Had to edit this one to get it into two 2000 word installments. May run the unedited version at some later date on Business of Baseball.com.

Finley was great. I bet Kuhn's heart condition is partially a byproduct of Charlie O.

I didn't get it in the article, but at one point, Finley had the mascot, Charlie O actually attend a VIP buffet... and let him eat from the table.

Priceless.

Eagerly awaiting part two!

I didn't get it in the article, but at one point, Finley had the mascot, Charlie O actually attend a VIP buffet... and let him he from the table.

Haw?

I miss chlamydia.

One of my more melancholy reflections is that the team once owned by Connie Mack fell into the hands of Finley.

Second part has the best stuff... Hunter's contract botch and his eventual free agency. The Messersmith/McNally ruling and how Finley viewed free agency. The firesale attempt between the Red Sox and the Yankees.

One of my more melancholy reflections is that the team once owned by Connie Mack fell into the hands of Finley.

Would have helped if someone besides Finley actually wished to purchase the club. Johnson dropping dead didn't help.

One of my more melancholy reflections is that the team once owned by Connie Mack fell into the hands of Finley.

One of my more melancholy reflections is that the team once owned by a bunch of people I don't know anything about fell into the hands of George W. Bush.

I don't know all that much about the KC A's (mostly from reading a few Bill James snippets and a thread or two here) but what I have read about the club was that it was a horribly managed disaster, and for many years a de facto Yankees subsidiary. Finley may have been loud and brash but was he really any worse than Johnson?

Finley may have been loud and brash but was he really any worse than Johnson?

No, he was incomparably better.

The Arnold Johnson Athletics of 1955-1960 were a scandal, an ugly scar in baseball history. Johnson, literally, owned Yankee Stadium. The Yankees paid him rent, while he owned the A's. Yes, there was more than a little bit to be suspicious about in the parade of trades between the franchises in that period.

Finley, whatever else he was, was in cahoots with no one. He wanted his franchise to win. After a few years of poor decisions and false starts, the job Finley did in directing the baseball operation of the A's in the late 60s and early 70s was utterly, completely brilliant. Finley had an amazing eye for talent, and was a tremendously shrewd trader.

Personally, he was boorish and rude and impossible. But he was also extraordinarily smart.

One of my more melancholy reflections is that the <strike>team once owned by a bunch of people I don't know anything about</strike> country fell into the hands of George W. Bush.

Fixed.

I miss chlamydia.

I believe that's an award given at the Players Ball--Miss Chlamydia.

Finley, whatever else he was, was in cahoots with no one. He wanted his franchise to win. After a few years of poor decisions and false starts, the job Finley did in directing the baseball operation of the A's in the late 60s and early 70s was utterly, completely brilliant. Finley had an amazing eye for talent, and was a tremendously shrewd trader.

Quoted for truth. Johnson was friends with Dan Topping and that made for the "farm system" between the Athletics and the Yankees.

During Johnson's 5-year ownership the Yankees and Athletics traded 29 players. Some guy named Maris was part of the back and forth.

During Johnson's 5-year ownership the Yankees and Athletics traded 29 players. Some guy named Maris was part of the back and forth.

And Clete Boyer was signed by the A's as a Bonus Baby, then traded to the Yankees as soon as his 2-year waiting period expired.

And Ralph Terry was promoted to the Yankees, then traded to the A's to get a couple of years of seasoning, then traded back to the Yankees.

BeQC gets the post of the day in #10.

Bill James in his chapter on the Royals in the 1986 Baseball Abstract discusses these trades. Essentially a lot of them involved players who had one or two decent years but were not going to amount to anything lont-term: Bob Cerv, Duke Maas, Art Ditmar. Maris was traded for, among others, 1957 minor league player of the year Norm Siebern and 40 HR man (in Denver) Marv Throneberry. The guys the A's traded for Maris were former Yankee farm hands Woodie Held and Vic Power. Johnson took over a team that Connie Mack wouldn't or couldn't upgrade in the previous 20 years. I don't think Mack saw the significance of the minor league farm system Branch Rickey developed. He had rebuilt and won buying minor leaguers in the 1920s so he probably thought he could do it again. Mack also refused to integrate and missed talent there.
It is interesting people yell and scream on how it awful it was for Jacob Ruppert to hold the lease to Fenway Park in the 1920s (to keep Ban Johnson off Harry Frazee's back) and yell when the situation is reversed..when someone else holds the lease to Yankee stadium.
Finley was an extraordinary character. The ugliness of his personality in his lifetime helped obscure the fact his is the only non-Yankee team to win three straight World Series. He was a hands-on owner. He could hire top-flight managers like Dick Williams and Billy Martin which a lot of teams would avoid. Harass and pressure them but he must have learned how to judge ballplayers along the way.
Before the amateur draft came in he authorized big money to sign Hunter and Odom.

Anyone else think this was going to be about basketball? (except for the fact that, you know, its on BASEBALL primer)

Before the amateur draft came in he authorized big money to sign Hunter and Odom.

Yeah, Finley must have sent the likes of O'Malley into shock with these signings. Both players were signed for $75,000 apiece.

He was a hands-on owner. He could hire top-flight managers like Dick Williams and Billy Martin which a lot of teams would avoid. Harass and pressure them but he must have learned how to judge ballplayers along the way.

