 - and they just keep getting better from

(Note that Eddie Lopat was GM in 1966)

there after that. It's almost as if Finley had planned it that way.

□ 1967 - LHP Vida Blue (2nd round of draft)

You know, keep the team bad in Kansas City so that attendence stays

low so you have an excuse for moving, and once moved, put a good

team on the field to give the franchise a nice jump start in the new city

of Oakland. You have to be pretty slick and competent to pull it off.