Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 - February 19, 1996), nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who is best remembered for his tenure as the flamboyant owner of the Oakland Athletics major league baseball team (tenure actually started when the team was still based in Kansas City). Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 197 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California.
Contents |
Early life
Finley was born in Ensley, Alabama, but was raised in Gary, Indiana, and later lived in LaPorte, a small town 60 miles east of Chicago. Ensley is a large community of Birmingham Alabama, United States that was once a separate and thriving industrial city La Porte ( French for "The Door" is a city in La Porte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the County seat. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. He played semi-pro baseball in several Indiana cities but had his career cut short in 1946 by a bout of tuberculosis that nearly killed him. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox (4-3 All-Star Game Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or T u' b' erculosis Bacillus --> is a common After marrying the daughter of an insurance salesman, Finley then made his fortune in the insurance business, being among the first to write group medical insurance policies for those in the medical profession. Insurance, in Law and Economics, is a form of Risk management primarily used to hedge against the Risk of a contingent loss
Owner of the A's
In Kansas City
Finley first attempted to buy the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954, but American League owners instead approved the sale of the team to Arnold Johnson, who moved the A's to Kansas City for the 1955 season. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians (4-0 All-Star Game The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in Arnold Johnson was also the name of an actor Arnold M Johnson (1906 - 1960 was an American industrialist father businessman and sportsman Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Brooklyn Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-3 Johnny Podres, MVP He later made an unsuccessful bid to buy the expansion Los Angeles AL franchise in 1960. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West (The franchise was purchased by Gene Autry and named the Los Angeles Angels. Orvon Gene Autry ( September 29 1907 &ndash October 2 1998) was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California. )
On December 19, 1960, Finley purchased a controlling interest in the Kansas City Athletics from Johnson's estate (Johnson having died in March of that year); he then bought out the minority owners a year later. Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees (4-3 Bobby Richardson, Finley quickly started to turn the franchise around, refusing to make deals with the New York Yankees (for which the Athletics had been criticized) and searching for unheralded talent. The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. He also made significant investments in the farm system for the first time in the franchise's history.
Finley's brief endearment to Kansas City fans
Finley endeared himself (albeit briefly) to Kansas City fans by replacing the "A" on the team's caps with an interlocking "KC" and adding "Kansas City" to the road uniforms, and promising that he would never move the team. However, almost as soon as he acquired full control of the team, Finley immediately began shopping it to other cities. At various times, Finley considered moving the team to Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Seattle and San Diego (all of whom now have major league teams) and even Louisville, Kentucky (see below). The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington Texas, United States, representing the Dallas-Ft The Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which plays in the Central Division of the National League The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969
Micromanagment
He also started micromanaging the team, ordering players to change their style of play and firing any manager or releasing any player who publicly disagreed with him. In Business Management, micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of his or her subordinates or employees In Baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally the field manager) this individual controls matters From 1961 onward, Finley effectively served as his own general manager, though the team nominally had someone with that title until 1964. Headline Event of the Year Roger Maris hits 61 home runs breaking Babe Ruth 's record In Major League Baseball, the General Manager or GM of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees (4-3 Bob Gibson, MVP
Finley's tactics led to a near-mutiny among the players in 1967; Finley responded by releasing the A's best hitter, Ken Harrelson, who promptly signed with the Boston Red Sox and helped lead them to the pennant. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Bob Gibson, MVP Kenneth Smith Harrelson (born September 4, 1941 in Woodruff South Carolina) Nicknamed "The Hawk" due to his distinctive The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. The Impossible Dream is the popular term used for the 1967 Boston Red Sox season
Charlie-O becomes the Athletics' mascot
Presumably out of pique for being denied a chance to buy the A's five years earlier, Finley replaced the Athletics' traditional elephant mascot with a live mule. Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. The term mascot – defined as a term for any person animal or object thought to bring Luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common In its common modern meaning a mule is the offspring of a male Donkey and a female Horse, which is classified as a kind of F1 hybrid. "Charlie-O" was paraded about the outfield, into cocktail parties and hotel lobbies, and into the press room after a large feeding to annoy reporters. This is a list of current and former Major League Baseball Mascots sorted alphabetically A cocktail is a style of Mixed drink. Originally a mixture of distilled spirits, Sugar, Water, and Bitters, the word has gradually (The mule died in 1976, at age 20. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees (4-0 Johnny Bench, MVP )
The "K. C. Pennant Porch"
After supposedly being told by manager Ed Lopat about the Yankees' success being attributable to the dimensions of Yankee Stadium, he built the "K. Edmund Walter Lopat (originally Lopatynski) ( June 21, 1918 &ndash June 15, 1992) was a Major League Baseball Pitcher The original Yankee Stadium is a Stadium located in The Bronx in New York City. C. Pennant Porch" in right field, which brought the right field fence in Kansas City Municipal Stadium to match Yankee Stadium's dimensions exactly, just 296 feet from home plate. Kansas City Municipal Stadium was a Baseball and football stadium that formerly stood in Kansas City Missouri. However, a rule passed in 1958 held that no (new or renovated) major-league fence could be closer than 325 feet, so league officials forced Finley to move the fences back after two exhibition games. The A's owner then ordered a white line to be painted on the field at the original "Pennant Porch" distance, and told the public address announcer to announce "That would have been a home run in Yankee Stadium" whenever a fly ball was hit past that line but short of the fence. The practice was quickly abandoned after the announcer was calling more "would-be" home runs for the opposition than the A's.
Uniform changes
Finley also made changes to the team's uniforms. In 1963, Finley changed the team's colors to "Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold and Wedding Gown White. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-0 Sandy Koufax, MVP Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. " In 1967, he replaced the team's traditional black cleats with white ones. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Bob Gibson, MVP He also started phasing out the team name "Athletics" in favor of "A's. " (When Mickey Mantle saw the A's' green-and-gold uniforms, he jeered, "They should have come out of the dugout on tippy-toes, holding hands and singing," according to Baseball Digest. Mickey Charles Mantle ( October 20, 1931 &ndash August 13, 1995) was an American Baseball player who was inducted )
Move to Oakland
In 1964, Finley signed a contract to move the A's from Kansas City to Louisville (where he would rename the team the Kentucky Colonels, thus keeping the "KC" logo), to play at Fairgrounds Stadium (now Cardinal Stadium), but the other American League owners voted down the move. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees (4-3 Bob Gibson, MVP See also University of Phoenix Stadium for the current home of the Arizona Cardinals football team With declining attendance in Kansas City, approval was eventually given to move the franchise to Oakland, California, for the 1968 season. Oakland (ˈoʊklənd founded in 1852 is the eighth-largest city in the U The Year of the Pitcher In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance caused by enforcing a larger strike zone (top of armpit
In Oakland
World Series success
The A's (as they were officially known from 1970) arrived in California just as the new talent amassed over the years in the minors (such as Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Bert Campaneris, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Vida Blue) was starting to gel. Champions Major Leagues World Series MVP Brooks Robinson All-Star Game, July 14 at Riverfront Stadium Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18 1946) nicknamed " Mr Salvatore Leonard Bando (born February 13 1944 in Cleveland Ohio) is a former Third baseman and executive in Professional baseball Joseph Oden Rudi (born September 7, 1946 in Modesto California) is a former Left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9 1942 in Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba) generally known as Bert Campaneris and nicknamed "Campy" James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter ( April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999) was a Major League Baseball right-handed Starting Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946, in Steubenville Ohio) is a former Relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for the This article is about Vida Blue the baseball pitcher For information on the Jam band of the same name see Vida Blue (band. During the early 1970s, the once-moribund A's became a powerhouse, winning three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974 and five straight division titles from 1971 to 1975. For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. The 1972 World Series matched the American League champion Oakland Athletics against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds, with The 1974 World Series matched the two-time defending champion Oakland Athletics against the Los Angeles Dodgers with the A’s winning the Series in 5 games Champions Major League Baseball World Series MVP Roberto Clemente All-Star Game, July 13 at Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Pete Rose, MVP
Animosity between Finley and his players
A major embarrassment for baseball resulted from Finley's actions during the 1973 World Series. The 1973 World Series matched the defending champion Oakland Athletics against the New York Mets, with the A's winning in seven games to repeat as World Champions Finley forced player Mike Andrews to sign a false affidavit saying he was injured, after the reserve infielder committed two consecutive errors in the 12th inning of Oakland's Game 2 loss to the New York Mets. Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943 in Los Angeles California) is a former Major League Baseball Second baseman who played An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant or deponent) and witnessed (as to the veracity of the In Baseball statistics|statistics]] an error is the act in the judgment of the Official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis. Other A's, manager Dick Williams and virtually the entire viewing public rallied to Andrews' defense, and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn forced Finley to reinstate Andrews. Richard Hirschfeld Williams (born May 7 1929 in St Louis Missouri) is a former Left fielder, Third baseman, manager, coach and The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball. Bowie Kent Kuhn (October 28 1926 &ndash March 15 2007 was an American Lawyer and sports administrator who served as the 5th commissioner of Major League Baseball There was nothing that said the A's had to let Andrews play, however. After Andrews grounded out in a pinch-hit appearance in Game 4, Finley ordered Andrews benched for the rest of the Series; he never played another major-league game. A fed-up Williams resigned after winning the Series, and Finley replaced him with Alvin Dark. Alvin Ralph Dark (born January 7 1922 in Comanche Oklahoma) nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox" is a former Shortstop and manager However, when Williams tried to become manager of the Yankees, Finley refused to let him take the post, saying that he owed the A's the last year of his contract. Finley eventually relented, and Williams became manager of the Angels.
Years later, the players said they played so well because they all hated Finley with a passion. For instance, Finley threatened to pack Jackson off to the minors in 1969 after Jackson hit 47 homers; Kuhn had to intervene in their contract dispute. Champions Major League Baseball The most notable part of the 1969 season were the Miracle Mets World Series: New York Mets Kuhn intervened again after Blue won the A. L. Cy Young Award in 1971 and Finley threatened to send him to the minors. In Baseball, the Cy Young Award is an honor given annually to the best Pitcher in Major League Baseball (one each for American and National Champions Major League Baseball World Series MVP Roberto Clemente All-Star Game, July 13 at
Mediocre attendance
The A's were a mediocre draw at best during the 20 years of his ownership, both in Kansas City and in Oakland, despite winning five divisional championships and three World Series in the latter venue. Average yearly attendance for Finley-owned teams was just under 743,000; in 1974, despite being on their way to their third straight world championship, the A's finished next-to-last in the A. Champions Major League Baseball 1974 World Series: Oakland Athletics over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-1 Rollie Fingers L. in attendance. The high-water mark for attendance came in 1975, when 1,075,518 came through the turnstiles. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Pete Rose, MVP Four years later, in 1979, only 306,783 fans bothered to attend as the A's fell to 54–108, by far the worst record in the AL West, and only one game better than the Toronto Blue Jays, who were in their third season after joining the AL in 1977. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore Orioles (4-3 Willie Stargell, The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Reggie Jackson, Baseball writer Rob Neyer, a native of the Kansas City area, says that this was because Finley thought he could sell a baseball team the same way he sold insurance. Rob Neyer (born 1966 is a Baseball author and since 1996 a columnist for ESPN At one point during their championship years, the A's radio flagship station was KALX, a 10-watt radio station owned by the University of California, Berkeley. KALX (907 FM) is a freeform FM Radio station that broadcasts from the University of California Berkeley in Berkeley California The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley KALX was practically unlistenable more than 10 miles from the Oakland Coliseum. This led one fan to joke about the A's radio network stretching all the way to Hawaii by asking, "Honolulu? How about here?"
Finley tries to dismantle his club
In 1976, after losing Hunter to free agency, Finley started dismantling his club, attempting to sell Rudi and Fingers to the Red Sox and Blue to the Yankees. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the The City and County of Honolulu is a combined city-county jurisdiction located in the U Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees (4-0 Johnny Bench, MVP Kuhn decided to invoke the rarely-used "best interests of baseball" clause in order to void Finley's sales. Finley, in turn, hired famed sports attorney Neil Papiano and proceeded to file a $10 million dollar restraint-of-trade lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball. Neil Papiano born, in Salt Lake City, Utah is an American lawyer The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Papiano and Finley lost the case (Finley v. Kuhn). The court ruled that the commissioner had the authority to determine what is in the best interest of baseball. This lawsuit is widely recognized as one of the most famous, influential and precedent-setting sports-related cases in the history of American jurisprudence. Jurisprudence is the Theory and Philosophy of Law. Scholars of jurisprudence or legal philosophers hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature
At the end of that season, many of the A's stars simply left the team due to free agency. The next year – only two years after winning a division title and three years after winning a World Series--the A's finished with the worst record in baseball. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Reggie Jackson, After that season, he tried to trade Blue again, this time to the Reds. Kuhn vetoed this trade as well, saying that it amounted to a fire sale not unlike the attempted 1976 trades. A fire sale is the Sale of goods at extremely Discounted prices typically when the seller faces Bankruptcy or other impending distress He also claimed that adding Blue to the Reds' already formidable pitching staff would make the race for the National League West a joke. The National League Western Division, or NL West, is one of the three divisions of Major League Baseball 's National League. (This exercise of power by Kuhn may have been more punitive than anything else. The Reds pitching staff had been decimated by free agency and injuries in the 76-77 off-season and as such the Reds finished a distant second to the Dodgers)
The A's remained one of the worst teams in baseball over the next two years, and their already poor attendance fell even further; there were several occasions during 1978 and 1979 that crowds could be counted in the hundreds. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Bucky Dent, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore Orioles (4-3 Willie Stargell, Some fans called them "the Triple A's. " The Coliseum's upkeep also suffered during this time, leading baseball writers to call it "the Oakland Mausoleum. "
