History of the Athletics

[6] Many veteran baseball observers believe that the Yankees' far more exalted status in history is due largely to the fact that they played in New York, where most of the national media is located.

Cochrane, who had been brought back as a coach earlier in the year, was named general manager, stripping Connie Sr. of his last direct authority over baseball matters.

[8] A day later, Connie Mack released an open letter to A's fans (one that was likely written by his wife) blasting the owners and Roy for sinking the deal to the Crisconi group.

[citation needed] In 1961 and 1962, Finley talked to people in Dallas-Fort Worth and a four-man group appeared before American League owners,[16] but no formal motion was put forward to move the team to Texas.

These requests came as no surprise, as impending moves to these cities, as well as to Atlanta, Milwaukee, New Orleans, San Diego, and Seattle— all of which Finley had considered as new homes for the Athletics — had long been afloat.

The owners complied, but while Kansas City was major league ready, Seattle was not; its stadium problems affected profitability and ultimately forced the sale and move to Milwaukee after only one season as the Pilots.

During the Johnson years, the Athletics' home attendance averaged just under one million per season, respectable numbers for the era, especially in light of the team's dreadful on-field performance.

The Athletics drew national attention when, on May 8, 1968, Jim "Catfish" Hunter pitched a perfect game (the American League's first during the regular season since 1922) against the Minnesota Twins.

Players such as Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Bert Campaneris, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Vida Blue formed the nucleus of these teams.

Among the more notable incidents during this time was a near-mutiny in 1967; Finley responded by releasing the A's best hitter, Ken Harrelson, who promptly signed with the Red Sox and helped lead them to the pennant.

Finley forced Mike Andrews to sign a false affidavit saying he was injured after the reserve second baseman committed two consecutive errors in the 12th inning of the A's Game Two loss to the Mets.

Though the American League owners appeared to favor the Denver deal, it fell through when the city of Oakland and Alameda County refused to release the A's from their lease.

Forced to turn to local buyers, Finley sold the A's to San Francisco clothing manufacturer Walter A. Haas, Jr., president of Levi Strauss & Co. prior to the 1981 season.

The Haases gave Martin complete control of the baseball operation with the title of "player development director", effectively making him his own general manager.

During the 15 years of Haas' ownership, the Athletics became one of baseball's most successful teams at the gate, drawing 2,900,217 in 1990, still the club record for single season attendance, as well as on the field.

Under the Haas ownership, the minor league system was rebuilt, which bore fruit later that decade as José Canseco (1986), Mark McGwire (1987), and Walt Weiss (1988) were chosen as AL Rookies of the Year.

During this time, Rickey Henderson shattered Lou Brock's modern major league record by stealing 130 bases in a single season (1982), a total which has not been approached since.

In a turn of events eerily reminiscent of the A's Roger Maris trade 38 years before, Mark McGwire celebrated his first full season with the Cardinals by setting a new major league home run record.

The Schott-Hofmann ownership allocated resources to building and maintaining a strong minor league system while almost always refusing to pay the going rate to keep star players on the team once they become free agents.

This period in Oakland history featured splendid performances from a trio of young starting pitchers: right-hander Tim Hudson and left-handers Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.

In the sixth, second baseman Velarde caught Shane Spencer's line drive, tagged Jorge Posada running from first to second, and stepped on second before Tino Martinez could return.

For example, after the 2004 season, in which the A's placed second in their division, Beane shocked many by breaking up the Big Three, trading Tim Hudson to the Atlanta Braves and Mark Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals.

On March 30, 2005, the Athletics were sold to a group fronted by real estate developer Lewis Wolff, although the majority owner is John J. Fisher, son of The Gap, Inc.'s founder.

On July 8, the A's were involved in a blockbuster trade, dealing Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Chicago Cubs for Sean Gallagher, Josh Donaldson, Eric Patterson, and Matt Murton.

In the 2009 offseason, the A's traded promising young star OF Carlos González, closer Huston Street and starting pitcher Greg Smith for Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies.

On May 9, 42 years almost to the day after Catfish Hunter, A's pitcher Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game, the 19th in Major League history, in a 4–0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at the Coliseum.

At the August 31 waiver trade deadline, the A's acquired first baseman Adam Dunn from the Chicago White Sox and cash considerations for a minor league player.

Despite their struggles which continued into September, they made the playoffs on the last day of the season, and faced the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card Game.

While they carried a 7–3 lead going into the bottom of the 8th inning, they managed to relinquish it due to the Royals' baserunning skills coupled with ineffective pitching, allowing them to tie the game.

To bolster the pitching rotation, on July 14, the Athletics acquired RHP Homer Bailey from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for SS Kevin Merrell.