Here They
Are in All Their Glory!
The
Uniforms of the Oakland A’s
Bask in the Tradition. Bask
in the Memories.
Titled “The Color Of
Baseball” and Licensed by Major League Baseball,
the Artwork is available in two framed
presentations:
An eye-catching framed-and-matted print
measuring 12” x 21” that sells for only $52 each—which is an exceptional
value for a fully assembled Artpiece of this size. And a dramatic 19” x 39” triple-matted high-quality print (a
Letter of Authenticity is included) that is limited to an edition size of only
299 and sells for the discounted cost of $399.
Please note your Artwork will arrive at your
door in 7 to 10 days when you place your order. And needless to say, there is a 30-day full moneyback
guarantee. In addition, The
Greatest-Scapes pays all shipping costs and any required sales tax!
The Greatest-Scapes also offers the option of
an interest-free Extended Payment Plan for credit card orders. For the $52 framed print, you can pay $26.00
upfront and the balance of $26.00 thirty days later. While the $399 framed Limited Edition can be purchased with an
initial $133, and payments of $133 billed thirty and sixty days later.
To phone in your credit
card order, please call us at 1-800-786-3022 anytime between 10am and 6pm
(Eastern) Monday through Friday. You
can also mail in your order, payable to The Greatest-Scapes, to: The Greatest-Scapes/P.O. Box
5548/Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Please
include your shipping address and specify which Artwork(s) you’re ordering and
how many. And please don’t hesitate to
call us toll-free if you ever have any questions or would like any additional
information.
For your convenience, you can print out our
Order Form.
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Order Form
And this Artwork evokes an unmistakably
Classic quality. Indeed, it will look
at home next to a diploma or a work of fine art. Whether you hang it on a wall or lean it on a shelf or mantle,
the Artwork will make a striking impression.
Please keep in mind, though, the visuals
depicted here on the website simply can not do justice to the detail and
quality of the actual Artwork.
Please note the uniform images shown are
produced from hand-painted watercolor paintings. The publisher chose this route, rather than photographs, because
in many cases original jerseys no longer exist, even at the various halls of
fame. In addition, a more consistent
look and feel for the uniforms is achieved by painting them, and allows for a
higher level of detail than a photograph in some cases.
Here, then, is a detailed description of the
12” x 21” Artpiece that sells for only $52 each. It consists of a 5” x 15” paper print that is housed in a black
frame with a textured black mat. The
black mat has a white groove cut into it, thus adding depth and beauty to the
piece. Weighing approximately four
pounds, the Artwork is protected by unbreakable Plexiglas and includes a
“hanger” on the back to allow for easy hanging. The black frame—and especially the textured black mat with
white groove—makes this a truly stunning Artpiece.
The above is an example of
the 12” x 21” Artpiece, which depicts the Washington Redskins.
**************************************
As for the 19” x 39” Limited Edition Artwork,
please note each Artwork is printed on 115-lb Garda Gloss stock and then
mounted to avoid any rippling effects.
As for its matting and framing, the Limited Edition is triple-matted in
an acid-free framing style. The outer
mat is a rich, black textured mat with white core. The middle and inner mat colors have been selected to complement
the team’s colors and the overall framed piece. The matting is framed to create a shadow box effect, giving the
entire framed piece a unique three-dimensional look. The frame is an exquisite solid wood frame finished with a rich
black matte texture, chosen to complement all three mats and the print
itself. Finally, the Artpiece is
protected by high-quality framing glass; the total weight of the Artpiece being
approximately 10 pounds.
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The above is
an example of the 19” x 39” Limited Edition Artpiece,
which depicts
the New York Yankees.
Here then is the history of the A’s’ Uniforms …
#1A.
1905 The
Oakland A’s began life in Philadelphia in 1901, which was the first year of the
brand new American League. The team was called the Athletics and they were
under the management of Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy - Connie Mack. The
story of the A’s cannot be told without dwelling for a moment on the legend of
the remarkable Connie Mack, who would retain his position as team manager from
1901 until his retirement at the age of 87 in 1950. 50 years as manager of the
same team – it boggles the mind!!! And for every game the highly respected
Connie Mack wore a suit and tie.
This is a very classic road uniform. The “A”
represents Athletics or A’s. The jersey features a wonderful collar, similar to
a dress shirt. Note also that
even though the jersey has four buttons down the front, this is a “pullover”
style jersey that had to be pulled over the head – this was common in jerseys
throughout baseball at this time. We believe the first major league team to
wear a completely buttoned front jersey (ie one that didn’t have to be pulled
over the head) was the 1909 Phillies, followed by the 1911 Cubs. The pullover
style jersey finally disappeared after the 1939 season (the A’s were the last
team to wear it), but of course pullovers resurfaced in a big way with the
double knit era of the 70’s and 80’s.
Also, notice that
the pants have a center belt loop, which was designed so that the belt buckle
would be worn on the side, not in the front. Players of this era usually wore
the belt buckle to one side to prevent injury when sliding into a base.
The 1905 A’s finished with a record of 92-56,
good for first in the 8 team American League and good enough to send them to
only the second World Series ever played. The first World Series was played in
1903, a series that saw the upstart AL Red Sox beat the National League’s
Pittsburgh Pirates. When the 1904 season ended, John McGraw of the NL’s NY
Giants refused to play the AL Champion Red Sox. But by 1905 it was agreed that
the winners of each league should play each other in the World Series, thus in
1905 it was the Giants vs the A’s.
The best-of-seven series was dominated by
pitching, as every game was won by a shutout. In game 1 the Giants beat the A’s
3-0 in Philly, and in game 2 the A’s returned the favor by beating the Giants
3-0. Game 3 was also in Philly, and the Giants clobbered the A’s 9-0. The
Series shifted back to NY, and the Giants finished the A’s off by 1-0 and 2-0
counts to win the Series 4-1. The A’s struggled mightily at the plate, hitting just
.161, and even more remarkable was the fact that the Giants’ pitching staff
combined for a perfect 0.00 ERA over the 5 games!!!
Note: This was an era when the pitchers ruled
the game. The A’s own Harry Davis hit 8 home runs all season and won the AL’s
home run crown. His 8 dingers almost matched the entire season output for the 2nd
place White Sox who hit just 11 homers. In fact, Davis won the AL’s home run
crown four straight years – in 1904 he hit 10; in 1905 he hit 8; in 1906 he
ballooned to 12; and in 1907 he hit 8.
#1B.
1910 The
major difference between this home uniform and the 1905 uniform is the color of
the “A”, which is now navy blue, not red. Other than that, the jersey is still
a pullover style jersey with a full collar, and the belt loops are designed so
that the belt buckle would normally be worn off to one side.
The A’s moved into a new home, Shibe Park in
1909, and would stay there until 1954 when the team moved to Kansas City. After
finishing the 1909 season with a 95-58 record, 3 ½ games back of the Tigers,
the 1910 A’s got the job done with a 102-48 record – 14 ½ games ahead of the
second place Yankees (then known as the Highlanders).
Thus the 1910 A’s brought the World Series to
Shibe Park in the ballpark’s second season. Philadelphia faced the Chicago Cubs
in the best-of-seven World Series. Led by Eddie Collins, Frank Baker and Danny
Murphy, the Athletics hammered the Cubs pitching – the A’s batted .316, a
Series record that held until 1960. The A’s scored an average of 7 runs a game,
but perhaps even more amazing is the fact that they used only 2 pitchers in the
entire Series. Jack Coombs started games one, three and five, winning them by
9-3, 12-5 and 7-2 scores. “Chief” Bender started the other 2 games, winning
game two 4-1 (losing the shutout in the 9th) and losing game four
4-3 in the 10th. The A’s won the 1910 World Series 4 games to 1, and
then went on to win it all again both in 1911 and 1913.
#2.
1914 A
word about the pinstripes as seen in this 1914 home uniform. The A’s wore
pinstripes on their road uniforms from 1909 to 1912. They took a pinstripe
sabbatical in 1913, then reintroduced them in 1914, but this time on their
uniform, as pictured here. It’s interesting to note that they wore pinstripes
on both their home and away uniforms in 1915 and 1916, an unusual uniform
decision. Beginning in 1917 the pinstripes disappeared until 1920, when they
reappeared on the home uniform. 1920’s home uniform was the last time the A’s
would ever wear pinstripes.
As best we can
tell, the first instance of pinstriped uniforms was in 1907. The Boston Braves
road uniform were made from a gray flannel with a fine green pinstripe. Later
that same year the Cubs had a new gray uniform with fine pin striping made for
the World Series - they wore it for the World Series opener in Chicago and were
later reprimanded by the league for not wearing a white uniform at home. The
Yankees, most often associated with pinstripe uniforms, first wore a pinstriped
uniform for one year at home in 1912 (the New York Times wrote about their 1912
home opener “The Yankees presented a natty appearance in their new uniforms of
white with black pin stripes”), then every year from 1915 to the present.