Selling the A's
Finley tried to move the A's to Denver in 1978 and to New Orleans in 1979, but both moves foundered when the city of Oakland and Alameda County refused to let Finley out of his lease with the Coliseum. The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Alameda County is a county in the US state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. He was in the process of rebuilding the team again in 1980 when his wife filed for divorce midway through the season. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. She would not accept part of a baseball team as part of the settlement. With most of his money tied up in the A's or his insurance interests, Finley was forced to sell the team. He initially agreed to sell it to businessman Marvin Davis, who planned to move the A's to Denver. Marvin H Davis ( August 31, 1925 in Newark New Jersey &ndash September 25, 2004 in Beverly Hills, California However, a few weeks before Davis and Finley reached a definitive agreement, the Oakland Raiders announced they were moving to Los Angeles. The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in the city of Oakland California. Oakland and Alameda County officials were not about to lose the A's and refused to let them out of their lease. Forced to find a local buyer, Finley finally agreed to sell the A's to Walter A. Haas, Jr., president of Levi Strauss & Co. before the 1981 season. Walter A Haas Jr (1916 &ndash September 20, 1995) was a president and CEO (1958&ndash1976 and chairman (1970&ndash1981 of Levi Strauss & Co Levi Strauss & Co (LS&CO is a privately held Clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of Denim Jeans. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-2 Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero
Gimmicks
Finley was fond of gimmicks, dressing his players in non-traditional green and gold uniforms and offering his players $300 bonuses to grow moustaches. For the Swedish heavy metal band see Mustasch. A moustache (or mustache) is Facial hair grown on the upper Lip. For star relief pitcher Rollie Fingers, the handlebar moustache he grew for Finley became a trademark. Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946, in Steubenville Ohio) is a former Relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for the A handlebar moustache is a Moustache with particularly lengthy often graspable extremities After signing pitcher Jim Hunter, he nicknamed him "Catfish," even fabricating boyhood stories about Hunter to give him press appeal. Finley refused to sign then-prospect Don Sutton to a contract, simply because Sutton didn't have a flashy nickname. Donald Howard Sutton (born April 2, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball player and current Television Sportscaster. He introduced ball girls (one of whom, the future Debbi Fields, went on to found Mrs. Fields' Original Cookies, Inc.), and advocated night games for the World Series to increase fan interest. Debbi Fields (born September 18, 1956) is the founder and current spokesperson of Mrs Mrs Fields Famous Brands is a franchisor in the snack food industry with Mrs Finley also was an outspoken advocate of the designated hitter rule, which he pushed until it was adopted by the American League. In Baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6 He suggested many other innovations that were tried and rejected for various reasons, including:
- Orange baseballs - Tried in a few exhibition games, but hitters found it too hard to pick up the spin.
- A three-ball walk and two-strike strikeout - Tried in spring training one year, he thought it would lead to games with more action. A base on balls ( BB) is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in Baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire In Baseball or Softball, a strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when a batter receives three strikes Instead, the result was more walks and longer games.
- A mechanical rabbit that would pop up behind home plate and deliver new balls to the umpire - Finley installed one, which he named "Harvey," at the A's home ballparks in Kansas City and Oakland, but the idea never caught on anywhere else and was dropped by the A's after 1969. Rabbits are small Mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world Harvey is a 1944 play by American playwright Mary Chase. Directed by Antoinette Perry, the play premiered on 1 November 1944
- A designated runner - This idea was rejected for several reasons by Major League Baseball, and Finley was so upset at the rejection of the rule that he voted against his own Designated Hitter rule. However, the rejection didn't stop Finley from experimenting on his own in 1974, hiring a college sprinter named Herb Washington exclusively to pinch run and steal bases. Champions Major League Baseball 1974 World Series: Oakland Athletics over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-1 Rollie Fingers Herbert Lee (Hurricane Herb Washington (born November 16, 1951 in Belzoni Mississippi) became one of the world's most celebrated sprinters as a student-athlete In Baseball, a stolen base occurs when a Baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the Pitcher is delivering the ball to Home plate Washington stole 29 bases, but was caught stealing 18 times and frequently picked off by opposing pitchers. He was let go after shortly into his second season.
- Hired MC Hammer as Executive Vice President when he was just a teenager to be his "eyes and ears. MC Hammer (born Stanley Kirk Burrell; March 30, 1962) is an American MC most popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s known for his "
Other sports ventures
Finley purchased the Oakland Seals of the National Hockey League in 1970, renaming the team the California Golden Seals. The California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League (NHL from 1967-76 The National Hockey League ( NHL) is a professional Ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America After finding no buyers for the team, it was eventually taken over by the league in 1974. In 1972, Finley purchased the Memphis Pros of the American Basketball Association, changing the team's name to the Memphis Tams, the name being an acronym for Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. Memphis Pros were an American Basketball Association team during the 1970-1971 and 1971-1972 seasons The American Basketball Association ( ABA) was a professional Basketball league founded in 1967, and eventually merged in part with the National The Tams were taken over by the ABA in 1974 and renamed the Memphis Sounds. In both cases, the team's colors were changed by Finley to Kelly green and gold; furthermore, mimicking his attempt with the A's, he briefly compelled the Seals to wear white skates instead of the traditional black skates, a move deeply unpopular with both players and fans. Both teams were abysmal failures, both at the box office and on the ice or court, respectively.
In March of 1987, Finley proposed a new football league. The league would merge with the Canadian Football League, and be renamed the North American Football League. The Canadian Football League (CFL ( Ligue canadienne de football (LCF in The American cities would be made up of those that lost out on the United States Football League folding. For the proposed "New USFL" see United States Football League (2010. The idea never got past the planning stages.
Indiana legend
Finley resided primarily in Chicago and LaPorte, even as he owned the Oakland A's. Even though he would make frequent trips to Oakland, he would run the team from the Midwest, earning more derision as an absentee owner. Still, Finley was popular in his hometown of LaPorte, where he remained involved in the community late into his life.
While Finley was building a championship team in Oakland, the LaPorte High School baseball team was becoming a powerhouse. Finley would send the team equipment every season, including the white shoes the Oakland A's made famous and that the LaPorte High School team would use until the late 1990s.
Finley would occasionally throw a party whenever the A's would be in Chicago to play the White Sox. The Chicago White Sox are a professional Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. He bused the players to LaPorte ("God, we hated that," Bando told Sports Illustrated in 1999) and his local friends would mingle with the likes of Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter. Sports Illustrated is an American Sports Magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner.
The Kansas City Beatles concert
When Finley owned the Kansas City Athletics, he promised the people of Kansas City that he would bring The Beatles to play in Kansas City's Municipal Stadium during the group's first tour of North America in the summer of 1964. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Finley visited the group's manager, Brian Epstein, in San Francisco on August 19, 1964, where the Beatles were playing the first date of the tour. NEMS Enterprises defaults here For the Latin American record label see NEMS Enterprises (label. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city He told Epstein that he was disappointed that Kansas City was not among the group's itinerary, and offered first $50,000 and then $100,000 if the Beatles would schedule a concert in the Missouri city. Epstein refused, pointing out that on the only free date available, September 17, the band was scheduled for a day of rest in New Orleans. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Finley left disappointed, but again encountered Epstein in Los Angeles a week later. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Epstein again rejected Finley's offer of $100,000, noting that the band wanted to use their only day off to "explore the traditional home of jazz. " Undetered, Finley tore up the $100,000 check and wrote a new one for $150,000. Astonished, Epstein excused himself to talk to the group. John Lennon speaking for his bandmates replied, "We'll do whatever you want. John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born " Satisfied that, in exchange for forfeiting their only day off, the Beatles had earned what at the time was the highest fee ever for a musical concert, a staggering $4,838 per minute, Epstein accepted Finley's check. Although Finley is usually remembered by the people of Kansas City as the man who provided mediocre baseball while attempting to abandon the city for a more promising market, it should also be kept in mind that he did deliver on his promise to bring the Beatles to Kansas City.
Source: Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles Live!: The Ultimate Reference Book (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1986), 168–69.
Quote
- "Sweat plus sacrifice equals success. "
- SSS was engraved in his world series rings. His players would refer to it as "shit plus shit equals more shit".
- When asked how he felt about selling Fingers, Blue, Jackson and other key players on his championship team to the Red Sox he was quoted as saying, "I wish I could have sold more".
External links
- Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile
- BaseballLibrary - profile and career highlights
- Charlie Finley at Find A Grave
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic