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A's Club History

From their beginnings Under Connie Mack, the A's history has been spiced with color and dotted with Championships.

Now in its 83rd American League Season, the franchise has claimed 6 division titles, 12 pennants and eight World Championships. Twenty men who have carried the A's initial have been enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame.

Cornelius McGillicuddy was born during the Civil War. He was 14 years old when the first reported game of baseball was played between Boston and Philadephia in a National League game, April 22, 1876. When he was 22 he joined the professional ranks and at age 32 he was field manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. he and an enterprising Cincinnati sports editor named Ben Johnson helped expand the Wester League into the American League with a franchise located in Philadelphia.

The name Cornelius McGillicuddy had given way to Connie Mack, the work of sportswriters who found it easier to work with in box scores.

ILn 1902 their second American League season, the A's were champions, a sudden rise to the top by a team dubbed "The White Elephants" by John McGraw the year before. They won another A.L. pennant in 1905 with two futureHall of Famers - Rube Addell and Chief Bender.

In 1910 the A's won a thrid pennant and finally claimed the world title, beating the Cubs in five games for the championship. The club repeated as World Champions in 1911, missed in 1912, won again in 1913 and settled for the A.L. flag in 1914 before World War I disrupted the game.

It was not until 1929 that the A's could reach the top of baseball's mountain, again decking the Cubs for the championship with what some call the greatest team ever. Mack had several young players in the minors during the mid-20s ready for a chance - Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Lefty Grove, Max Bishop, Joe Boley, Jimmy Dykes, Cy Perkins, Eddie Rommel and Jimmie Foxx. He also signed a pair of veterans - Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker - to provide balance and poise for his youngsters.

By 1929 Mack had added Mule Haas and Bing Miller to his outfield and George Earnshaw, Howard Ehmke, Rube Walberg and John Quinn to the pitching staff. That team won 104 games and a World Series. It won again in 1930 and claimed another pennant in 1931.

Eddie Plank, Bender and Grove led the league in wins and Grove won the ERA and strikeout championships.

Mack's impact on baseball was immense. He remained field boss through the 1950 season.

There wasn't much to cheer about after the 1931 season. The team remained in Philadelphia until 1954 when it was sold to Arnold Johnson who moved it to Kansas City.

Charlie Finley entered the scene in 1960, with the club in Kansas City. He moved the team to Oakland for the 1968 season, and the franchise shortly became a winner again. Bert Campaneris was signed as a free agent in 1962. Two years later Catfish Hunter joined the team. Finley then signed Gene Tenace, Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers as Free Agents before the major league draft began in 1965. the in the draft he selected Rick Monday and Sal Bando in 1965, Reggie Jackson in 1966, and Vida Blue in 1967. They were to become the backbone of the championship years.

These players started to develop a consistent winning pattern, finishing 1969 with an 88-74 record, the most wins by an A's team since 1932. That would then be the fewest wins for the team during the next six years.

Under Dick Williams the A's won the Western Division in 1971 with 101 victories. They went all the way the next three years, two under Williams and another under Alvin Dark. The triple title run has been accomplished by only one other team - the Yankees (1936-39 and 1949-53).

Jackson had become a consistent HR and RBI man. Campaneris and Billy North had made the team a threat to run all the time, and Blue, Ken Holtzman and Hunter became big winners. Blue won the MVP, Cy Young and Pitcher of the Year honors in 1971. Jackson was the league's MVP in 1973, and Hunter won the coveted Cy Young Award in 1974. Campaneris led the league in stolen bases six times.

Although the string of Western titles was stopped at five, the 1976 A's set an A.L. record with 341 steals, only 6 shy of the major league mark by the 1911 New York Giants.

Billy Martin entered the scene for the 1980 season, and the exciting young A's were the talk of the baseball world. Under Billy's leadership, and playing a brand of baseball dubbed "Billy Ball," the A's, a team that finished last in the American League in 1979, completely turned things around, finishing a surprising second in the AL West. The A's were paced by the speed of Rickey Henderson, and the power of Tony Armas. Rickey broke the All Time American League stolen base mark, stealing 100 bases, surpassing Ty Cobb's total of 96 set back in 1915, and he became only the third player in baseball history to steal 100 or more bases in a season. Tony Armas provided the clout, with career highs in HR's and RBI's banging out 35 HR's and driving in 109 runs. defensively, the A's outfield was recognized as the best in baseball, with speedsters Henderson, Murphy, and Armas combining for 45 assists. On the bases the A's as a team had 175 steals. They stole home  7 times, had 14 double steals, a triple steal, and were 16-23 on suicide squeezes.

On the mound, A's pitchers gained a reputation for finishing what they started, setting a new mark for complete games with 94. They were led by Rick Langford, who completed 28 of his 33 starts, and went 22 straight games without being relieved at one stretch, the longest such streak since 1904. Mike Norris had himself a Cy Young year, winning 22 games, with a 2.53 ERA, and striking out 180 batters.

The 1981 A's opening season with a then major league record 11 straight wins... taking thefirst 8 on the road... they got off to a 20-3 start, and became a national story... within 2 weeks they appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated, the Sporting News and Time Magazine... they met the KC Royals in the Division series sweeping 3 straight, and became the AL West champs for the first time since 1976. The entire A's outfield was named to the Sporting News All Star team, and Billy Martin made a clean sweep of the Manager of the Year Awards.

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Frank Robinson - Manager
Managerial/Coaching Career..... Named UPI Manager of the Year in his second season as the Giants' skipper... Led San Francisco to its first back-to-back winning seasons since 1970-71... Overall record as Giants Manager is 145-132... Piloted the club to a ten-game winning streak August 3-11, the Giants' longest in 16 years... Engineered 45 come-from-behind victories in 1982... Recorded a 55-33 record after June 27... Joined the Giants on Jan. 14, 1981... Original two-year contract has been extended through 1984... Served as the Baltimore Orioles' first base coach and hitting instructor in 1979 and 1980... Managed the Cleveland Indians in 1975, 1976 and part of 1977... Also piloted the Rochester Red Wings of the International League in 1978, finishing 58-64... Managed in the Puerto Rican Winter League every year from 1968 to 1979... Served as a coach with the California Angles from July 11, 1977 to the end of the season.

Don Buford - Coach - Former Infielder
Coaching Career..... This former American League All-Star and a veteran of three World Series, Buford returns for a third season as the Giants' first base coach... Contributes defensive strategy and base-running instruction... Joined Manager Frank Robinson, his former Orioles teammate, in 1980 after a four-year absence from baseball.

Jeff Leonard - (OF)
1982 Season.....Tendinitis in his left wrist put a hole in this talented outfielder's season... was hitting, .295 and leading the club in RBIs when he injured his hand diving for a Tim Raines fly ball (April 29)... Did not bat for the Giants again until July 20... In between, he spent 20 days at Phoenix as part of the injury rehabilitation program... Batted 0.356 for the triple-A club, but Major League batting eye was slow to return... Struggled in July (0.188) and August (0.248)... Returned to form in the final month of the campaign (0.305)... Finished the season at .259, but hit .333 with runners in scoring position... Had three homers and 13 RBIs in the season series vs. Los Angeles, including his first career grand slam (April 25)... Had career high eight-game hitting streak (April 10-20)... Had a three-hit game for the 16th time in his career (Sept. 13 vs. Cincinnati)... Saw action at all three outfield posiltions, and made one start at first base.

Chili Davis - (OF)
1982 Season..... Despite a talented crop of rookies throughout the Major Leagues, Chili led all first-year men in run production - 86 runs scored, 76 RBIs... Baseball Digest All-Rookie Team centerfielder... Led club in hits with the highest total (167) since 1978, and second best output since 1973... Placed squad in triples (6) and shared team led in thefts (24) with Joe Morgan, setting a club rookie record in the latter (shattering the old mark of 17 set by Gary Matthews in 1973)... Successful only once in his first nine stolen base attempts, then stole 23 in his last 28 attempts... First hit of the campaign was his initial big-league home run, April 10 at Cincinnati off Mario Soto... That hit started an 11-game hitting streak... Topped that with a 150game skein (June 25 - July 8)... Hit grand slam off Atlanta's Steve Bedrosian (June 19)... Led outfield corps in assists with 16... Missed just four of the first 158 games before sustaining torn ligaments in his left ankle while sliding back into second base during an attempted pickoff at second base vs. Houston (Sept. 29).

Tom McGraw - Coach - Former Infielder
Coaching Career..... McGraw is making his debut with the Giants as Frank Robinson's hitting instructor... Has been the Cleveland Indians' first base coach and hitting instructor since 1980... Served as a player-coach under Robinson at Cleveland in 1975... Was the Indians' minor league hitting instructor 1976-79.

Max Venable - (OF)
1982 Season..... Appendicits hampered this talented speedster in '82... Underwent an appendectomy April 20 in San Diego and did not return to the Giants lineup until June 1... In between played eight games for Phoenix as part of the rehabilitation program... String together a career-high eight-game hitting streak (June 20-30)... Was used as a pinch-runner 12 times during the campaign, scoring eight runs... Committed only one error in 52 games in the outfield... Started at all three outfield positions.

Transcription Notes:
I wasn't sure what to mark for the split from the story to the names so I just put in hyphens.