History of the Oakland Athletics facts for kids
The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball team goes all the way back to 1901. They started in Philadelphia as one of the first teams in the new American League. Later, they moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1955 for 13 seasons. Then, in 1968, they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, specifically Oakland, California. The team faced many challenges with their old stadium in Oakland. In 2023, the MLB owners approved the team's plan to move to Las Vegas, Nevada. With four different homes, the A's have moved more than any other MLB team.
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The Early Years: Philadelphia and Kansas City (1901–1967)
The Athletics began their journey in Philadelphia in 1901. They were known as the Philadelphia Athletics for many years.
Moving to Kansas City
In 1955, the team moved to Kansas City, Missouri. A businessman named Arnold Johnson bought the team and brought them there. Fans were excited to have a major league team. However, it seemed Johnson was more interested in making money than building a winning team. He had business ties with the owners of the New York Yankees, and many good young A's players were traded to the Yankees for older players and cash. This made some people think the A's were almost like a farm team for the Yankees.
Despite this, fans in Kansas City showed up in large numbers at first. In 1955, over 1.3 million people came to watch the Kansas City Athletics at Municipal Stadium. This was a team record for attendance that lasted for many years. But the team didn't win much. In five years under Johnson, they never had a winning record. Johnson did try to improve the team's system for finding and developing new players, which was a positive step. Arnold Johnson passed away in 1960.
The Charlie Finley Era in Kansas City
In 1960, Charlie Finley bought the team. He promised to make big changes and keep the team in Kansas City. He even burned a bus pointed toward New York to show the "special relationship" with the Yankees was over! He also changed the team's colors to "Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold, and Wedding Gown White," which were very bright and unusual for the time. He introduced a real mule named "Charlie O" as the team's mascot. Finley also started calling the team simply "A's" instead of "Athletics."
Finley was a very hands-on owner. He often made decisions that a general manager would normally handle. While the team struggled to win games in the early years under Finley, he invested a lot in the minor league system. This was important for finding and developing future stars. The creation of the Major League Baseball draft in 1965 also helped, as it allowed teams to pick young players directly. The A's, having one of the worst records, got the first pick in the first draft and chose Rick Monday.
Finley Looks to Move the Team
Despite his promises, Finley soon started looking for ways to move the team out of Kansas City. He talked about moving to cities like Dallas-Fort Worth, Louisville, and Oakland. He even threatened to move the team to a "cow pasture" in Peculiar, Missouri! These talks made fans upset, and attendance at games went down.
Finally, in October 1967, Finley announced that the team would move to Oakland, California, for the 1968 season. This move happened even though voters in Kansas City had approved plans for a new baseball stadium. Kansas City was later given a new team, the Kansas City Royals, which started playing in 1969.
Oakland: A New Home and Championships (1968–present)
The Athletics started playing in Oakland in 1968 at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. In their first year, they had a winning record, which was their first since 1952. A's pitcher Catfish Hunter made history on May 8, 1968, by pitching a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins.
The "Swingin' A's" Dynasty (1971–1975)
The early 1970s were a golden age for the Oakland A's. They won their division in 1971 and then went on to win the World Series three years in a row: 1972, 1973, and 1974. This was a huge achievement!
These teams were known as the "Swingin' A's" because of their unique style and colorful uniforms. They wore solid green or gold jerseys, which was very different from other teams at the time. Finley also encouraged players to grow mustaches, which was unusual in baseball then. The team had many star players like Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Bert Campaneris, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Vida Blue. They were known for their strong pitching, good defense, and hitting well when it mattered most.
Even though they won championships, there were often disagreements between owner Charlie Finley and his players. For example, after winning the 1973 World Series, their manager Dick Williams resigned because he was unhappy with Finley's actions. After the 1974 season, star pitcher Catfish Hunter became a free agent and left to play for the Yankees.
Dismantling and Low Points (1975–1980)
After the 1975 season, rules about player contracts changed, allowing more players to become free agents. Finley, wanting to cut costs, tried to sell some of his star players. However, the baseball commissioner stopped some of these sales, saying it wasn't good for the game. As a result, many of the A's championship players left for other teams.
The team's performance dropped sharply. In 1977, just three years after winning the World Series, the A's had one of the worst records in baseball. Attendance at games also fell very low. The Coliseum became known as the "Oakland Mausoleum" because so few people came to watch. In 1979, one game had an announced crowd of only 653 people. The team also rarely had radio or TV contracts, making them hard to follow for fans.
Finley continued to try to sell and move the team, but local officials in Oakland and Alameda County prevented it. In 1980, Finley hired Billy Martin to manage the team. Martin, along with young stars like Rickey Henderson, helped the team improve and finish second in their division. However, Finley eventually had to sell the team due to personal reasons.
The Haas Era: Rebuilding and More Success (1981–1995)
In 1981, Walter A. Haas, Jr., president of Levi Strauss & Co., bought the A's. This was a big change for the team. Haas wanted to improve the team's image and connect with the fans. He brought back the traditional "Athletics" name and the elephant mascot. He also invested heavily in the minor league system, which helped develop new talent.
Under Haas, the A's became one of baseball's most popular teams. They drew many fans to games, setting a club record of over 2.9 million in 1990. The team also became very successful on the field. From 1988 to 1990, the A's won the American League pennant three years in a row. They had star players like Mark McGwire, José Canseco, Rickey Henderson, and pitchers Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley.
Rickey Henderson also broke a major league record in 1982 by stealing 130 bases in one season. In 1991, he broke the career stolen base record.
The highlight of this era was winning the 1989 World Series by sweeping their cross-bay rivals, the San Francisco Giants. This series was unique because it was interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake. The A's also reached the World Series in 1988 and 1990 but lost both times. After 1992, the team started to decline.
The "Moneyball" Years (1996–2004)
After Walter Haas passed away in 1995, the team was sold to new owners who wanted to cut costs. Many star players were traded or left. However, the A's found a new way to succeed under general manager Billy Beane. This approach became famous as "Moneyball".
Instead of spending a lot of money on star players, Beane focused on finding undervalued players using advanced statistics. For example, they looked for hitters with a high on-base percentage and pitchers with good strikeout-to-walk ratios. This allowed them to build competitive teams with a much lower payroll than other teams. In 2002, the A's won 103 games, the most in the American League, while spending much less money than teams like the Yankees.
During this time, the A's had a strong group of young pitchers known as the "Big Three": Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito. They helped the A's make the playoffs for four straight years from 2000 to 2003. However, they always lost in the first round of the playoffs.
A memorable moment from this era was the A's winning 20 games in a row in 2002, an American League record. The 20th win was especially dramatic, as the A's came back from an 11-run deficit to win on a walk-off home run.
The Wolff and Fisher Eras (2005–present)
In 2005, the team was sold to a group led by Lewis Wolff, with John J. Fisher as the majority owner. The A's continued to have ups and downs. In 2006, they made it back to the playoffs and swept the Minnesota Twins in the first round, but then lost to the Detroit Tigers.
The team went through a "rebuilding" phase in the late 2000s, trading away some popular players for younger prospects. In 2010, pitcher Dallas Braden threw a perfect game, the 19th in Major League history.
Under manager Bob Melvin, the A's surprised many by winning the AL West division title in both 2012 and 2013. They were known for their exciting, come-from-behind wins. However, they lost in the first round of the playoffs both years to the Detroit Tigers. In 2014, they had the best record in baseball at the All-Star break but struggled later in the season. They made the playoffs as a wild card team but lost a thrilling game to the Kansas City Royals.
After 2014, the A's went through another rebuilding period, trading away more key players. They finished in last place for several years. In 2018 and 2019, the A's surprised everyone again by winning 97 games each year and making the playoffs as a wild card team. Sean Manaea threw a no-hitter in 2018, and Mike Fiers threw another no-hitter in 2019. In the shortened 2020 season, the A's won their division and advanced past the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Houston Astros.
In 2021, Major League Baseball gave the A's permission to look for a new home, stating that the Oakland Coliseum was no longer suitable. The team traded away many key players before the 2022 season, leading to a very tough year with a 60–102 record.
Relocation to Sacramento and Las Vegas
In April 2023, the Athletics announced plans to move to Las Vegas, Nevada. They bought land for a new stadium, which is planned to be a 33,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof. The Nevada Legislature approved the stadium funding, and MLB officially approved the relocation in November 2023.
The A's finished the 2023 season with the worst record in Major League Baseball. In 2024, the team announced that it would be their final season in Oakland. They will play their home games in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park for three seasons starting in 2025, while their new stadium in Las Vegas is being built. The Athletics are scheduled to play their last game in Oakland on September 26, 2024.
On May 13, 2024, Jenny Cavnar and Julia Morales made history by becoming the first two women to do the play-by-play commentary on television for the same Major League Baseball game, during an A's game against the Houston Astros.
Images for kids
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Kansas City Athletics logo, 1963–1967
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The Athletics played at Municipal Stadium during their time in Kansas City.
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Leo Posada with the 1961 Athletics
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Yankees vs. Athletics at Municipal Stadium
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Rocky Colavito 1964 Kansas City Athletics Spring Training
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The Athletics hosting a home game in 1985
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Game 1 of the 2006 ALCS in Oakland, California
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Rally sticks given to fans for Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS in Oakland
