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The A's: A Baseball History
This is a straightforward history of the Athletics franchise, from its Connie Mack years in Philadelphia with teams featuring Eddie Collins, Chief Bender, Jimmy Foxx, Mickey Cochrane and Lefty Grove, through its 13 years in Kansas City, under Arnold Johnson and Charles O. Finley, and on to its great years in Oakland--with the three World Series wins featuring Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando and Vida Blue, and the conflicts with Finley--as well as the less successful seasons that followed, then the Series sweep in 1989, and ending up with the unusual operation of the club by Billy Beane.
- GenresSports
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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About the author
David M. Jordan
16 books5 followersA longtime Philadelphia baseball fan, David M. Jordan is a retired attorney and the author of nine books on the Civil War, political events, and baseball.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 8, 2016
The Athletics are a professional baseball team which had dynasties (meaning World Series multiple wins) and dismal seasons. The A’s, as the Athletics wear known, are third in number of World Series wins trailing the Yankees and Cardinals. They have 5 wins in Philadelphia where they started and 4 wins in Oakland where they are now.
For their first 54 years they were managed and owned by the legendary baseball man Connie Mack. He produced two separate dynasties in his tenure. The first was their back to back World Series championships in 1910 and 1911. Those teams had Hall of Fame greats Eddie Plank and Chief Bender on their pitching staffs. They also had second baseman Eddie Collins and third baseman Frank “homerun’ Baker two other great Hall of Fame superstars.
The second dynasty was 1929 and 1930 where Hall of Fame power hitter Jimmy Foxx generally regarded right behind the Yankees Lou Gehrig as the best first baseman of all time. Another Hall of Famer Al Simmons and pitching sensation Lefty Grove fueled one of the greatest teams in the history of baseball.
After these great teams the A’s baseball went in decline where they often finished in last place. When Connie Mack died in 1956 the team was bought by Arnold Johnson who took the A’s and moved them to Kansas City. Johnson was good friends with Yankees owner Dan Topping. The author points out how Johnson would trade his good players to his buddy Mr. Topping for subpar players thus helping the Yankees. Fortunately for A’s Arnold Johnson died in 1960.
That is when the charismatic and odd Charles Findley purchased the team. He left the A’s in Kansas City for 7 years but refused to support the Yankees while there. He then moved the organization to Oakland where he interfered with manager decisions and player disputes. However, he brought winners back to Oakland and started a third A’s dynasty. The 1972 and 1973 team won back to back World Series. Their star players were Hall of Famer slugger Reggie Jackson and pitcher’s Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers. In addition, Phenom pitcher Vida Blue anchored the pitching staff.
Player discontent ran rapid on those great teams and when free agency was adopted in MLB in 1975 many star players left the A’s. And the dynasty crumbled as a result.
The author goes through the A’s history up into 2013. The A’s won their last World Series in 1989. That team featured Rickey Henderson and a yet not steroid ridden Mark Maguire.
Much was made of A’s GM Billy Beane’s unconventional player evaluation tools which garnered much success on a small budget for the A’s but as of yet not produced a World Series championship.
For their first 54 years they were managed and owned by the legendary baseball man Connie Mack. He produced two separate dynasties in his tenure. The first was their back to back World Series championships in 1910 and 1911. Those teams had Hall of Fame greats Eddie Plank and Chief Bender on their pitching staffs. They also had second baseman Eddie Collins and third baseman Frank “homerun’ Baker two other great Hall of Fame superstars.
The second dynasty was 1929 and 1930 where Hall of Fame power hitter Jimmy Foxx generally regarded right behind the Yankees Lou Gehrig as the best first baseman of all time. Another Hall of Famer Al Simmons and pitching sensation Lefty Grove fueled one of the greatest teams in the history of baseball.
After these great teams the A’s baseball went in decline where they often finished in last place. When Connie Mack died in 1956 the team was bought by Arnold Johnson who took the A’s and moved them to Kansas City. Johnson was good friends with Yankees owner Dan Topping. The author points out how Johnson would trade his good players to his buddy Mr. Topping for subpar players thus helping the Yankees. Fortunately for A’s Arnold Johnson died in 1960.
That is when the charismatic and odd Charles Findley purchased the team. He left the A’s in Kansas City for 7 years but refused to support the Yankees while there. He then moved the organization to Oakland where he interfered with manager decisions and player disputes. However, he brought winners back to Oakland and started a third A’s dynasty. The 1972 and 1973 team won back to back World Series. Their star players were Hall of Famer slugger Reggie Jackson and pitcher’s Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers. In addition, Phenom pitcher Vida Blue anchored the pitching staff.
Player discontent ran rapid on those great teams and when free agency was adopted in MLB in 1975 many star players left the A’s. And the dynasty crumbled as a result.
The author goes through the A’s history up into 2013. The A’s won their last World Series in 1989. That team featured Rickey Henderson and a yet not steroid ridden Mark Maguire.
Much was made of A’s GM Billy Beane’s unconventional player evaluation tools which garnered much success on a small budget for the A’s but as of yet not produced a World Series championship.
February 25, 2023
It’s hard to sum up 113 years of a team’s history in 220 pages, but this one does a pretty solid job. As a millennial midwesterner, it’s easy to forget about the A’s; as a lover of baseball history, I love reading about the players on the field and the personalities and politics off the field for a team that has played those 113 years in three cities with nine championships to show for it. Definitely glad I read this one as I prepare to go visit the Oakland Coliseum later this year!
January 2, 2015
Gives a good overall history from all the highs and lows of the A's from 1901 to 2013. I learned a lot more about the Philadelphia squad managed by Connie Mack. Those were some great teams. The 1929 could very well be one of the best teams to take the field. I think there were a lot of similarities between Connie Mack and Billy Beane. I knew the A's had traded Roger Maris to the Yankees but didn't realize all of the other trades with the Yankees while they were in Kansas City. This book also gave me a lot more insight to Charles Finley. Easy to say the guy was a non-conformist and I can see why he got his reputation and why the A's didn't draw while they were winning championships in Oakland in the 70s with the way he treated players and people in general. I think author provides a great angle on the history of the team in Philadelphia. Sometimes the way he worded stats were a little misleading especially when he talks about Daric Barton's career with the A's. But overall a good read for any baseball fan or casual A's fan wanting to learn more about the history of the franchise.
February 15, 2016
This is a good introduction to the history of the A's. Covering 114 seasons in less than 220 pages is quite a feat. Jordan covers all of the major successes and failures of the team, but sacrifices depth for brevity throughout.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews