Philadelphia Athletics (AA) Players
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Philadelphia Athletics were a
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
team that played in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, and became the
Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...
. Following another move in 1967, the team became the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
, their current identity and location.


The beginning

The Western League had been renamed the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
in 1900 by league president Bancroft (Ban) Johnson, and declared itself the second major league in 1901. Johnson created new franchises in the east and eliminated some franchises in the west. Philadelphia had a new franchise created to compete with the National League's
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. Former catcher
Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...
was recruited to manage the club. Mack in turn persuaded Phillies minority owner
Ben Shibe Benjamin Franklin Shibe (January 23, 1838 – January 14, 1922) was an American sporting goods and baseball executive who was owner and president of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League from 1901 until his death. He is credited with th ...
as well as others to invest in the team, which would be called the Philadelphia Athletics, a name taken from the
Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia is a vintage base ball team based in Philadelphia, which plays by 1864 National Association Rules. Athletic is a member of the Mid Atlantic Vintage Base Ball League, competing in the Eastern Division. The cl ...
, which had been a founding member of the NL in 1876 but had folded after only one season. Mack himself bought a 25% interest, while the remaining 25% was sold to Philadelphia sportswriters Sam Jones and Frank Hough. The new league recruited many of its players from the existing National League, persuading them to "jump" to the American League in defiance of their National League contracts. One of the players who jumped to the new league was second baseman
Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...
, formerly of the crosstown Phillies. He won the A.L.'s first batting title with a .426 batting average, still a league record. The Athletics and the American League received a setback when, on April 21, 1902, the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme J ...
invalidated Lajoie's contract with the Athletics, and ordered him back to the Phillies. This order, though, was only enforceable in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
. Lajoie was sold to Cleveland, but was kept out of road games in Philadelphia until the National Agreement was signed between the two leagues in 1903.
Columbia Park Columbia Park or Columbia Avenue Grounds was a baseball park in Philadelphia. It was built in 1901 as the first home of the Philadelphia Athletics, who played there for eight seasons, including two games of the 1905 World Series. Columbia Park ...
was the first home of the Athletics. They played there from their founding in 1901 through the 1908 season, and it was the venue of their two home games in the 1905 World Series.


The first dynasty and aftermath

In the early years, the A's established themselves as one of the dominant teams in the new league, winning the A.L. pennant six times (1902, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1913, and 1914), and winning the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
in 1910, 1911, and 1913. They won over 100 games in 1910 and 1911, and 99 games in 1914. The team was known for its " $100,000 Infield", consisting of
Stuffy McInnis John Phalen "Stuffy" McInnis (September 19, 1890 – February 16, 1960) was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. McInnis gained his nickname as a youngster in the Boston suburban leagues, where his spectacular playing brought ...
(
first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
), Eddie Collins ( second base), Jack Barry (
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
), and Frank "Home Run" Baker (
third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
) as well as pitchers
Eddie Plank Edward Stewart Plank (August 31, 1875 – February 24, 1926), nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, t ...
and Chief Bender.
Rube Waddell George Edward Waddell (October 13, 1876 – April 1, 1914) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-hander, he played for 13 years, with the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Orphans in the National ...
was also a major pitching star for the A's in the early 1900s. According to Lamont Buchanan in ''The World Series and Highlights of Baseball'', the A's fans were fond of chanting, "If Eddie Plank doesn't make you lose / We have Waddell and Bender all ready to use!" Plank holds the franchise record for career victories, with 284. In 1909, the A's moved into the major leagues' first concrete-and-steel ballpark,
Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...
. This remains the second and last time in franchise history where a new ballpark was built specifically for the A's. Later in the decade, Mack bought the 25% of the team's stock owned by Jones and Hough to become a full partner with Shibe. Shibe ceded Mack full control over the baseball side while retaining control over the business side. However, Mack had already enjoyed a nearly free hand in baseball matters since the franchise's inception. In 1914, the Athletics lost the
1914 World Series The 1914 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 1914 season. The 11th edition of the World Series, it was played between the American League champion and defending World Series champion Philadelphia Athletics and t ...
to the "Miracle Braves" in a four-game sweep. Mack traded, sold or released most of the team's star players soon after. In his book ''To Every Thing a Season'', Bruce Kuklick points out that there were suspicions that the A's had thrown the Series, or at least "laid down", perhaps in protest of Mack's frugal ways. Mack himself alluded to that rumor years later, but debunked it. He claimed that the team was torn by numerous internal factions, and was also distracted by the allure of a third major league, the
Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...
. The Federal League had been formed to begin play in 1914. As the AL had done 13 years before, the new league raided existing AL and NL teams for players. Several of his best players, including Bender, had already decided to jump before the World Series. Mack refused to match the upstart league's offers, preferring to rebuild with younger (and less expensive) players. The result was a swift and near-total collapse. The Athletics went from a 99–53 (.651) record and a pennant in 1914 to a record of 43–109 (.283) and last place in 1915, and then to 36–117 (.235, still a modern major-league low) in 1916. The team would finish in last place every year through 1922 and would not contend again until 1925. Shibe died in 1922, and his sons Tom and
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
took over the business side, leaving the baseball side to Mack. Although Mack only held the titles of vice president and secretary-treasurer, for all intents and purposes he was now the head of the franchise, and would remain so for the next three decades. By this time Mack had cemented his famous image of the tall, gaunt and well-dressed man waving his players into position with a scorecard. Unlike most managers, he chose to wear a high-collar shirt, tie, ascot scarf, and a straw boater hat instead of a uniform, a look that he never changed for the rest of his life, even decades after it went out of fashion. This came at the price of Mack not being allowed on-field during games per league regulations.


The second dynasty (1927–1933)

By the latter half of the 1920s, Mack had assembled one of the most feared batting orders in the history of baseball featuring three future
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
members. At its heart were
Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...
, who batted .334 and hit 307
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s over his major league career,
Jimmie Foxx James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, ...
, who hit 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons and drove in more than 100 runs in 13 consecutive years, and Mickey Cochrane, one of the best-hitting
catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
s in baseball history. A fourth future Hall of Fame member was pitcher
Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...
, who led the American League in
strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s seven years in a row, and had the league's lowest
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
a record nine times. In 1927 and
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
, the Athletics finished second to the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
, then won pennants in
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
,
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
and
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
, winning the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
in
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
and
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
. In each of the three years, the Athletics won over 100 games. While the
1927 New York Yankees The 1927 New York Yankees season was the 25th season of the New York Yankees of the American League. The team finished with a record of 110–44–1, winning their fifth pennant and finishing 19 games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics and w ...
, whose batting order was known as the Murderers' Row, are remembered as one of the best teams in baseball history, the Athletics teams of the late 1920s and early 1930s are largely forgotten. Opponents who faced both teams considered them to be generally equal. Both teams won three consecutive pennants and two of three World Series. Statistically the New York and Philadelphia dynasties were remarkably even: The Athletics had a record of 313-143 (.686) between 1929 and 1931; the Yankees, 302-160 (.654) between 1926 and 1928. And while the Athletics scored six fewer runs than the Yankees—2,710 -2,716, the Athletics had five fewer runs scored against them: 1,992-1,997, a difference of only one run. The Yankees had the best single season at the plate, hitting for a combined .307
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
and scoring 975 runs in 1927. The Athletics' strongest offensive performance came in 1929, when they batted .296. On defense the Athletics were clearly superior; over their three-year American League reign they committed only 432 errors, 167 fewer than the Yankees. Cochrane was also especially adept at telling his pitchers how to pitch to opposing batters. 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. As it turned out, this would be the Athletics' last hurrah in Philadelphia. The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
was well under way, and declining attendance had drastically reduced the team's revenues. Mack again sold or traded his best players in order to reduce expenses. In September 1932, he sold Simmons,
Jimmy Dykes James Joseph Dykes (November 10, 1896 – June 15, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...
and
Mule Haas George William "Mule" Haas (October 15, 1903 – June 30, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball from 1925 through 1938, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dy ...
to the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
for $100,000. In December 1933, Mack sent Grove,
Rube Walberg George Elvin Walberg (July 27, 1896 – October 27, 1978) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dynasty that ...
and
Max Bishop Max Frederick Bishop (September 5, 1899 – February 24, 1962) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelphia ...
to the Boston Red Sox for
Bob Kline Robert George Kline unior(December 9, 1909 – March 16, 1987) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between the 1930 and 1934 seasons. Listed at 6' 3", 200 lb., Kline batted and threw right-handed. He was b ...
,
Rabbit Warstler Harold Burton "Rabbit" Warstler (September 13, 1903 – May 31, 1964) was a professional baseball infielder. He played all or part of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and second baseman for the Boston Red Sox (1930–33), Phil ...
and $125,000. Also in 1933, he sold Cochrane to the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
for $100,000. The construction of a
spite fence In property law, a spite fence is an overly tall fence or a row of trees, bushes, or hedges, constructed or planted between adjacent lots by a property owner (with no legitimate purpose), who is annoyed with or wishes to annoy a neighbor, or who ...
at Shibe Park, blocking the view from nearby buildings, only served to irritate potential paying fans. However, the consequences did not become apparent for a few more years, as the team finished second in 1932 and third in 1933.


The lean years

The Athletics finished fifth in 1934, then last in 1935. Mack was already 68 years old when the A's won the pennant in 1931, and many felt that the game had long since passed him by. Although he had every intention of building another winner, he did not have the extra money to get big stars. He also did not (or could not) invest in a farm system. Unlike most other owners, Mack had no source of income apart from the A's, so the dwindling attendance figures of the early 1930s hit him especially hard. As a result, the A's went into a decline that lasted for over 30 years, through three cities. Except for a fifth-place finish in 1944, they finished in last or next-to-last place every year from 1935 to 1946. Tom Shibe died in 1936 and John succeeded him as club president. However, John resigned due to illness a few months later, leaving the presidency to Mack. When John died on July 11, 1937, Mack bought enough shares from the Shibe estate to become majority owner. However, Mack had been the franchise's number-one man since Ben Shibe's death. Even as bad as the A's got during this time, Mack remained a one-man band with complete control over both baseball and business matters. Long after most teams hired a general manager, Mack continued making all personnel decisions and leading the team on the field. One of the few times that he even considered ceding some of his duties came in the 1934-35 offseason, when he entertained hiring
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
to succeed him as manager. However, he backed off from this idea, saying that the Babe's wife,
Claire Clair or Claire may refer to: *Claire (given name), a list of people with the name Claire * Clair (surname) Places Canada * Clair, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Haut-Madawaska * Clair Parish, New Brunswick * Pointe-Claire, Q ...
, would be running the team within a month. Even when the Phillies moved to Shibe Park as tenants of the A's midway through the 1938 season, not enough revenue came in for Mack to build another winner. By the mid-1940s, as Mack passed his 80th birthday, his mental state was becoming increasingly questionable. He would frequently sleep through innings, make bad calls that his coaches would simply ignore, have inexplicable fits of anger, or call players from decades earlier to pinch-hit. Mack also never installed a telephone in the dugout and instead would use a series of obtuse hand signs to signal his coaches on the field. According to infielder
Ferris Fain Ferris Roy Fain (March 29, 1921 – October 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1955. A five-time All-Star, Fain won two American League batting championship ...
, "He'd fall asleep for much of the game waving his score card, but he still had a few working nerve endings left in his big ol' neck waddle. Anyone who dared wake him up was subjected to a hasty trial by the team's kangaroo court." Nonetheless, despite calls inside and outside the organization to step down, Mack would not even consider firing himself. Also during this time, Mack gave a minority stake in the team to his sons,
Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...
, Earle and Connie Jr. Although Connie Jr. was nearly 20 years younger than Roy and Earle (he was the son of Connie Sr.'s second marriage), Mack intended to have all three of them inherit the team upon his death. He also intended for Earle, who had been assistant manager since 1924, to succeed him as manager. This decision would have dire consequences for the A's later on. During this time, Shibe Park was also becoming an increasing liability. While the facility had been state of the art when it opened in 1909, by the late 1940s, it had not been well maintained in some time. It was also not suited to automobile traffic, having been designed before the
Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
Ford was introduced. To the surprise of most people in baseball, Mack managed not only to get out of the cellar in 1947, but actually finished with a winning record for the first time in 14 years. They contended for much of 1948, even managing to spend 49 days in first place. However, the turning point came on June 13, when pitcher
Nels Potter Nelson Thomas Potter (August 23, 1911 – September 30, 1990) was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who appeared in 349 games in Major League Baseball over a dozen seasons between 1936 and 1949, most notably as a ...
, who had been a solid middle reliever for most of the season, blew a three-run lead in the first game of a doubleheader against the
St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
. An enraged Mack ordered him off the team in front of a shocked clubhouse after the game. The A's spent most of the summer in either first or second place. Mack had previously released pitcher
Bill Dietrich William John "Bullfrog" Dietrich (March 29, 1910 – June 20, 1978) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1933 to 1948 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Senators, and Chicago White S ...
and his dismissal of Potter left the second place A's with only five healthy pitchers at that point. By the end of the year the team faded to fourth place. The franchise would not be a factor in a pennant race again at that late date until 1969—their second year in Oakland. Another winning record in 1949 sparked hopes that 1950—the 50th season for both the American League and Mack's tenure as manager of the A's--would bring a pennant at last. During that year, the team wore uniforms trimmed in blue and gold, in honor of the Golden Jubilee of "The Grand Old Man of Baseball." However, the 1950 season was an unmitigated disaster. They were only above .500 once all season (at 3-2), and a 5–17 May ended any hope of contention. Before May was out, Mack's sons had agreed to ease their father out as manager. On May 26, it was announced that Mack would resign at the end of the season. On the same day, former A's star
Jimmy Dykes James Joseph Dykes (November 10, 1896 – June 15, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...
, who had returned to the A's as a coach a year earlier, was named assistant manager and manager-in-waiting; he would succeed Mack as manager for the 1951 season. However, for all practical purposes, Dykes took over as manager immediately; he was given control over the A's day-to-day operations and became the team's main game-day operator. 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.Warrington, Robert D
Departure Without Dignity: The Athletics Leave Philadelphia
Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...
, 2010.
Ultimately, the A's finished with the worst record in the majors at 52-102, 46 games out of first. Mack's 50-year tenure as manager is a North American professional sports record that has never been threatened.