After going 99-53 and winning the American
League for the 4th time in 5 years, the 1914 A’s fell victim to “The
Miracle Braves” in what has been called the greatest upset in World Series
history. The Braves were called “The Miracle Braves” because they came from
last place mid season to win the NL pennant by a stunning 10.5 games over the 2nd
place Giants. And although the Braves’ roster was stocked with “rejects”, they
kept right on rolling over the heavily favored A’s in 4 straight games – this
in spite of the fact that Philly featured the “$100,000 Infield” of 1B Stuffy
McInnis, 2B Eddie Collins, SS Jack Barry and 3B Frank “Home Run” Baker.
And after having had such a remarkable run (4
pennants in 5 years and 3 World Series Championships (1910, 1911, 1913), the
A’s lost ¾’s of the $100,000 infield and crashed back to earth in 1915 with a
frightening 43-109 record.
#3.
1927 From
1920 to 1927 the A’s wore an elephant symbol on the front of their home jersey
instead of the traditional “A” or “Athletics”. This was the only period that
the A’s wore the elephant symbol on the front of their jersey, although the
elephant has remained part of the A’s logo repertoire right to the present day.
And the origin of the elephant? In 1902 the
New York Giants’ Manager John McGraw dismissed the A's with contempt, calling
them "The White Elephants". Connie Mack, the A’s manager, liked the
idea and adopted the white elephant as the team’s logo. In 1905 when the two
teams met in the World Series, Mack presented McGraw with a white elephant toy,
which he accepted in good nature, and the A’s have been associated with
elephants ever since – right up to the present day.
Note also that this jersey is a full button
front, no longer the pullover style jersey the A’s had previously worn. Note
also the fact that by 1927 the lapel style collar had disappeared.
After some pretty lean years in the late
teens and early 20’s, the A’s were on an upswing. They finished the 1927 season
in 2nd place with a 91-63 record, although still a full 19 games
behind the 110-44 New York Yankees, whose .714 mark represents the best winning
percentage ever complied by a Major League team. In fact, a word on the 1927
Yankees, who were rated the best baseball team ever in “Best and Worst Baseball
Teams of All Time”, written by sports statistician Harry Hollingsworth. The book,
published in 1994, examined statistics and compared the findings of six other
books. The 1927 Yanks had Babe Ruth, who hit 60 homers. The 1927 Yankees had
four pitchers with 18 wins or more: Waite Hoyt 22-7, Wilcey Moore 19-7, Herb
Pennock 19-8 and Urban Shocker 18-6. The 1927 Yankees had four players drive in
100 runs or more: Lou Gehrig 175, Ruth 164, Bob Meusel 103 and Tony Lazzeri
102. The 1927 Yankees had five .300 hitters: Gehrig .373, Ruth .356, Earle
Combs .356, Meusel .337 and Lazzeri .309. And Hall of Famers? The 1927 Yanks
had six: Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri, Combs, Hoyt and Pennock.
No wonder the A’s finished 2nd.
#4A.
1929 The
Philadelphia A’s went back to their traditional capital “A” on the jersey for
both their home and away uniforms beginning in the 1928 season, as we see on
this home uniform. Note also that the center belt loop still remains - this was designed so that the belt buckle
would be worn on the side, not in the front. Players in the first part of the
1900’s usually wore their belt buckle to one side to prevent injury when
sliding into a base.
But let’s talk about the 1929 A’s. After
finishing 2.5 games back of the Yankees in 1928, the 1929 A’s finished 104-46
and won the American League pennant for the first time since 1914.
In fact, the A’s of the late 20’s and early
30’s are considered to be one of the best ball teams of all time – they had to
be to beat the Yankees of that era! The 1929-31 A’s are one of only 4 teams in
baseball history to win 100 games three years in a row. In 1929 they went
104-46; in 1930 they went 102-55; and in 1931 they went 107-45. The three other
teams to win 100 games three years running were the 1942-44 Cardinals, the
1969-71 Orioles and the 1997-99 Braves.
In fact, Sports Illustrated recently rated the
1929-31 A’s as perhaps the best baseball team ever). And sport statistician Harry Hollingsworth, who wrote “Best and
Worst Baseball Teams of All Time” in 1994, examined statistics and compared the
findings of six other books, and rated the 1929 A’s as the third best baseball
team of all time, behind only the previously mentioned 1927 Yankees and the
1939 Yankees. Hollingsworth had the ’29 A’s followed by the 1906 Chicago Cubs;
the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates; the 1936 Yankees; the 1944 St. Louis Cardinals; the
1931 Philadelphia A's and the 1943 Cards.
These A’s teams were led by the likes of
hitters Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie “Double X” Foxx, Al Simmons and Bing Miller,
and pitchers Lefty Grove, George “Moose” Earnshaw and Rube Walberg.
Getting back to the 1929 season, the A’s met
the 98-54 Chicago Cubs in the 1929 World Series. The A’s won games 1 & 2 in
Chicago by 3-1 and 9-3 counts, then lost game three back home by a 3-1 score
despite outhitting the Cubs 9-6. Then in game 4, the A’s were down 8-0 going
into the bottom of the 7th and were in danger of seeing the series
tied. Three outs later the A’s led the game 10 to 8. And two days later, down
2-0 going into the bottom of the 9th, the A’s rallied with 3 to take
the Series 4 games to 1.
#4B.
1930 Pictured
here is a road jersey, which is virtually identical to the home jersey shown in
the 1929 picture. About the only difference is that on the road the A’s wore a
slightly darker jersey.
As mentioned earlier, the A’s of the late
20’s and early 30’s are considered to be one of the best ball teams of all time
- the 1929-31 A’s are one of only 4 teams in baseball history to win 100 games
three years in a row. In 1929 they went 104-46; in 1930 they went 102-55; and
in 1931 they went 107-45. The three other teams to win 100 games three years
running were the 1942-44 Cardinals, the 1969-71 Orioles and the 1997-99 Braves.
Thus for the second year in a row the A’s won
the American League Pennant. This time they face the St. Louis Cardinals in the
1930 World Series. This time out it’s the A’s pitchers who carry the day,
holding the Cards to a collective .200 batting average while racking up a 1.73
team ERA. A’s pitchers Lefty Grove and George Earnshaw each won 2 games, and in
the 3 games Earnshaw pitched, he gave up only 13 hits and struck out 19. The
A’s went on to win their second straight Championship 4 games to 2.
And a brief word about the 1931 A’s, who won
their 3rd straight pennant with a team record 107-45 mark. The 1931
Series pitted the A’s against the Cards for the second straight year. It came
down to a dramatic game 7, played in St. Louis, but this tijme the Cards came
out on top by a 4-2 score, thus denying the A’s their 3rd straight
Championship and an even more certain place in baseball history.
#4C.
1942 The
A’s went through a lot of lean years after their earlier success of the early
teens and late 20’s/early 30’s. In fact, for the last 19 years (1932 – 1950) of
Connie Mack’s absolutely stunning 50 year tenure as A’s manager (1901 - 1950),
they would never again make a post-season appearance.
During the Second
World War, the question is raised, should able-bodied athletes of baseball be
fighting for their country rather than playing baseball? Baseball Commissioner
Landis asked President Franklin D. Roosevelt what to do - here is part of
Roosevelt’s reply: “I honestly feel it would be best for the country to keep
baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work
longer hours and harder than ever before… Here is another way of looking at it
- if 300 teams use 5,000 or 6,000 players, these players are a definite
recreational asset to at least 20,000,000 of their fellow citizens - and that
in my judgment is thoroughly worthwhile.”
Wartime sleeve
patches were worn by all levels of professional baseball teams between 1942 and
1945. A “Health” patch, as seen on this home jersey, was worn during the 1942
season, part of a war-time health and fitness awareness campaign, and from
1943-1945 a “Stars and Stripes” was worn.
As for the ’42 A’s, they finished in the AL
basement for the 3rd straight year, this time with a record of
55-99. A lone bright star was the pitching of Phil Marchildon, who went 17-14
before heading off to war.
#5.
1950 This
home uniform shows a blue “A” with a golden border, a nifty design they wore
for this one brief season. The patch on the left sleeve honors the remarkable
Connie Mack, who in 1950 was managing the A’s for an absolutely unprecedented
50th season. As far as we know, this may be one of the only times a
Major league team has worn a patch honoring a living person. .
The story of the A’s cannot be told without
dwelling for a moment on the legend of the remarkable Cornelius Alexander
McGillicuddy - Connie Mack - who ended up owning the A’s and would retain his
position as team manager from 1901 until his retirement at the age of 87 in
1950. 50 years as manager of the same team – it boggles the mind!!! And for
every game the highly respected Connie Mack wore a suit and tie. It’s hard to
imagine the changes he witnessed, having directed the team from the very first
year of the brand new American League in 1901, through two world wars, right up
to Mickey Mantle’s 1951 rookie season. Even the A’s home – Shibe Park - was
renamed Connie Mack Stadium.
Sadly, perhaps inevitably, in 1954 the Mack
family would sell the club to Arnold Johnson, who moved the team to Kansas City
in time for the 1955 season. Connie Mack died in February 1956 at the age of
94.
Interestingly,
during the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s many teams used zippered jerseys instead of the
more traditional button front jerseys, while a handful of teams wore them well
into the 70’s and even the 80’s. During Connie Mack’s reign the A’s steadfastly
resisted zippers, and in fact are one of only three pre-1977 major league teams
never to have worn zippers, the others being the Yankees and Reds. The 1937
Cubs were the first team to wear a zippered jersey, and as far we can tell the
1988 Phillies were the last to wear one.
And on the field, after three straight above-500
seasons including a terrific 81-73 finish in 1949, the A’s couldn’t do it for
Connie Mack in 1950, and finished the 1950 season in last with a 52-102 mark.
#6.
1956 By
now the A’s are the Kansas City Athletics – new team owner Arnold Johnson moved
the team from Philadelphia to Kansas City prior to the 1955 season. In fact,
the 50’s and 60’s saw a lot of “musical cities” in the world of baseball. The
St. Louis Browns moved to become the Baltimore Orioles in 1954, the Brooklyn
Dodgers moved to become the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958, the New York Giants
became the San Francisco Giants in 1958 and the Milwaukee Braves moved to
become the Atlanta Braves in 1966. And after failing to finish any higher than
6th from 1955 – 1967, the Kansas City Athletics move to Oakland in
1968.
The script style “Athletics” seen on this
road jersey began in 1954 while the team was still in Philly. This script style
replaced the “A” which had been on the A’s jersey continuously since 1928. Note also the “swoosh” underlining the
word “Athletics” - this style was introduced to baseball by the 1932 Cubs, and
has been worn by many teams since then, right up to the present day.
Note also the patch on the sleeve – it shows
an elephant balancing on a baseball holding a bat in its trunk, and the cloth
on the elephant’s back reads “A’s”. Note also that there are belt tunnels
instead of belt loops on the trousers. For those of you unfamiliar with this
term, a belt tunnel is simply a very wide belt loop, typically 4-8 inches in
length instead of the more common 1” wide belt loop.
As mentioned earlier, the A’s struggled on
the field while in KC, and 1956 was no exception as they finished 52-102, worse
than their first year in KC when they finished 63-91. The team’s best seasons
in their 13 years in Kansas City were in 1958 when they finished 73-81, and in
1966 when they finished 74-86. Yikes…
#7.
1969 Hello
Oakland!
The A’s became the second team in baseball to
move to a 3rd city when they moved from Kansas City to Oakland prior
to the 1968 season after previously having been in Philadelphia from 1901 -
1954. (The Boston-Milwaukee-Atlanta Braves were the first 3 city team.) In
fact, the 50’s and 60’s saw a lot of “musical cities” in the world of baseball.
In addition to the A’s moves, the St. Louis Browns moved to become the
Baltimore Orioles in 1954, the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to become the Los Angeles
Dodgers in 1958, the New York Giants became the San Francisco Giants in 1958,
and the Milwaukee Braves became the Atlanta Braves in 1966.
This road uniform is quite colorful and
stands in stark contrast to the previous 69 years of the franchise. The A’s
actually started wearing vests in 1962 while they were still in Kansas City.
1969 was the first year that the Athletics adopted an apostrophe “s” beside the
traditional “A”. Note also that there is a patch sewn onto the jersey under the
team logo – this patch commemorates the 100th anniversary of
professional baseball, and all Major League teams wore the patch in 1969.
Note also the uniform numbers on the front of
the A’s jersey, a practice begun by the A’s in 1963. Uniform numbers first made their
appearance on the front of a uniform in 1952 - the Brooklyn Dodgers were the
first team to wear uniform numbers on the front of their jersey. The Braves
followed suit in 1953, and the Reds joined in beginning in 1956. The 1916
Cleveland Indians actually wore a uniform number on their sleeve, but it wasn’t
until the ’52 Dodgers that the number made it to the front.
