Today was the last major-league baseball game to be played in Oakland. My first job out of UF was in the Bay Area, and one of my favorite entertainments was to ride the BART train to Colosseum station and walk across the bridge to watch the A’s play. You could sit in the outfield for $2, or go on the once a week half-price night. They weren’t so good in those days and attendance was often sparse. The smallest attendance I witnessed was about 650 people in the entire stadium. Even with so few people, I still could not catch a foul ball. That night John Matuszak of the Oakland Raiders sat in the area behind first base with us, and shot the breeze with the people around him. He gladly signed autographs of all the kids that came up to him. There’s just something about a lazy afternoon or evening watching a major-league baseball game live. A's fans prepare for final game at Oakland Coliseum before moving
Growing up my Dad used to take us to Braves games often on weekend afternoon games. The team was terrible and there was almost nobody in the outfield bleachers. We always sat in left field and saw Hank knock a few out, but even though the ball rattled around in the sparse seating, we never got to one of them first
Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers. Man I hated the As back in the day, but I am not sure I understand baseball with the absence of the Oakland As.
My family and I moved from Memphis TN to Northern California in August 1971. I was 7 years old. The A's were just starting to get good and indeed won 3 straight World Series from 72-74. I thought it was the best thing ever that the world champs played just 30 ish miles from my house. They were my first sports love and I was obsessed. Not much TV in those days- but I tried to listen to every game on the radio. Monte Moore was the play by play. I think I can still do the starting lineups- Billy North, Campy Campernis, Gene Tenace, Joe Rudi, Sal Bando, Reggie Jackson, Claudell Washington. Pitching was Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Ken HOltzman. Rollie Fingers out of the bullpen. My first baseball game was my 8th birthday. 8/13/72. Vida Blue shut out the White Sox. It was a magical day. If you watch the movie City Slickers Billy Crystal talks about his best day ever- and for him it was his first visit to Yankee Stadium. I had the same experience- but with the A's. My love was broken then spat on by free agency and all the stars leaving in 76. The A's were absolutely awful I was an older/ wiser 12 year old whose heart was broken, and I vowed never to love anything like that again. Then I started UF in 1983 and...
1989 Oakland Athletics Roster | Baseball Almanac What a lineup. I grew up hating this team but I enjoyed watching them as a kid. Shame what has happened to this franchise
That’s really awesome! edit: with storm in FL my phone didn’t load a few responses. I was answering phat but realize it works for all. Those childhood memories are great!
I grew up in Tampa and when I was a kid there was no MLB team until years later. We had the Bucs, but for baseball it was spring training. The Cincinnati Reds trained in Tampa back then and my dad would take me and my brother to see them play. Wow, what a team, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Ken Griffey, Tom Seaver, it was like an all star team. I grew up rooting for the Reds of course. Years later in the summer of 1991 as a UF student, I had the opportunity to go visit a friend in Los Angeles. We drove up the coast and spent several days in San Francisco. I wanted to see the Giants play but they were out of town so we drove across the bay to see the Oakland A’s play. Again, it was like I was watching an All-Star team. Mark McGuire, Jose Canseco, Ricky Henderson, Dennis Eckersley. It was a beautiful afternoon in the warm California sun, and made for some sweet memories. I would return to see the A’s play each time I was in the bay area. Big bonus and slightly off topic, we also saw Guns N Roses live in that trip. I liked there tunes but wasn’t a huge fan. Wow, they blew the roof off the place, spectacular show! 1977 Cincinnati Reds Roster | Baseball Almanac
I was born and raised in the Bay Area, and for most of that time it was a 20-30 minute bus/BART trip from our house to the Coliseum. When I was in grad school I would go home for much of the summer, and go to a lot of afternoon A's games
Not sure why, (maybe they were the anti establishment team) but I was a big A's fan back in the Catfish, Reggie, Joe Rudi days. Don't follow MLB as much these days and didn't realize baseball was leaving Oakland. Sad. Never saw a game in Oakland, but did catch a memorable Dodger game while on a California vacation. Had a Dodger Dog while watching the sun set over Chavez Ravine as Fernando Valenzuela dueled Dwight Gooden. Great game, except Mets won.
Same here - Mare Island, Valejo. Re-located before I was old enough to go to ball games but have always had an affinity for the Bay Area teams. Sad to see this happen to such a storied franchise...
As I said I moved there when I was 7. I grew up in Antioch and left as a teen. But the A’s have been my favorite team
I moved there in 1978 and so the all stars were gone. Several years later a friend at work was dating a reporter for the Contra Costa Times. She was going to interview Charles O. Finley right after he sold the A's. My friend gave her two baseballs get autographed -- one for a 12-year-old kid and one for me. I presume he was not pulling my leg, but I never had it authenticated. I spoke to a colleague today who lives in Sacramento. Apparently the A's are moving there temporarily until the stadium is built in Las Vegas. They will play in a minor league stadium that seats about 8,000. Can you imagine how the Yankees or Red Sox will feel about playing in a minor league park? And in a Sacramento summer!
Took my children to their pitching pal program, a whole little league team can sign up and A would provide tickets for kids and parents, a backup pitcher would go out and work with the kids. Once the pitcher was from Miami and my son said go gators and they talked a little trash and had a great time. now my children all grew up and I hadn’t been to an A game since I am not a baseball fan. I always say if I were A would be my team. I am sad that they are leaving Bay Area. Oakland is such a step child in the Bay Area
Yes, I spent one summer drinking beers and eating hot dogs out at those “view reserved” seats at Oakland A Stadium on a student budget visiting SF while attending UF. Great fun and memories. I often said to myself then “how could life be better than this?”
In the 90s, we were flying from Oakland to Phoenix and our plane was late, so everyone was just mulling around the terminal. When the plane finally did arrive the A's team got off. We saw the bash brothers, Rickey, Dennis Eckersley, LaRussa ect. And yes, they were cheap even back then cause they were flying Southwest just like us.
My uncle Dave Beard played for the As! He was honored in August for “ The Final Pitch” when the 81 As beat the KC Royals for the AL West Championship!
