ATHLETICS HISTORY

The Philadelphia Athletics baseball club was founded as part of the brand new American Baseball League. Connie Mack managed the A's for 50 years, (1901-1950). During their 54 year stay in Philadelphia, they produced such Hall of Famers as: Frank Baker, Chief Bender, Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins Sr. Jimmie Foxx, Nelson Fox, Lefty Grove, George Kell, Nap Lajoie, Connie Mack, Eddie Plank, Al Simmons, Tris Speaker, Rube Waddell, and Zack Wheat. Some of them are better known for their play with other teams but all were A's at one time. The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. They are one of four teams that play in the Western Division of the American League. The Athletics are often referred to as the "A's". The Athletics were often called the "Mack men", in tribute to their long-time owner and field manager Connie Mack. The team was founded in 1893 and was originally known as Indianapolis, Indiana. Later the team moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1900 when that league became the American League. The team then moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1955 and to Oakland in 1968. The team’s first manager and owner was Connie Mack. It was under his guidance that the team won nine AL pennants and five World Series titles. The 1909 lineup consisted of Stuffy McInnis, Eddie Collins, Jack Barry, and Frank Baker. The foursome led the team to win the World Series in 1910, 1911, and 1913. The team is team is often referred to as the "A's". The team played its first night game at Shibe Park, the A's were defeated by Cleveland 8-3. In 1955 the team opened their first season in Kansas City defeating the Tigers, 6-2. The game was witnessed by 32,844 fans. In the 1970s, when they began winning the World Series every year in Oakland, their free-wheeling clubhouse earned the name "Swingin' A's." In 1972 the team won the first of three World Series, with the Gene Tenace, who became the first player to homer in his first two WS at-bats, earning him the MVP trophy. The team defeated Cincinnati Reds in a seven game series. In 1981 the team after winning their first 8 games of the season on the road, the Oakland A's defeated Seattle 16-1 in their home opening season. The game attracted a crowd of 50,256. The Athletics uniform consists of the colors green, white and gold, and the teams logo design is a stylized capital "A's". The team also occasionally uses a white elephant logo. The Athletics have won nine World Series Championships, fifteen American League Pennants, have won thirteen American West Division titles and have one Wild Card. The Oakland Athletics home ballpark is the Network Associates Coliseum, in Oakland, California. Network Associates Coliseum has a seating capacity of 48, 300. The Athletics have won nine World Series Championships (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1989), fifteen American League Pennants (1901, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1988, 1989, 1990), have won thirteen American West Division titles (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2003) and have one Wild Card (2001, AL).