Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 - February 19, 1996), born in Ensley, Alabama, was an American businessman who is best remembered for his tenure as the flamboyant owner of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. Finley was a semi-pro baseball player in Indiana who had his career cut short in 1946 by a bout with tuberculosis that nearly killed him. Finley then made his fortune in the insurance business, being among the first to write group medical insurance policies for those in the medical profession. February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Ensley is a large community of Birmingham, Alabama, United States that was once a separate and thriving industrial city. ... Major league affiliations American League (1901–present) West Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 9, 27, 34, 42, 43, (As) Name Oakland Athletics (1968–present) Kansas City Athletics (1955-1967) Philadelphia Athletics (1901-1954) (Referred to as As) Ballpark McAfee Coliseum (1968–present) a. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A view of the playing field at Busch Memorial Stadium, St. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... The following are the baseball events of the year 1946 throughout the world. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. ...

Finley's Follies: the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics

Charlie Finley

Finley first attempted to buy the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954, but American League owners instead approved the sale of the team to Arnold Johnson, who moved the A's to Kansas City for the 1955 season. He later made an unsuccessful bid to buy the expansion Los Angeles AL franchise in 1960. (The franchise was purchased by Gene Autry and named the Los Angeles Angels.) Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 53 KB) Summary Source was the 1976 Oakland Athletics Yearbook. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 53 KB) Summary Source was the 1976 Oakland Athletics Yearbook. ... The following are the baseball events of the year 1954 throughout the world. ... American League The American League (or formally the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States of America and Canada. ... Arnold M. Johnson (1906 - 1960) was a American industrialist, businessman and sportsman, who purchased the storied but financially unsound Philadelphia Athetics baseball club and moved it to Kansas City, Missouri, in the autumn of 1954. ... Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ... The following are the events of the year 1955 that happened world-wide throughout the sport of baseball. ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: , State California County Los Angeles County Settled 1781 Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... Gene Autry. ... Major league affiliations American League (1961–present) West Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 11, 26, 29, 30, 42, 50 Name Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2005–present) Anaheim Angels (1997-2004) California Angels (1965-1996) Los Angeles Angels (1961-1965) Ballpark Angel Stadium of Anaheim (2004–present) a. ...

On December 19, 1960, Finley purchased a controlling interest in the Kansas City Athletics from Johnson's estate (Johnson having died in March of that year); he then bought out the minority owners a year later. Finley quickly started to turn the franchise around, refusing to make deals with the New York Yankees (for which the Athletics had been criticized) and searching for unheralded talent. After being told by manager Ed Lopat about the Yankees' success being attributable to the dimensions of Yankee Stadium, he built the "K.C. Pennant Porch" in right field, which brought the right field fence in Kansas City Municipal Stadium to match Yankee Stadium's dimensions exactly. League officials forced him to move the fences back after two exhibition games. Finley then ordered a white line to be painted on the field at the original "Pennant Porch" distance, and ordered the public address announcer to tell the crowd, "That would have been a home run in Yankee Stadium" whenever a fly ball was hit past that line. The practice was quickly abandoned after the announcer was calling more "would-be" home runs for the opposition than the A's. Major league affiliations American League (1901–present) East Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 23, 32, 37, 44, 49 Name New York Yankees (1913–present) New York Highlanders (1903-1912) Baltimore Orioles (1901-1902) (Also referred to as... Edmund Walter Eddie Lopat (originally Lopatynski) (June 21, 1918 - June 15, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. ... This is about the stadium the New York Yankees currently play in. ... Kansas City Municipal Stadium was a baseball and football stadium that formerly stood in Kansas City, Missouri. ...

He also started micromanaging the team, ordering players to change their style of play and firing any manager or releasing any player who publicly disagreed with him. When third baseman Sal Bando departed the team as a free agent and was asked if it had been difficult to leave the Athletics, Bando responded, "Was it hard to leave the Titanic?" In business management, micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of their employees, generally used as a pejorative term. ... New York Yankees manager Joe Torre returning to the dugout (September 2005). ... Sal Bando, born Salvatore Leonard Bando (February 13, 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio), is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City & Oakland Athletics (1966-76) and Milwaukee Brewers (1977-81). ... For other uses, see Titanic. ...