Final years in Philadelphia

In the late 1940s, a power struggle developed between Roy and Earle on one side and Connie Jr. on the other. Connie Jr., like many A's fans, had become disenchanted with his brothers' bargain-basement approach to running the team. However, Roy and Earle were not willing to modernize and refused to listen to their younger brother, whom they considered a mere child with no relevant opinion (Connie Jr. was almost 20 years younger than Roy and Earle). Compounding their disagreements was the fact that they had different mothers. When it was apparent that Roy and Earle would not consider making what he considered to be critical reforms, Connie Jr. and his mother (who was angered at Connie Sr.'s refusal to give Connie Jr.'s sisters any role in the team) made an alliance with the Shibe heirs. Connie Jr. began taking steps to upgrade the team and the park. One of the few things on which the two sides agreed was that it was time for Connie Sr. to step down as manager. Matters came to a head in July 1950, when Connie Jr. and the Shibes decided to sell the team. However, Roy and Earle insisted that they have a 30-day option to buy out Connie Jr. and the Shibes before the team was put on the market. Connie Jr. didn't think Roy and Earle could get the $1.74 million required to buy him out, but Roy and Earle called their bluff by mortgaging the team to Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (now part of CIGNA) and pledging Shibe Park as collateral. The mortgage deal closed on August 26. The shares of Connie Jr. and the Shibes were retired, ending the Shibes' half-century involvement with the A's and making Connie Sr., Roy and Earle the team's only shareholders. Although his father remained nominal owner and team president, Roy, who had been vice president since 1936, now became operating head of the franchise, sharing day-to-day control with Earle. However, under the terms of the mortgage, the A's were now saddled with payments of $200,000 over the first five years, depriving them of badly needed capital that could have been used on improving the team and the park. Unfortunately for the A's, the team continued to slide on the field. Although the 1949 team set a major league record for
double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...
s which still stands, this was more a reflection of the team's poor pitching staff allowing too many base runners. They would have only one winning record from 1951 to 1954—a fourth-place finish in 1952. The nadir came in 1954, when the A's finished with a ghastly 51-103 record, easily the worst record in baseball and 60 games out of first. Attendance plummeted and revenues continued to dwindle. At the same time, the Phillies, who had been the definition of baseball futility for over 30 years, began a surprisingly quick climb to respectability. The A's had always been the more popular team in Philadelphia for most of the first half of the century, even though for much of the last decade they had been as bad or worse than the Phillies. However, unlike the A's, the Phillies began spending lavishly on young prospects in the 1940s. The impact was immediate. In 1947, the A's finished fourth in the American League while the Phillies tied for the worst record in the National League. Only three years later, while the A's finished dead last in the majors, the Phillies went all the way to the 1950 World Series. It soon became obvious that the Phillies had passed the A's as Philadelphia's number-one team. In response, Roy and Earle began cutting costs even further. They turned over the rent from the Phillies to Connecticut General and took cash advances from their concessions contractor. The cost-cutting ramped up even further in the 1953–54 offseason, when they slashed over $100,000 off the player payroll, fired general manager Arthur Ehlers and replaced Dykes as manager with shortstop
Eddie Joost Edwin David Joost (June 5, 1916April 12, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball for all or portions of 17 seasons between 1936 and 1955. In , Joost became the third and l ...
. They also pared down the minor-league system to only six clubs. However, even with these measures, there wasn't nearly enough money coming in to service the mortgage debt, and Roy and Earle began feuding with each other. Despite the turmoil, some Athletics players shined on the field. In ,
Gus Zernial Gus Edward Zernial (June 27, 1923 – January 20, 2011) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Philadelphia Athletics with whom he remained when they moved west a ...
led the American League with 33 home runs, 129 runs scored, 68
extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...
s, and 17 outfield
assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...
s; in he swatted 29 homers and bagged 100 RBI; in 1953 he hit 42 homers and drove in 108 runs. In 1952, left-handed pitcher
Bobby Shantz Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , and won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award as a ...
won 24 games and was named the league's
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
, and
Ferris Fain Ferris Roy Fain (March 29, 1921 – October 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1955. A five-time All-Star, Fain won two American League batting championship ...
won AL batting championships in 1951 (with a .344 average) and 1952 (with a .320 average). His 1952 batting crown remains the last time an Athletic has led the league in hitting. Joost was a solid fielder who had a good eye at the plate for generating walks and had an above-average
on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
as a result. All four players represented the American League in the All-Star Game. Shantz might have won 30 games his best year 1952 but was hurt by a pitched ball on the wrist and was finished for the season. By the summer of 1954, it was obvious that the A's were on an irreversible slide into bankruptcy. Earle and Roy decided that there was no choice but to sell their father's beloved team, and it was with great sorrow that the old man gave his approval for the sale. Although several offers were put forward by Philadelphia interests, American League president
Will Harridge William Harridge (October 16, 1883 – April 9, 1971) was an American executive in professional baseball whose most significant role was as president of the American League (AL) from 1931 to 1959. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the ...
was convinced that the team could never be viable in Philadelphia. The sparse crowds at Shibe had been a source of frustration for some time to the other AL owners, as they could not even begin to meet their expenses for trips to Philadelphia. As a result, Harridge had come to believe that the only way to resolve the "Philadelphia problem" was to move the Athletics elsewhere. For this reason, when Chicago businessman Arnold Johnson offered to buy the team, the other owners pressured Roy Mack to agree to the sale. Johnson had very close ties to the Yankees; he not only owned
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...
but also owned Blues Stadium in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, home to the Yankees' top farm team. Johnson intended to move the A's to a renovated Blues Stadium if he was cleared to buy them. The Yankees made no secret that they favored Johnson, and their backing gave him the upper hand with the other owners. After an October 12 owners meeting at which several offers from Philadelphia interests were rejected as inadequate (Harridge later said that while several of them "talked about millions", they didn't have any money behind them), Mack agreed in principle to sell the A's to Johnson no later than October 18. However, on October 17, Roy Mack suddenly announced that the A's had been sold to a Philadelphia-based group headed by auto dealer John Crisconi. The deal was to be approved at an American League owners' meeting on October 28. It looked headed for approval when rumors (reportedly planted by the Yankees) cropped up that the Crisconi group was underfinanced, and Johnson collared Roy Mack at Roy's home to persuade him that his original deal was better in the long run. On October 28, the sale to the Crisconi group came up one vote short of the five needed for approval, with Roy Mack voting against the deal he'd just negotiated. A day later, Connie Mack released an open letter to A's fans (one that was likely written by his wife) blasting the owners for sinking the deal to the Crisconi group. However, he conceded that he didn't have enough money to run the A's in 1955, and the Johnson deal was the only one that had any prospect of winning approval. A few days later, the Macks sold the A's to Johnson for $3.5 million--$1.5 million for their shares plus $2 million in debt. Selling Shibe Park—which had been renamed Connie Mack Stadium a year earlier—proved more difficult, but the Phillies reluctantly bought it. The American League owners met again on November 8, and duly approved Johnson's bid to buy the A's. Johnson's first act was to request permission to move to Kansas City. This proved more difficult, since it required a three-fourths majority. However,
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
owner Spike Briggs was persuaded to change his vote, ending the A's 54-year stay in Philadelphia.