It’s amazing what a change of scenery can do
for a team – after never having finished above .500 in the team’s 13 years in
Kansas City, the 1968 Oakland A’s finish 82-80, then in 1969 they improve yet
again with a 88-74 mark, good for 2nd place in the brand new AL West
Division.
Offensively, the A’s were led by 3rd
year player Reggie Jackson (47 home runs and 118 RBI) and Sal Bando (31 dingers
and 113 RBI), and on the mound by Blue Moon Odom who went 15-6 with a 2.92 ERA.
And the A’s early success in Oakland was but
a harbinger of even greater glories just around the corner.
#8A.
1972 The
A’s began the practice of wearing a 3rd uniform as far back as 1966,
something that was far ahead of its time. Unlike today when teams routinely
wear 3rd and even 4th and 5th uniforms as a
means of increasing merchandise revenue, teams used to simply have one uniform
for home games and another for road games.
This 1972 jersey
is of a double-knit style that most major league teams succumbed to during the
70’s and early 80’s. It was a pullover style, made of stretchy, synthetic
material. The pants were called “Sans-a-Belt”’s because the elasticized
waistline eliminated the need for a belt. The 1970 Pirates were the first
double-knit sans-a-belt team, and the Cards and Astros joined them in 1971. By
1975 two thirds of major league teams had succumbed.
Keen observers might note that in 1972 the
A’s only played 155 games instead of the usual 162 – why? On March 30 1972,
Marvin Miller, executive director of the Players' Association, completes his
canvass of players on the issue of a players’ strike. The vote comes in at 663
in favor of a strike, ten against, and two abstentions. Thus on April 6 1972,
for the first time in history, the major-league season fails to open due to a
general player strike. The strike, announced April 1, will erase 86 games from
the major league schedule. The end of the baseball strike is announced on April
13 with an abbreviated schedule to start two days later. And when the season
starts on April 15, Reggie Jackson sports a mustache as the A's top the Twins
4-3 in 11 innings. Jackson is reported to be the first major league player with
facial hair since Wally Schang in 1914.
After losing the 1971 American League
Championship Series to Baltimore in 3 straight games, the 1972 A’s go 92-63 under
2nd year Manager Dick Williams and head back into the post season
for the second year in a row.
In the best-of-five ALCS, the A’s faced the
Detroit Tigers. The A’s won game 1 in dramatic fashion as they scored 2 in the
bottom of the 11th after the Tigers had scored in the top of the
inning, and they cruised to a 5-0 win in game 2 and looked to be on their way
to their first World Series since 1931.
But the next 3 games were in Detroit, and the
Tigers took games 3 & 4 to force a 5th and deciding Game 5. On
the strength of 5 great innings from Blue Moon Odom and 4 strong relief innings
from normal starter Vida Blue, the A’s held on for a 2-1 win and a birth in the
World Series against the powerful Big Red Machine of Cincinnati.
The A’s had little time to celebrate, and two
days after clinching the AL Pennant they opened against the Pete Rose and
Johnny Bench led Cincinnati Reds – and without the services of injured Reggie
Jackson.
In game one in Cincinnati, the A’s Gene
Tenace is the hero, making World Series history by belting two home runs in his
first 2 Series at bats, and leading the A’s to a 3 to 2 win. The A’s win game
two by a narrow 2-1 margin, and head home up two games to none. Billingham
tosses a 3 hit shutout for the Reds as they climb back into the Series in a 2-1
win, but in game four the A’s come back with 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th
to squeeze out a 3-2 win. Four games, all decided by one run.
Game 5 would be no different, with the Reds
scoring a run in the top of the 8th and another in the top of the 9th
for a 5-4 win. Now it was back to Cincinnati for game 6 & it need be, game
7.
In the only non one-run game of the Series,
the Reds clobber the A’s 8-1 and it’s on to game seven. Who else but Gene
Tenace would be the Series hero yet again by driving in 2 RBIs on 2 hits to
give the A’s a 3-2 win and their first Championship since 1930. Hitting .348
with 4 home runs and 9 RBI, catching and playing 1st, Gene Tenace
was named the World Series MVP.
#8B.
1973 The
only change from the previous years home uniform and this home jersey is the
“A”. If you look closely at the left side of the “A” you will see an additional
embellishment that was only on the home jersey this year, but was added to all
the “A”’s in subsequent years. The embellishment? An extra “serif” on the “A”.
In a season that saw Reggie Jackson named as
the American League MVP on the strength of his .293 average, 32 homers and 117
RBI, the A’s once again found themselves on top of the AL West after a 94-68
season.
As was the case in 1971, the Baltimore
Orioles provided the opposition. The A’s would go up 2 games to 1, only to lose
the game four after taking a 4-0 lead into the top of the 7th
inning. After having to play deciding games in both 1972 series, the A’s were
up to the challenge and won game 5 at home by a 3-0 margin behind the 5 hit
pitching performance of A’s pitcher Catfish Hunter. Thus the Athletics won
their second straight Pennant and headed back to the World Series.
This time out the surprising New York Mets
were the opponent. The A’s won game one
in Oakland 2-1, then lost a wild 12 inning affair 10-7 – at 4 hours and 13
minutes it was then the longest game in World Series history. It was now a
best-of-five.
Back to New York, and Oakland won game 3 3-2.
Then the Mets came back and mowed the A’s down 6-1. Tied series, and it was now
a best of three.
The Mets took game 5 2-0 in New York, and
sent the Series back to Oakland. Once again Oakland showed their playoff savvy
by winning game 6 3-1, and it was now a best of one affair.
In Game 7, the fourth straight series played
by the A’s to go the distance, Reggie Jackson and Bert Campaneris hit home runs
with a man on in the bottom of the third, and the A’s held on to beat the Mets
5-2 and win their second straight World Series. Reggie Jackson was also named
the World Series MVP with a .310 average, 3 doubles, a triple, a home run, and
6 RBI. On a side note: A’s pitcher Darold Knowles became the first pitcher ever
to appear in all 7 games of the Series, pitching 6 1/3 innings, allowing no
runs for a 0.00 ERA and 2 saves.
#8C.
1974 Could
it be done again? And could they do it without Manager Dick Williams? Yes, and
Yes.
For the fourth year in a row the A’s won the
AL West, this time with a 90-72 record, good enough for a 5 game lead over
Billy Martin’s Texas Rangers. The Manager was veteran Alvin Dark.
For the 3rd time in 4 years and 2nd
time in a row, the A’s faced the Orioles in the ALCS. And in a pleasant change,
the A’s did not need a deciding game as they knocked off the O’s 3 games to 1
to take the Pennant for the 3rd year in a row.
And for the 3rd time in a row, the
A’s played a different NL Champion – this time they met Walter Alston’s LA
Dodgers - it was Alston’s 21st straight year of managing the Dodgers
(he would go on for two more years). This marked the Dodgers’ first playoff
appearance since 1966.
In a battle of relief pitchers, Rollie
Fingers of the A’s and Mike Marshall of the Dodgers went head to head. Fingers
was the clear winner appearing in all 4 of Oakland’s victories, earning 1 win
and 2 saves. Marshall appeared in all five Dodger games and was credited with
only 1 save.
The A’s won game 1 by a 3-2 score, then the
Dodgers came back in game two with a 3-2 win. Game 3? Game 3 was in Oakland,
and the score was 3-2 in favor of the A’s. Game 4 broke tradition and ended 5-2
for the A’s.
And game 5? Tied at 2 in the 7th,
the A’s Joe Rudi hammered one out of the park off Marshall to make it 3 to 2,
and that’s the way it ended, giving the A’s the Series 4 games to 1. Rollie
Fingers was named the World Series MVP.
This road jersey
is of a double-knit style that most major league teams succumbed to during the
70’s and early 80’s. It was a pullover style, made of stretchy, synthetic
material. The pants were called “Sans-a-Belt”’s because the elasticized
waistline eliminated the need for a belt. The 1970 Pirates were the first
double-knit sans-a-belt team, and the Cards and Astros joined them in 1971. By
1975 two thirds of major league teams had succumbed.
PS The A’s almost made it back to the World
Series in 1975 – they won the AL West with a 98-64 record and earned the right
to face the AL East champion Red Sox. But the Sox ended the A’s remarkable run
by taking the best of fice ALCS 3 games to none.
#9.
1989 After
some lean years in the late 70’s and again in the mid 80’s, the Tony LaRussa
led-A’s clawed their way back to respectability, led in large part by the bash
brothers – Joes Canseco and Mark McGwire. The team had three straight Rookie of
the Year winners in this period - Jose Canseco in ’86, Mark McGwire in ’87, and
Walt Weiss in ’88. In 1987 the A’s finished 81-81, and in 1988 they won the AL
West with a whopping 104-58 record. They made it all the way to the ’88 World
Series before bowing to the Dodgers 4 games to 1.
Then came 1989. The A’s won the AL West with
a 99-63 record, largely the result of a terrific starting foursome of Dave
Stewart (21-9), Mike Moore (19-11), Bob Welch (17-8) and Storm Davis (19-7). In
the ALCS the A’s made short work of the Blue Jays (downing them 4 games to 1 in
the now best-of-seven affair). And thus they made it back to the World Series
for the 13th time and first time since 1974 – the opponents were
their cross town rival San Francisco Giants.
After winning games 1 5-0 and game 2 5-1, the
A’s were poised for a 4 game sweep when mother nature intervened. In an almost
surreal fashion, game three was never played because the Bay Area was rocked by
a mammoth earthquake that fortunately caused only minor damage to Candlestick
Stadium.
The Series was then postponed for ten days.
When the Series continued, A’s players Dave Henderson, Jose Canseco, Tony
Phillips and Carney Lansford tied a Series record of 5 homers in one game
(Henderson hit 2) en route to a 13-7 win. The A’s completed the sweep and won
their 9th World Series by winning game four 9-6. Dave Stewart
(Series MVP) and Mike Moore each won 2 games in the four game sweep, giving the
A’s their first World Series since 1974.
The patch on the right sleeve of this home uniform
is the World Series “Battle of the Bays” logo, one of the first instances in
the modern era where both World Series teams wore a specially made World Series
patch. On the left sleeve is the elephant logo we saw last on the 1956 uniform.
After a tremendous 1990 season where they
went 103-59, the A’s made it back to the World Series in 1990, making it their
3rd straight appearance in the Fall Classic. But they fell 4
straight to the upstart Reds, and the A’s mini dynasty was over.
#10.
1994 This
1994 uniform is a bold change from previous A’s uniforms, and features an all
green jersey with a solid green undershirt. The patch on the right sleeve is in honor of the 125th
year of professional baseball. The patch has the Major League Baseball logo and
“125th Anniversary” on it, and celebrates the Cincinnati Red
Stockings 1869 team that was the first openly professional team and went 65-0
in a nationwide barnstorming season. The patch on the
left sleeve is an elephant wearing sunglasses, with two crossed bats in his
trunk, and a sun in the background. To some this uniform would appear to be a
batting practice or spring training look, but the A’s wore this ensemble in a
number of regular season games in 1994.
And in this, the
year of professional baseball’s 125th Anniversary, there would be no
World Series for the first time in 90 years, when a player lockout in August
1994 put an end to the season. Oddly, the 1994 A’s were sitting in 2nd place in
the four team AL West with a 51-63 record, but were only 1 game back of the 1st
place Texas Rangers. Oh what might have been… What a shame.
#11.
2000 The
A’s are back!
After an 87-75 season in 1999, the A’s win
the AL West in 2000 with a 91-70 record. Staffed with a young, fresh faced and
low salaried squad, the A’s go on to face the high-salaried, two-time defending
World Series Champion New York Yankees in the 1st round of the
playoffs. And in a tremendously exciting playoff, the A’s take the Yankees to
the limit before losing in the dying innings of the 5th and deciding
game. The Yankees then go on to win the ALCS in easier fashion over the
Mariners, and then roll over the Mets in 5 games in the World Series to capture
their 3rd World Championship in a row. In all nine playoff series in
1998, 1999 and 2000, the 2000 A’s gave the Yankees their biggest scare.
Notice the team logo on the undershirt collar
of this home uniform. This is a trend that started in the late 90’s and has by
now been adopted by almost all MLB teams. The patch on the left sleeve
celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Athletics, and features the
traditional A’s elephant (see below for an explanation of the elephant) as well
as “Philadelphia” and “Kansas City” (a homage to the A’s first two home towns).
And the origin of the elephant that the A’s
use as their logo? In 1902 the New York Giants’ Manager John McGraw dismissed
the A's with contempt, calling them "The White Elephants". Connie
Mack, the A’s manager, liked the idea and adopted the white elephant as the
team’s logo. In 1905 when the two teams met in the World Series, Mack presented
McGraw with a white elephant toy, which he accepted in good nature, and the A’s
have been associated with elephants ever since.
***************************************
The Oakland A’s: “The Color of Baseball”
TRADITION…
MEMORIES… CLASSY…
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