He replaced the A's traditional elephant mascot with a live mule. "Charlie-O" was paraded about the outfield, into cocktail parties and hotel lobbies, and into the press room after a large feeding to annoy reporters. The mule died in 1976, at age 20. Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea... Millie, once mascot of the City of Brampton, is now the Brampton Arts Councils representative. ... A barren of mules. ... Charlie-O the Mule Charlie-O the Mule was the mascot used by the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland As from 1963 to 1976. ... A cocktail. ... This article is currently under construction // This year in baseball Events January 14 - Ted Turner completes the purchase of 100 percent of the Atlanta Braves. ...

Finley also made changes to the team's uniforms. In 1963, Finley changed the team's colors to "Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold and Wedding Gown White." In 1967, he replaced the team's traditional black cleats with white ones. In 1970 (after the move to Oakland) he added an "apostrophe-s" to the traditional "A" logo, and began phasing out the team name "Athletics" in favor of "A's." (When Mickey Mantle saw the A's' green-and-gold uniforms, he jeered, "They should have come out of the dugout on tippy-toes, holding hands and singing," according to Baseball Digest.) The U.S. Bullion Depository at Ft. ... Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995) was an American baseball player who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. ...

In 1964, Finley signed a contract to move the A's from Kansas City to Louisville, Kentucky, to play at Cardinal Stadium, but the other American League owners voted down the move. With poor attendance in Kansas City, approval was eventually given to move the franchise to Oakland, California, for the 1968 season, after which the team became a dynasty, winning three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974 and five straight division titles from 1971 to 1975. A major embarrassment for baseball resulted from Finley's actions during the 1973 World Series. Finley forced player Mike Andrews to sign a false affidavit saying he was injured, after the reserve infielder committed two consecutive errors in the 12th inning of Oakland's Game Two loss to the New York Mets. Other A's, and manager Dick Williams, rallied to Andrews' defense, and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn forced Finley to reinstate Andrews. Williams resigned after winning the Series, and Finley replaced him with Alvin Dark. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... “Louisville” redirects here. ... Cardinal Stadium is the name of a former college and minor league baseball and college football stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... The following are the baseball events of the year 1968 throughout the world. ... For other events named World Series, see World Series (disambiguation). ... The 1972 World Series sent the Oakland Athletics against the Cincinnati Reds, with the Athletics winning the Series in a matchup of what were to become the two premier MLB dynasties of the 1970s. ... The 1974 World Series matched the two-time defending champion Oakland Athletics against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... This article is currently under construction // This year in baseball Events January 31 - The new Special Veterans Committee selects seven men for enshrinement to the Hall of Fame: former players Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Chick Hafey, Harry Hooper, Joe Kelley, Rube Marquard, and executive George Weiss. ... This article is currently under construction // This year in baseball Events January-June January 23 - Ralph Kiner is elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. ... The 1973 World Series matched the defending champion Oakland Athletics against the New York Mets, with the As winning in seven games to repeat as World Champions. ... Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943 in Los Angeles, California) is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1966-70), Chicago White Sox (1971-73) and Oakland Athletics (1973). ... An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant), and witnessed (as to the veracity of the affiants signature) by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public. ... In baseball, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance should have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder. ... Major league affiliations National League (1962–present) East Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 14, 37, 41, 42 Name New York Mets (1962–present) Ballpark Shea Stadium (1964–present) Polo Grounds (1962–1963) Major league titles World Series titles (2) 1969 â€¢ 1986 NL Pennants (4) 1969 â€¢ 1973 â€¢ 1986 â€¢ 2000... Richard Hirschfeld Williams (born May 7, 1929 in St. ... The Commissioner of Baseball is the title of the highest office in Major League Baseball. ... Bowie Kent Kuhn (born October 28, 1926 in Takoma Park, Maryland) was commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969 to September 30, 1984. ... Alvin Ralph Dark (born January 7, 1922 in Comanche, Oklahoma), nicknamed Blackie and The Swamp Fox, is a former shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball. ...

In 1976, after losing Catfish Hunter to free agency, Finley started dismantling his club, attempting to sell Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers to the Boston Red Sox and Vida Blue to the Yankees. Bowie Kuhn decided to invoke the rarely-used "best interests of baseball" clause in order to void Finley's sales. Finley, in turn, hired famed sports attorney Neil Papiano and proceeded to file a $10 million dollar restraint-of-trade lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball. This lawsuit is widely recognized as one of the most famous, influential and precedent-setting sports-related cases in the history of American jurisprudence. James Augustus Catfish Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999) was a prolific Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher between 1965 and 1979. ... Joseph Oden Rudi (born September 7, 1946 in Modesto, California) is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City & Oakland Athletics (1967-76, 1982), California Angels (1977-80) and Boston Red Sox (1981). ... Roland Fingers giving his trademark handlebar moustache a twirl. ... Major league affiliations American League (1901–present) East Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 1, 4, 8, 9, 27, 42 Name Boston Red Sox (1908–present) Boston Americans (1901-1907) Ballpark Fenway Park (1912–present) Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds (1901-1911) Major league titles World Series titles (6) 2004... Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. ... Bowie Kent Kuhn (born October 28, 1926 in Takoma Park, Maryland) was commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969 to September 30, 1984. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Philosophers of law ask what is law? and what should it be? Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. ...

Finley was in the process of rebuilding the team again in 1981 when he sold the team to Walter A. Haas, Jr., president of Levi Strauss & Co.. The following are the baseball events of the year 1981 throughout the world. ... Walter A. Haas, Jr. ... Levi Strauss & Co. ...

Finley was fond of gimmicks, dressing his players in non-traditional green and gold uniforms and offering his players $300 bonuses to grow moustaches. For star relief pitcher Rollie Fingers, the handlebar moustache he grew for Finley became a trademark. After signing pitcher Jim Hunter, he nicknamed him "Catfish," even fabricating boyhood stories about Hunter to give him press appeal. Finley refused to sign then-prospect Don Sutton to a contract, simply because Sutton didn't have a flashy nickname. He introduced ball girls (one of whom, the future Debbi Fields, went on to found Mrs. Fields' Original Cookies, Inc.), and advocated night games for the World Series to increase fan interest. Finley also was an outspoken advocate of the designated hitter rule, which he pushed until it was adopted by the American League. He suggested many other innovations that were tried and rejected for various reasons, including: Edgar Allan Poe had a simple moustache. ... Example of a handlebar moustache A handlebar moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy, often graspable, extremities. ... Donald Howard Sutton (born April 2, 1945 in Clio, Alabama) is a former Major League Baseball player and current television sportscaster. ... Recent photograph of Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. ... The Mrs. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ...

• Orange baseballs - Tried in a few exhibition games, hitters found it too hard to pick up the spin.
• A three-ball walk and two-strike strikeout - Tried in spring training one year, he thought it would lead to games with more action. Instead the result was more walks and longer games.
• A mechanical rabbit that would pop up behind home plate and deliver new balls to the umpire - Finley installed one, which he named "Harvey," at the A's home ballparks in Kansas City and Oakland, but the idea never caught on anywhere else and was dropped by the A's after 1969.
• A designated runner - This idea was rejected for several reasons by Major League Baseball, and Finley was so upset at the rejection of the rule that he voted against his own Designated Hitter rule. However, the rejection didn't stop Finley from experimenting on his own in 1974, hiring a college sprinter named Herb Washington exclusively to pinch run and steal bases. Washington stole 29 bases, but was caught stealing 18 times and frequently picked off by opposing pitchers. He was let go after shortly into his second season.
• Hired MC Hammer as Executive Vice President when he was just a teenager to be his "eyes and ears."

Despite these gimmicks and various other promotions during Finley's ownership of the Athletics, the A's were a mediocre draw at best during the 20 years of his ownership, both in Kansas City and in Oakland, despite winning five divisional championships and three World Series in the latter venue. Average yearly attendance for Finley-owned teams was just under 743,000. The high-water mark for attendance came in 1975, when 1,075,518 came through the turnstiles. Four years later, in 1979, only 306,783 fans bothered to attend as the A's fell to 54-108, by far the worst record in the AL West, and only one game better than the Toronto Blue Jays, who were in their third season after joining the AL in 1977. In baseball statistics, a base on balls (BB), also called a walk, is credited to a batter and against a pitcher when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. ... Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn strikes out swinging to Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz (not pictured). ... Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. ... Harvey is a play by Mary Chase. ... This article is currently under construction // This year in baseball Events January 16 - The Baseball Writers Association of America elects former New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford to the Hall of Fame. ... Herbert Lee (Hurricane Herb) Washington (born November 16, 1951 in Belzoni, Mississippi) became one of the worlds most celebrated sprinters as a student-athlete at Michigan State University. ... The all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson, swipes third in 1988. ... MC Hammer (born Stanley Kirk Burrell on March 30, 1962) is an American MC who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s, known for his dramatic rise to and fall from fame and fortune, his trademark parachute pants, and for leaving a lasting influence on hip hop culture... Major league affiliations American League (1977–present) East Division (1977–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 42 Name Toronto Blue Jays (1977–present) Ballpark Rogers Centre (1989–present) a. ...

The Finley era in baseball came to an end after the 1980 season. His wife filed for divorce, and would not accept part of a baseball team in a property settlement. After a deal to move the Athletics to Denver fell though, he sold the team to San Francisco clothing manufacturer Walter A. Haas, Jr., then president of Levi Strauss & Co.. Nickname: Location of Denver in Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Colorado City-County Denver (coextensive) Founded [1] November 22, 1858 Incorporated November 7, 1861 Government  - Type Strong Mayor/Weak Council  - Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area [1]  - City & County  154. ... Walter A. Haas, Jr. ... Levi Strauss & Co. ...

Other sports ventures

Finley purchased the Oakland Seals of the National Hockey League in 1970, renaming the team the California Golden Seals. After finding no buyers for the team, it was eventually taken over by the league in 1974. In 1972, Finley purchased the Memphis Pros of the American Basketball Association, changing the team's name to the Memphis Tams, the name being an acronym for Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. The Tams were taken over by the ABA in 1974 and renamed the Memphis Sounds. In both cases, the team's colors were changed by Finley to Kelly green and gold. Both teams were abysmal failures, both at the box office and on the ice or court, respectively. The Oakland Seals were a team in the National Hockey League (NHL). ... “NHL” redirects here. ... The Memphis Pros was the name of a franchise in the American Basketball Association. ... For the league that began in 1999, see American Basketball Association (2000-). The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a professional basketball league founded in 1967, and eventually merged, in part, with the National Basketball Association (NBA). ...

Indiana legend

Finley maintained his homes in Chicago and LaPorte, Indiana, a small town 60 miles east of Chicago, even as he owned the Oakland A's. Even though he would make frequent trips to Oakland, he would run the team from the Midwest, earning more derision as an absentee owner. Still, Finley was popular in his hometown of LaPorte, where he remained involved in the community late into his life. Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

While Finley was building a championship team in Oakland, the LaPorte High School baseball team was becoming a powerhouse. Finley would send the team equipment every season, including the white shoes the Oakland A's made famous and that the LaPorte High School team would use until the late 1990s.

Finley would occasionally throw a party whenever the A's would be in Chicago to play the White Sox. He bused the players to LaPorte ("God, we hated that," Bando told Sports Illustrated in 1999) and his local friends would mingle with the likes of Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The first issue of Sports Illustrated, August 16, 1954, showing Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Mathews at bat in Milwaukee County Stadium. ...

The Kansas City Beatles Concert

When Finley owned the Kansas City Athletics, he promised the people of Kansas City that he would bring The Beatles to play in Kansas City's Municipal Stadium during the group's first tour of North America in the summer of 1964. Finley visited the group's manager, Brian Epstein, in San Francisco on August 19, 1964, where the Beatles were playing the first date of the tour. He told Epstein that he was disappointed that Kansas City was not among the group's itinerary, and offered first $50,000 and then $100,000 if the Beatles would schedule a concert in the Missouri city. Epstein refused, pointing out that on the only free date available, September 17, the band was scheduled for a day of rest in New Orleans. Finley left disappointed, but again encountered Epstein in Los Angeles a week later. Epstein again rejected Finley's offer of $100,000, nothing that the band wanted to use their only day off to "explore the traditional home of jazz." Undetered, Finley tore up the $100,000 check and wrote a new one for $150,000. Astonished, Epstein excused himself to talk to the group. John Lennon speaking for his bandmates replied, "We'll do whatever you want." Satisfied that, in exchange for forfeiting their only day off, the Beatles had earned what at the time was the highest fee ever for a musical concert, a staggering $4,838 per minute, Epstein accepted Finley's check. Although Finley is usually remembered by the people of Kansas City as the man who provided mediocre baseball while attempting to abandon the city for a more promising market, it should also be kept in mind that he did deliver on his promise to bring the Beatles to Kansas City. The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. ... Brian Samuel Epstein, born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England (19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967), was an English businessman best known as the manager of The Beatles. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ...

Source: Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles Live!: The Ultimate Reference Book (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1986), 168-69.

Quote

• Sweat plus sacrifice equals success.

External links

• Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile
• BaseballLibrary - profile and career highlights