Remembering the Athletics

The Athletics played the Phillies for the first time in interleague play in June 2003 at
Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for footb ...
. The Phillies invited former A's
Eddie Joost Edwin David Joost (June 5, 1916April 12, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball for all or portions of 17 seasons between 1936 and 1955. In , Joost became the third and l ...
and
Gus Zernial Gus Edward Zernial (June 27, 1923 – January 20, 2011) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Philadelphia Athletics with whom he remained when they moved west a ...
to the games. Connie Mack's daughter Ruth Mack Clark attended the first game. Former Florida U.S. Senator
Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), also known as Connie Mack III, is an American retired Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and t ...
, Mack's grandson, threw out the first ball. In turn, the Phillies played the Athletics in
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
in June 2005. The A's invited
Eddie Joost Edwin David Joost (June 5, 1916April 12, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball for all or portions of 17 seasons between 1936 and 1955. In , Joost became the third and l ...
to throw out the first pitch before the series opening game on June 17, 2005. In 2011 the Athletics visited the Phillies at
Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The ...
for an interleague series in which the Phillies took two out of three games. There remains a level of nostalgia for the Athletics in the Philadelphia region. A Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society exists with an active website, and a local company called Shibe Vintage Sports sells retro Philadelphia Athletics gear.


See also

*
History of the Oakland Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...


References


Further reading

*Jordan, David. ''The Athletics of Philadelphia: Connie Mack's White Elephants, 1909-1954'' (McFarland, 1999). *Kashatus, William C. ''The Philadelphia Athletics'' (Arcadia, 2002). *Kashatus, William C. ''Money Pitcher: Chief Bender and the Tragedy of Indian Assimilation'' (Penn State, 2006). *Kashatus, William C. ''Connie Mack's '29 Triumph: The Rise and Fall of the Philadelphia Athletics Dynasty'' (McFarland, 1999). *Lieb, Frederick G. ''Connie Mack: Grand Old Man of Baseball'' (Putnam's, 1945). *Macht, Norman L. ''Connie Mack and the Early Years of Baseball'' (University of Nebraska Press, 2007). *Macht, Norman L. ''Connie Mack: The Turbulent and Triumphant Years, 1915-1931'' (University of Nebraska Press, 2012). *Macht, Norman L. ''The Grand Old Man of Baseball: Connie Mack in His Final Years, 1932-1956'' (University of Nebraska Press, 2015). *Mack, Connie. ''My 66 Years in the Bog Leagues'' (Winston, 1930). {{Oakland Athletics *
Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...
Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Baseball teams disestablished in 1954 Baseball teams established in 1901