The A’s

This is a straightforward history of the Athletics franchise, from its Connie Mack years in Philadelphia with teams featuring Eddie Collins, Chief Bender, Jimmy Foxx, Mickey Cochrane and Lefty Grove, through its 13 years in Kansas City, under Arnold Johnson and Charles O. Finley, and on to its great years in Oakland—with the three World Series wins featuring Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando and Vida Blue, and the conflicts with Finley—as well as the less successful seasons that followed, then the Series sweep in 1989, and ending up with the unusual operation of the club by Billy Beane.

A longtime Philadelphia baseball fan, David M. Jordan is a retired attorney and the author of nine books on the Civil War, political events, and baseball.

David M. Jordan
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 252
Bibliographic Info: 26 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7781-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1387-1
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Introduction: One Ball Club, Through the Years  1

 1. Mister Mack Comes to Town  5

 2. Getting Settled in the Quaker City  12

 3. Mister Mack’s First Dynasty  20

 4. To the Bottom  30

 5. The Greatest Team  37

 6. To the Bottom Again  48

 7. The End in Philadelphia  62

 8. To Kansas City and a Good First Year  71

 9. A Yankees Farm Team?  82

10. Charlie O. Takes Over  93

11. Playing Out the String in Kansas City  105

12. A New Start on the West Coast  116

13. The Mustache Gang!  128

14. On Top of the World  137

15. The A’s Carry On After Williams  145

16. The Last Years of Charlie Finley  153

17. New Blood in Oakland  164

18. To the Top Again  170

19. Another Ride  179

20. Billy Beane on the Scene  187

21. Still Doing Well  197

22. Losers Again, but Then …  204

Epilogue  216

Chapter Notes  219

Bibliography  227

Index  231

“well-researched…solid…valuable for its extensive bibliography of sources”—SABR Deadball Committee Newsletter.