What's interesting is that the A's began to become successful once Finley stopped hiring GMs and just handled the GM duties himself. He executed a terrific sequence of trades in the late 60s/early 70s.

Before the amateur draft came in he authorized big money to sign Hunter and Odom.

And personally bestowed the nicknames "Catfish" and "Blue Moon" upon them, because he understood that colorful nicknames attracted positive attention from the press, and positive attention from the press sold tickets.

He tried to get Vida Blue to legally change his name to "Vida True Blue," but Blue told him to get lost.

June 14, 1961

Traded Bud Daley to the New York Yankees. Received Art Ditmar and Deron Johnson.

This one occurred after Finley had bought the team from the Johnson estate. It outraged the KC fan base, whom Finley had loudly promised he would transact no more trades with the Yankees.

The ugliness of his personality in his lifetime helped obscure the fact his is the only non-Yankee team to win three straight World Series.

I don't think so. I always tried to get my dad to take us to Tiger Stadium to see them play when I could. I knew they were special then, and Finley's colourful character did nothing to obscure the best A's team since the 1929-1931 model, which my dad remembered.

I think he wanted Blue to change his first name from Vida to True.

No, it was to change his middle name from Rochelle to True. Blue's retort, along with pointing out that he was a Junior, and thus changing his name would be a particular dishonor to his father, was this:

"Why doesn't he change his name to Charles True Finley?!?"

You could see the acrimonious contract dispute and holdout between them coming long before it actually arrived in early 1972.

Would have helped if someone besides Finley actually wished to purchase the club. Johnson dropping dead didn't help.

Another melancholy moment occurs when I remember that when Johnson bought the club another suitor was Jack Kent Cooke, who wanted to take it to Toronto. Unfortunately, Toronto didn't have a good enough stadium (where have I heard that before?), and that kind of killed the deal. Exhibition Stadium's big grandstand was still in the future then.

And personally bestowed the nicknames "Catfish" and "Blue Moon" upon them, because he understood that colorful nicknames attracted positive attention from the press, and positive attention from the press sold tickets.

I hit this tomorrow.

A couple of things have been brought to my attention by Mark Armour since publishing this AM, and he and I have been doing some more digging on Finley.

Finley also made a run at the Tigers before landing the Athletics. Also, Symington made his statement from the US Senate floor, not the Missouri Senate floor. Lastly, I mention that "Lane and Finley's signings started to pay dividends." Well, Mark looked -- and so have I now -- Lane wasn't with the Club long enough to pull the trigger on one deal with the A's in KC.

Remember boys and girls... peer review is a good thing.

Finley also made a run at the Tigers before landing the Athletics.

Also the White Sox, IIRC. He lived in Chicago.

Also the White Sox, IIRC.

That I did get.

Lane wasn't with the Club long enough to pull the trigger on one deal with the A's in KC.

Wasn't the series of trades from January to July of 1961 Lane's work?

Lane sued Finley for breach of contract after he was fired, and I think he won the suit.

He sued Finley for $144,166 for breach of contract. Still trying to find out about any deals with Lane. Which ones are you talking about, Steve? I can find deals with the Indians (the Norm Cash and Bill Virdon deals, for example). Lane didn't come to the Athletics until Jan. 2 of '61 and was canned on Aug. 22 of the same year.

Which ones are you talking about, Steve? I can find deals with the Indians (the Norm Cash and Bill Virdon deals, for example). Lane didn't come to the Athletics until Jan. 2 of '61 and was canned on Aug. 22 of the same year.

These:

January 24, 1961

Traded Russ Snyder and Whitey Herzog to the Baltimore Orioles. Received Bob Boyd, Al Pilarcik, Jim Archer, Wayne Causey, and Clint Courtney. Clint Courtney returned to original teams on April 14, 1961.

January 25, 1961

Traded John Tsitouris and John Briggs to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Joe Nuxhall.

January 31, 1961

Purchased Joe Pignatano from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

March 30, 1961

Traded Howie Reed and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Ed Rakow.

April 12, 1961 (Standings)

Traded Dick Williams and Dick Hall to the Baltimore Orioles. Received Chuck Essegian and Jerry Walker.

April 25, 1961 (Standings)

Signed Bert Campaneris as an amateur free agent.

May, 1961 (Standings)

Ken Johnson sent to the Toronto (International) in an unknown transaction.

May 3, 1961 (Standings)

Sold Chuck Essegian to the Cleveland Indians.

June, 1961 (Standings)

Ed Keegan sent to the Philadelphia Phillies in an unknown transaction. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)

June 1, 1961 (Standings)

Traded a player to be named later and Bill Tuttle to the Minnesota Twins. Received a player to be named later, Reno Bertoia, and Paul Giel. The Minnesota Twins sent cash (June 10, 1961) to the Kansas City Athletics to complete the trade. The Kansas City Athletics sent Paul Giel (June 10, 1961) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.

June 8, 1961 (Standings)

Signed Lew Krausse as an amateur free agent.

Traded Marv Throneberry to the Baltimore Orioles. Received Gene Stephens.

June 10, 1961 (Standings)

Sold Bob Boyd to the Milwaukee Braves.

Traded Ray Herbert, Don Larsen, Andy Carey, and Al Pilarcik to the Chicago White Sox. Received Bob Shaw, Gerry Staley, Wes Covington, and Stan Johnson.

Signed Jim Rivera as a free agent.

June 14, 1961 (Standings)

Traded Bud Daley to the New York Yankees. Received Art Ditmar and Deron Johnson.

June 19, 1961 (Standings)

Signed Fred Norman as an amateur free agent.

July 2, 1961 (Standings)

Traded Wes Covington to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received Bobby Del Greco.

July 21, 1961 (Standings)

Purchased Mickey McDermott from the St. Louis Cardinals.

July 26, 1961 (Standings)

Released Hank Bauer.

August, 1961 (Standings)

Weldon Bowlin received from the St. Louis Cardinals in an unknown transaction. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)

August 2, 1961 (Standings)

Traded Gerry Staley and Reno Bertoia to the Detroit Tigers. Received Ozzie Virgil and Bill Fischer.

August 15, 1961 (Standings)

Released Mickey McDermott.

Remember boys and girls... peer review is a good thing.

I like this one.

Best Regards

John

And personally bestowed the nicknames "Catfish" and "Blue Moon" upon them, because he understood that colorful nicknames attracted positive attention from the press, and positive attention from the press sold tickets.

I always kind of wondered if the acquisition of Mudcat Grant between the 1969 and 1970 seasons was at least partly because Finley liked Grant's handle. (I am operating on the assumption Grant was called 'Mudcat' before he got to Oakland. Also, it's kind of funny to me that BB-Ref has James Timothy Grant listed as Mudcat, with his nickname as "Jim".)

Didn't Finley sell Vida Blue to the Reds, and a couple of other guys to the Red Sox straight up, only to have Bowie Kuhn nix the deal 'in the best interests of baseball'?

One thing missed here was perhaps Finley's greatest contribution to 20th Century Western Civilization, i.e., one Stanley Kirk Burrell.

Can't touch that.

Were the Hunter and Odom signings really that out of line? I seem to remember reading about several players in the late 50s-early 60s getting $100,000 or so to sign. Or was it just that they didn't have the reputations of the other bonus babies?

I am operating on the assumption Grant was called 'Mudcat' before he got to Oakland.

He was. That was one that Finley didn't invent.

Didn't Finley sell Vida Blue to the Reds, and a couple of other guys to the Red Sox straight up, only to have Bowie Kuhn nix the deal 'in the best interests of baseball'?

Yes, and I think Maury will cover that interesting episode next time.

As long as we are looking back at the greatness of Oakland in the 1970's, does anyone know about an HBO show featuring the 70's A's and Raiders. I believe it aired about 2 or 3 years ago and was called something like "Rebels of the 70's" or "Rebels of the Bay". I'd appreciate any info since I haven't been able to track it down. Also, Maury, great article I am looking forward to the second part. Is there a good biography of Finley out there?

Were the Hunter and Odom signings really that out of line? I seem to remember reading about several players in the late 50s-early 60s getting $100,000 or so to sign. Or was it just that they didn't have the reputations of the other bonus babies?

I don't think the Hunter and Odom signing amounts were especially unusual. Rick Reichardt got a bigger bonus.

The Bonus Baby rules had been instituted in the 1950s, then rescinded, then reinstituted in a different from from 1962-65 as an attempt to restrain signing bonus amounts (IOW, contain labor costs). The amateur free agent draft was finally begun in June 1965 as the ultimate solution.

I think he wanted Blue to change his first name from Vida to True.


That is consistent with every source that I have seen as well. I tried to google something up. Most web resources also state it was changing his first name, or just mention changing the name to "True Blue." I was a little young at the time, so I don't have any specific memory.

I see some of Bill Veeck's qualities in Charlie Finley -- unfortunately, not always the best ones.

Didn't Finley sell Vida Blue to the Reds, and a couple of other guys to the Red Sox straight up, only to have Bowie Kuhn nix the deal 'in the best interests of baseball'?

I am covering the attempted deals, but the principle players here are a bit crossed up...

It was the Yankees, not the Reds that wanted Blue. The initial asking price was a million for Blue, but Dick O'Connell of the Red Sox got Bill Campbell of the Tigers into the bidding for Blue. The reasoning was so that the deal that the Red Sox had swung for Rudi and Fingers wouldn't turn out to be a wash. The thinking was: Get Blue out of the Yankees hands, and better yet, out of the same division as the Red Sox. All Gabe Paul did was bump up the deal to $1.5 million and Finley leapt at it.

Not probative to the other thought, but this is pretty good:

Less amicable was the story recounted by former American and National League MVP Vida Blue, who remembers late A's owner Charles O. Finley's efforts to get his pitcher to legally change his name to "True Blue" -- something Vida declined on the logic that "This is the name my daddy decided to give me, so this is the name I'm sticking with. #### that other ####." Later, Blue recalls Finley attempting to pay his pitcher's incentive bonuses not in cash, but in the form of a Cadillac. \"####," Blue now marvels, "I'm surprised he didn't try to sweeten the deal with a promise of ####### trunk filled with watermelon...."

<blockquote>Link

The story circulated in the late 60s that Finley had offerred the Reds $1 million in cash for the young Johnny Bench, but the Reds turned him down.

The upshot of the aborted fire sale was that Kuhn instituted a new rule, that no cash greater than $400,000 could exchange hands in a player transaction. When Finley sold Blue to the Giants in early 1978, he got a package of young players plus cash that was reported at the time as $390,000, though bb-ref has it as $300,000.

The nanny doesn't like Mr. Blue.

Given that team's financial records are kept private, I've always wondered how Kuhn would have enforced the cash sale limit. Teams did all kinds of stuff under the table to get around the Bonus Baby restrictions.

And the cash amounts announced in player transactions aren't necessarily valid. When the Giants traded Willie Mays to the Mets in 1972, the deal was announced as Mays for Charlie Williams and $50,000 (and that's what bb-ref lists). Later, after he had sold the team, Horace Stoneham admitted to Mays's biographer Charles Einstein that there actually was no cash at all in the deal, Stoneham just said there was as a means, he hoped, of helping Mays save face.

But maybe the sports trivia company missed the detail that Steve mentions.

My memory might be faulty, of course. But I was intensely following the whole episode in the Bay Area papers and radio/TV as it happened, and I distinctly recall it as Finley wanting Blue to be known as "Vida True Blue."

Whatever, it gave Blue yet another reason to despise Finley.

The reason I remember this is because when I was a camp counselor as a college student, I was playing a sports trivia game with some of the kids and this was one of the questions.

It stuck in my mind because some time in elementary school I checked out a biography on Vida Blue. It was one of the first "big books" that I read cover to cover. But they could have messed it up. I haven't seen a reference that suggests it was the middle name, but again, I was toddling at the time.

Kuhn vetoed some of Finley's innovations, and in 1973 he prevented Finley from vindictively placing second baseman Mike Andrews on the DL during the World Series following a costly error. Link

Now that's a milo.

The upshot of the aborted fire sale was that Kuhn instituted a new rule, that no cash greater than $400,000 could exchange hands in a player transaction.

I think that is missing some details. It was far more evolutionary. Kuhn allowed sales in the past. In 76 he aborted the Yanks and Red Sox sales based on the best interest in baseball. He gets sued. He then allowed a sale of Lindblad for 400K. Then the judge rules in his favor on the Yanks/Red Sox deal. He later voids a sale of Blue to the Reds for 1.75 Million, and posits the 400K limit. Id.

There was a little intrigue and posturing going on. Finley should have emptied the stable while he sitll had leverage.

I attended probably 50 A's games in KC from '63-'67. I remember all the hoopla that diverted attention from the fact that the team stunk, maybe 1966 excepted. There was the pennant porch, the shepherd and sheep (who were spray painted green and gold) on the RF terrace, and the couple of Miss Americas from Kansas who threw out first pitches. Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the article. And I remember Ken Harrelson getting dumped for clashing with Finley. When the team left town, I was crushed, and doubly peeved when they immediately started playing well in Oakland. Of course, we got the Royals as a replacement for the A's and that turned out ok for a few years, but look what we have now. So I guess I can indirectly blame that on Finley.

The upshot of the aborted fire sale was that Kuhn instituted a new rule, that no cash greater than $400,000 could exchange hands in a player transaction.

Do you have a cite to those papers?

But I was intensely following the whole episode in the Bay Area papers and radio/TV as it happened.

Do you have a cite to those papers?

In the'70s Oakland's four professsional franchises were owned by the most iconoclastic collections of owners ever: Finley (A's and Seals), Al Davis (Raiders) and Franklin Mieuli (Warriors). And all three brought titles to Oakland during the decade. Bleacher tickets to the '74 World Series were $4 agame, double the regular season price. What a great time.

Do you have a cite to those papers?

(Cue dramatic WWII German music)

In the'70s Oakland's four professsional franchises were owned by the most iconoclastic collections of owners ever: Finley (A's and Seals), Al Davis (Raiders) and Franklin Mieuli (Warriors). And all three brought titles to Oakland during the decade. Bleacher tickets to the '74 World Series were $4 agame, double the regular season price. What a great time.

From Ken Kesey to Billy Beane, and all the fellas in between, the Bay Area has produced its set of characters.

In the'70s Oakland's four professsional franchises were owned by the most iconoclastic collections of owners ever: Finley (A's and Seals),

Seals? I'm guessing this doesn't mean the old PCL SF Seals. Who/What were the Seals?

The Oakland (later California Golden) Seals of the NHL. Finley also owned the Memphis team in the ABA for a time.

Bill Campbell of the Tigers

Wasn't it Jim Campbell? Or is my memory failing me?

That's the way I remember it too. On a straight player sale, Kuhn set the bar at 400K.


I think that's accurate, #51 was a mispost, as my cut and paste was wrong. I didn't mean to imply anything different.

I think the 400k was because he allowed Lindblad for that amount. He couldn't unwind that purchase. I would imagine he may have felt like he had to allow Lindblad. He was facing a huge lawsuit at the time, and the outcome was uncertain.

If they had played, it would have been tougher to void the deal.


I agree. Finley was very likely a pain-in-the-ass. The same is likely true about many other people that have been called a "genius". That tag gets applied to Bay Area Iconoclasts a lot. I wonder if I should change my name to Daly City like GGC?

Wasn't it Jim Campbell? Or is my memory failing me?

No, you are right, and it's my typo.

The NHL expansion team, Traderdave.

Think Carol Vadnais and Gary Smith. Or, think former Trail Blazer announcer, Bill Schonely.

I loved the Seals, as well.

As long as we are looking back at the greatness of Oakland in the 1970's, does anyone know about an HBO show featuring the 70's A's and Raiders. I believe it aired about 2 or 3 years ago and was called something like "Rebels of the 70's" or "Rebels of the Bay". I'd appreciate any info since I haven't been able to track it down. Also, Maury, great article I am looking forward to the second part. Is there a good biography of Finley out there?

The show was called "Rebels of Oakland". The show was a part of HBO's Sports of the 20th Century series. Great interviews with former A's (Fingers, Reggie, Rudi, Dick Williams and others), Raiders plus fans (including Tom Hanks) and media. Great archival footage as well.

Is there a picture of the mechanical rabbit anywhere on the internet? I've always wondered what it looked like.

Is there a picture of the mechanical rabbit anywhere on the internet?

Here you go:

http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/sports2000/trends/163618.html

Not just Seals, but Golden Seals, right?

Aargh, #59 has it right. I'm having a dumb day.

Is there a picture of the mechanical rabbit anywhere on the internet?

Here you go:

Harvey the Rabbit (image only)

This absolutely fascinated me as a young kid. I'd creep down with my dad just to wait to see the rabbit come up out of the ground. I still get this big smile every time I see a picture of Harvey.

Thanks, winnipeg. Now I just need to find a place to rent or buy Rebels of Oakland. I am striking out on Netflix and Amazon, though.

Less amicable was the story recounted by former American and National League MVP Vida Blue

Hate to be pedantic, but Vida was never an NL MVP.

Finley also owned the Memphis team in the ABA for a time.

Yep, the Memphis Tams. They were supposedly so named because their fans lived in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, which is so lame that I suspect Finley just got a deal on some uniforms that already had TAMS on them.

If my memory is correct, Finley did succeed in getting Vida Blue to wear "Vida" on the back of his uniform, rather than "Blue."

If my memory is correct, Finley did succeed in getting Vida Blue to wear "Vida" on the back of his uniform, rather than "Blue."

I don't remember if he did that when he was with the A's, but he did when he was with the Giants.

Charlie Finley never graduated from Charm School but that man knew marketing.

Marketing isn't sitting in a conference room throwing out ideas as to how to present your idea to the target audience. You don't KNOW what the audience will respond to. So you get off your *ss and try THIS. And you try THAT. And you keep TRYING until something clicks or you at least get attention for TRYING. Because after awhile it's the TRYING that becomes the news.

When operating different businesses I would repeatedly clash with the folks with the Marketing degrees who would want to analyze this, and focus group THAT, and talk around and around and around what the MESSAGE should be. "Shut up already", I would shout, "Just DO SOMETHING FOR GOD'S SAKE!".

Charlie marketed his team (and himself) like nobody's business. When he knew his team would stink he used gimmicks. When the work to get better on the field began to take fruit he marketed the PLAYERS. WOW, what a CONCEPT. Imagine a league that said, "Hey, watch this guy. He's really something." And he didn't stop. Not ever.

And when it came to business his instincts were MILES ahead of the dunderheads sitting around that big conference table at the league meetings. (Correct, nothing ever good came from an event involving a conference table. Remember that youngsters.)

Charlie Finley wasn't without flaw. But never let it be written that he didn't try and get people interested and enthused about the product on the field.

Less amicable was the story recounted by former American and National League MVP Vida Blue

Hate to be pedantic, but Vida was never an NL MVP.

Answering my own post, Vida Blue was named MVP of the 1971 All-Star Game when he was an Athletic, and won an All-Star Game MVP in 1981 for the Giants...

Vida Blue did indeed wear the name "Vida" on his Oakland jersey. He later did the same with the Giants. To the best of my knowledge, the first guy to do this with the A's was Wayne Causey, back when they played in Kansas City. Here's a list of the A's players to use nicknames or first names on their jerseys, at the urging of Charlie O. If anyone's got any additions to the list, I'd love to hear them:

Dick Allen “WAMPUM”

Vida Blue “VIDA"

Wayne Causey “KOOZ”

Ed Charles “ED”

Billy Conigliaro “BILLY C”

Doc Edwards “DOC”

Jim Grant “MUDCAT”

Ken Harrelson “HAWK”

Jim Hunter “CATFISH”

I think Campaneris had "CAMPY" on his jersey.

ere's a list of the A's players to use nicknames or first names on their jerseys, at the urging of Charlie O. If anyone's got any additions to the list, I'd love to hear them:

...and then that damn Ted Turner had to go and ruin it all with Andy Messersmith.

BTW -

In retirement, Charlie Finley owned a home near me in LaPorte, IN. I still remember as kid piling into the family car to look at Charlie O's Christmas lights.

Thanks, winnipeg. Now I just need to find a place to rent or buy Rebels of Oakland. I am striking out on Netflix and Amazon, though.

What a coincidence; HBO has it On-Demand right now (I just noticed it last night). If you know somebody with digital cable and an HBO subscription, they can get for you. I would offer, but my VCR isn't currently connected.

If anyone's got any additions to the list, I'd love to hear them:


"He Hate Me"

"Blue Moon" Odom

No, it was to change his middle name from Rochelle to True. Blue's retort, along with pointing out that he was a Junior, and thus changing his name would be a particular dishonor to his father, was this:

"Why doesn't he change his name to Charles True Finley?!?"

When M.L. Carr was once asked at a press conference if he'd ever thought about "Muslimizing" his name along the lines of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a number of other NBA players at the time, he fired back with,

"And what the f**k you want me to be? 'Abdul Automobile'?"

Harvey,

Finley was indeed a marketing genius of sorts, but you have to note that in all those years the A's were piling up championships, their top attendance wasn't even 1.1 million. And yet as soon as he sold the team in 1980 it began to draw much better (1.3M in the 1981 strike season and 1.7M the next year, in a 94 loss season), even though it never achieved the artistic heights of the early 70's. Part of me blames the Oakland fans for their non-support of a great and colorful team, but part of me also blames that dreadful Coliseum, which Finley made into one of the worst baseball experiences in the Majors in many, many ways. In terms of marketing, he knew about gimmicks and building a team, but he always neglected the basics of customer service. And this was reflected in the A's consistently low attendance under his ownership.

The deal with Cincinnati was Blue for 1B Dave Revering and a pile of cash. I believe it was the winter of 1977-78. Kuhn vetoed it. Blue was about the only big time player who resigned with Finley it 1976. Bando, Rudi, Fingers, Jackson (traded away), Baylor, Campaneris all left.
Bill James once made a comparison among Ted Turner, George Steinbrenner and Charlie Finley. It is interesting they found success in different methods. Turner let "the baseabll people" run it after a decade of interfering and mostly failing. Finley became real hands on and was successful. Even after losing so many all-stars he had the team in the ALCS 5 years later (selling the team in mid season). Steinbrenner has done a middle course..sometimes letting baseball guys run it (especially when suspended), other times interfering and signing players on his own (Sheffield, Wells) and setting up rival factions.
I have never seen the HBO special on Oakland in the early 1970s. Most of their sports stuff is good although the Mantle one was a bit maudlin.

And when it came to business his instincts were MILES ahead of the dunderheads sitting around that big conference table at the league meetings.It was Finley who put a scare into Marvin Miller, because only Charlie O. understood the effect of limited free agency. Fins wanted EVERY player to go on the open market in the offseason. But the other owners shot him down, Miller said, because they didn't want to give up a whit of control they didn't have to.

Answering my own post, Vida Blue was named MVP of the 1971 All-Star Game when he was an Athletic,

That would have been strange, since he coughed up two home runs and three earned runs in just three innings of that game. In fact IIRC it was Frank Robinson who won that honor. Blue was both the MVP and the Cy Young for the 1971 AL season, and he also won the 1978 NL Cy Young award.

Finley must have been one of these guys who thought the grass was always greener on the other side of the fence. He buys Kansas City and immediately talks about relocating the franchise. After moving to Oakland he starts talking about moving elsewhere, perhaps the White Sox moving to Seattle to settle the Pilots lawsuit and moving the A's to Chicago. I lived in Baltimore in the late 1970s when Oprah Winfrey was a weekend news anchor on WBAL channel 12. Colts owner Robert Irsay was constantly visitng other cities and talking about relocating. That must have depressed attendance for a franchise that had once sold out home games for about 15 straight years (1958-1973??).
Finley could also do things like have an Old Timers game in his first year, draw 40,000 people (the Yankees had 37,000 that year against Minnesota) and never have another game. But he did run the team cheaply and made money on 1 million attendance.

Wayne Causey “KOOZ”

Oh, my. Was "SLIT" already taken?

Blue was both the MVP and the Cy Young for the 1971 AL season, and he also won the 1978 NL Cy Young award.

Gaylord Perry won the 1978 NL Cy Young Award.

I believe the trivia question that occasioned all of this was: Who is the only man to be the winning pitcher for the All-Star game for both leagues?

Wayne Causey “KOOZ”
Pictures in the '64 A's yearbook have it as COOZ.

Yep, the Memphis Tams.

I call them the Memphis Sounds, since the one game I saw them play was in 1975. The ABA had its ownership problems, but this is particularly strange:

June 13, 1972The franchise is purchased by Charles O. Finley
1974Operation of the franchise is taken over by the league
July 17, 1974Operation of the franchise is taken over by Mike Storen, Isaac Hayes [?], Avron Fogelman and Kemmonis Wilson

Charlie O. and Adolph Rupp would've been a party.

That same franchise, you'll notice, was once the New Orleans Buccaneers and was owned by future talk show host Morton Downey Jr.

It should be noted that the final Kansas City to New York trade was Bud Daley for Deron Johnson. This really caused a publiuc outcry and Finley promised no more deals with the Yankee. Yet it could have been a good one for Kansas City. Johnson went on the play until 1976, was still effective until 1973 and led the league in rbis and finished 4th in the MVP voting. Unfortuantely he was doing that for Cincinnati, Finley selling him in 1963. Daley, who had won 36 games in the previous 2 1/2 year, won only 18 in 3 1/2 years with the Yankees. He did do a good job in the 5th game of the 1961 World Series game.
Lots of deals the Yankees made in the Topping/Webb years gave up good young players to patch holes to win a championship. They traded away Lew Burdette (203 wins) for veteran Johnny Sain (35 wins, became great pitching coach. see Ralph Terry. Burdette taught lots of guys to throw spitters but will deny ever throwing it himself.). They traded away Bill Virdon (1955 Rookie of the year, solid 11 year career) for 38 year old Enos Slaughter. They traded away future MVP Jackie Jensen (boyhood hero of Peter Gammons) for Irv Noren who was 3 years older and probably more of a platoon type with Mantle, Woodling and Bauer. I wonder how Jensen, a highly touted player who later had a nervous breakdown over flying, would have done in Yankee Stadium when there were other outfielders to take his spot if he slumped. Noren was also a lefty vs Jensen being a righty. Perhaps he would have been a Mantle, perhaps a Gregg Jeffries.

It should be noted that the final Kansas City to New York trade was Bud Daley for Deron Johnson. This really caused a publiuc outcry and Finley promised no more deals with the Yankee. Yet it could have been a good one for Kansas City. Johnson went on the play until 1976, was still effective until 1973 and led the league in rbis and finished 4th in the MVP voting. Unfortuantely he was doing that for Cincinnati, Finley selling him in 1963.

Johnson came beck to the A's in 1973, in an early-season trade with Philadelphia. Dick Williams immediately dropped him into the DH slot and left him there, with mixed results.

What is interesting is to think that in the intial year of its existence, there weren't any rules for what sort of hitter a DH should be, or any prior examples to go by; although as a purely offensive position, it was probably inevitable it would soon be dominated by older, lumbering guys who could still hit for some power. In that sense, Johnson -- 34 years old in '73, never much defensively anyway, probably out of breath all the time from the chain-smoking -- was something of an early prototype.

I'm looking forward to the follow-up article. I'm not a huge Finley fan, but he was a fascinating guy, and his teams were always interesting to watch, from afar. One of my favorite things to do is go back and look at all the former good-to-great players from other teams Finley would run through there towards the end of their careers ... Matty Alou, Willie McCovey, Jesus Alou, Rico Carty, Cesar Tovar, Billy Williams, Tommy Harper, Ron Fairly, Jim Perry, Stan Bahnsen, Denny McLain, Joel Horlen, etc., etc. I suppose a bit like the Raiders, as well.

Finley was indeed a marketing genius of sorts, but you have to note that in all those years the A's were piling up championships, their top attendance wasn't even 1.1 million. And yet as soon as he sold the team in 1980 it began to draw much better (1.3M in the 1981 strike season and 1.7M the next year, in a 94 loss season), even though it never achieved the artistic heights of the early 70's. Part of me blames the Oakland fans for their non-support of a great and colorful team, but part of me also blames that dreadful Coliseum, which Finley made into one of the worst baseball experiences in the Majors in many, many ways. In terms of marketing, he knew about gimmicks and building a team, but he always neglected the basics of customer service. And this was reflected in the A's consistently low attendance under his ownership.

I earlier compared Finley to Bill Veeck, but Finley's three World Series champions combined didn't draw that much better than Veeck's 1948 Indians. And give Veeck -- who, unlike Finley, knew something about customer service -- the talent of those A's when he owned the White Sox, and dear old Comiskey would have drawn at least 2.5 million a year in that era.

Finley was a promoter who obviously read Veeck as in Wreck, but never took away the central philosophy. I made that point to a woman in the front office (and loaned her my Veeck book) in 1978. She and the accountant were the only two members of the front office at that point. Finley had always run things on a shoestring, but that was the low point -- he had even fired his cousin Carl by then. I never did get the book back, but she gave me a stack of baseball cards in her desk that fans had sent in for autographs. Charlie had decreed that they just get rid of them.

Wow, you think about the way some franchises turn over... the A's GM right before Beane was Alderson, and before that, it was Billy Martin. Three GMs in 23 years! The Blue Jays, with Gillick, Ash, and Ricciardi, have also had only 3 GMs in that period. Anyone else? Ah, yes, the Royals, with Schuerholz, Robinson, and Baird. The Braves, Mullen, Cox, Schuerholz. And, that's it.

Comments on Part 2 would be appriciated...

Ode to the Crazy Maverick, Finley (Part 2)

Finley screws Catfish, and Catfish shows the world what kind of salaries players could make in free agency

Finley continued to sign great players that had made the run possible. Not content with just signing them, they had to have colorful nicknames. Johnny Lee Odom had become "Blue Moon" Odom. When it came time to sign another pitcher, Finley came up with another one.

"Do you have a nickname?" he asked.

"No sir," replied the pitcher.

"Well, to play baseball you have to have a nickname. What do you like to do?"

The A's have been one of the most interesting franchises in sports for the last 35 years. From Finley to "Billyball" to "Bash Brothers" to "Moneyball". How many teams can claim such a colorful and often successful heritage?
I guess the difference between Veeck and Finley is Veeck genuinely liked people. Finley wanted people to act like sheep as he expunded on Charles O Finley. But Veeck would have figure out a way to draw 2.5 million to a three-peat champion. Hopefully without the "Disco Demolition" idea that must have been inspired by Nazi book burnings of the 1930s.
"Reggie Jackson said Finely treats his black players like n******. I told Reggie not to feel worried or hurt; he treats his white players like n****** too." Dave Duncan.

The A's have been one of the most interesting franchises in sports for the last 35 years.

Speaking personally, they are the most interesting franchise in the history of the American League. They certainly made the Detroit Tigers I grew up with seem bland and uninteresting. The Athletics, the Tigers and the Blue Jays (for different reasons) have been the AL franchises I've been a fan of over nearly 40 years of baseball watching.

Hopefully without the "Disco Demolition" idea that must have been inspired by Nazi book burnings of the 1930s.

Veeck's best idea! At the time I was very happy someone was taking a stand against that awful music. Mid 90s London was a very bad time for me, with ABBA and Disco revivals driving me out of clubs. Thankfully I discovered vallenatos and cumbias, and World Music generally.

I would repeatedly clash with the folks with the Marketing degrees who would want to analyze this, and focus group

I sympathize greatly with Harvey's condemnation of large meetings (although most highly promoted employees I've known are great fans of the conference table) but the Marketing Degreeers would probably have avoided those gestures of Finley's that alienated fans like me. All that theoretical training is all about learning how to offend the fewest number of people, not about attracting attention at any cost.

Blue was both the MVP and the Cy Young for the 1971 AL season, and he also won the 1978 NL Cy Young award.

Gaylord Perry won the 1978 NL Cy Young Award.


Sorry about that. Blue won the 1978 Sporting News's NL Pitcher of the Year Award, and I forgot that he hadn't also won the Cy Young. Their stats were virtually identical other than Perry's 21-6 vs. Blue's 18-10.

Repeated for page 2...

Comments on Part 2 would be appriciated...

Ode to the Crazy Maverick, Finley (Part 2)

Finley screws Catfish, and Catfish shows the world what kind of salaries players could make in free agency

Finley continued to sign great players that had made the run possible. Not content with just signing them, they had to have colorful nicknames. Johnny Lee Odom had become "Blue Moon" Odom. When it came time to sign another pitcher, Finley came up with another one.

"Do you have a nickname?" he asked.

"No sir," replied the pitcher.

"Well, to play baseball you have to have a nickname. What do you like to do?"

The next day, Kuhn forbid the Yankees and the Red Sox from playing their newly acquired players. Allowing them to play would send a signal that pennants could be bought outright, and that was something that would create a travesty of the game.

Something I wondered about at the time was how Kuhn could draw this conclusion. Didn't teams in the distant past used to sell players on when they needed to? Wasn't that how Connie Mack operated to a degree? Was Kuhn's judgment clouded by his dislike of Finley in this matter? (And what did the Bewigged Satan have to say about it? He seems to have been silent over the similar antics of his relative Flor-Lor with the Marlins.)

Although I don't agree with Maury's conclusion, I have certainly enjoyed this two-parter. Finley was an important owner in baseball history, for reasons apparent when one reads these articles. Congratulations to Maury for recognizing that baseball fans of more youthful vintage might need a little reminder about a key personality of the 1960s and 1970s.

Defending Bowie Kuhn is something I do with the same lack of enthusiasm I had for drinking the gallon of laxative before a colonoscopy. But in the cases of the Florida Marlins they are getting young players in return. They may not pan out but they are getting a future. Kuhn was worried Finley would simply pocket the money and not improve his team. Peter Gammons was just starting to cover baseball and he says the initial trades were for young players and cash (Rudi for Rick Miller and cash, for example). But Finley decided he wanted just the money. Gammons says the trades would have held up if there were young players involved. Most of Connie Mack's trades in the 1930s did have players coming in return (except Al Simmons).
I forget the details but at the time Dick Young argued Finley's sale was bad but the New York Nets selling Julius Erving to Philadelphia was okay..something like the Nets were getting the money over several years. Dick Young I want to defend even less than Bowie Kuhn.
The question is what Finley would have done with $3.5 million in selling Rudi, Fingers and Blue. I don't know what team payrolls were at the time but a team like the Yankees must have been under $5 million. Finley did love to win, would he have tried to sign free agents if he had the money?

Veeck's best idea! At the time I was very happy someone was taking a stand against that awful music. Mid 90s London was a very bad time for me, with ABBA and Disco revivals driving me out of clubs. Thankfully I discovered vallenatos and cumbias, and World Music generally.

Tsk, tsk. There is nothing inherently wrong with disco. Of course Sturgeon's Law applies (as it does to everything, including cumbia), but Chic, KC and The Sunshine Band, and The Trammps (OTTOMH) were great bands that made top-notch music. Donna Summer and the Bee Gees were great too. It was more of a singles oeuvre, for sure, but there were some really great singles.

There's far more unlistenable punk music than disco. This is a fact borne out by independent laboratory testing.

Fun article, Mr. Brown. This makes me want to read Bruce Markusen's book, actually. Whets the appetite.

There's far more unlistenable punk music than disco

Two sides of a horrid 1970s coin. Although if you made me listen to one or the other or else drink a gallon of laxative, I'd take the disco.

I'd bring up the cocaine off the clit story again

Eeeyew! I'd really rather you didn't.