The A’s Winning the 1972, 1973, and 1974 World Series

Here are some pictures from the San Francisco Chronicle depicting the crowning moments of the Oakland A’s dynasty of the early ’70s. First 1972:

Then 1973-before this clincher, Reggie said: “I had a pretty good day yesterday with two doubles and a single, and I’m going to do it again today.”:

And finally 1974:

The “Dodgers Goof” line refers to Bill Buckner singling to centerfielder Bill North to lead off the eighth inning of the final game of the ’74 Series. The Dodgers were down, 3-2. When Bill North missed the ball, Buckner hit second and headed for third base. But Reggie Jackson came over, got the ball, and threw in to cutoff man Dick Green, who relayed to Sal Bando, whose hard tag nailed Buckner at third.

The Chronicle’s Bob Stevens: “Buckner, who had been bugged unmercifully by the Frisbee and beer-can throwing fans in the left field bleachers, dug in for second base when North let the ball go by him, then dug in for third base as the knowledgeable crowd gasped with disbelief. The adventurous, strategy-defying Buckner was on his way to a paragraph in the same history book that features the names of Fred Merkle, Mickey Owen and Lou Brock, the man who refused to slide at the plate and cost the St. Louis Cardinals the World Series against Detroit. . . . There were no outs, he [Buckner] represented the potential tying run and the heavy artillery of the Dodgers’ batting order was waiting in the line to drive him home.”

Reggie Jackson, from his self-titled autobiography (via this post):

I saw everything in front of me. If you’re baseball-wise, you see the whole thing developing. As I went for the ball, I saw Buckner going into second. I knew instinctively what he was thinking. He was human and he was thinking third. I was saying to myself, “Where you going, man? Hey, man, don’t run on me. Don’t disregard me. Respect me. At least hesitate. Break stride. Wave at me. Holler, ‘Hey, Jack.’ Something. Anything. Let me know you know I’m there. Don’t pass go. Don’t collect no money.”

I can throw hard and accurate. But I never even thought of throwing to third. I made the fundamental play I was supposed to make, and it worked. I never even took a look for Greenie before I threw. I threw where he was supposed to be and he was there. I know he didn’t look for Bando. He threw where third was and Sal was there.

The Oakland A’s First Game

Here, from the San Francisco Chronicle, are a couple images of the A’s playing their first game, on April 10, 1968. It was in Baltimore, against the Orioles: a 3-1 defeat.

This is Joe DiMaggio, new coach and vice president for the A’s, appearing in uniform before the Baltimore crowd:

The Chronicle’s story noted that “the A’s have assigned catcher Dave Duncan, pitcher Gil Blanco and outfield Joe Rudi to Vancouver.” Sal Bando’s centerfield fly ball with the bases loaded ended the game. Catfish Hunter lost the game, pitching six innings, allowing two runs, and striking out three. He was about a month away from throwing a perfect game. Reggie Jackson, technically a rookie, hit a homer to start the eighth inning, but it was his second MLB homer, not his first. Sal Bando and Bert Campaneris are the two other A’s names that stand out in the box score. Dave Johnson, the eventual Mets manager, hit a double to score the Orioles’ second run.

And, to give a sense of the times, some lines from the Chronicle: “Don Buford, given a starting chance after Mark Brlanger was called for National Guard duty, starred at bat and in the field yesterday.. . . Tonight’s scheduled Oriole-A’s game was postponed because of the racial unrest here. (The Chronicle’s referring to rioting after Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis on April 4.)”

And for some local color from the Chronicle: the Giants started their 1968 season at Candlestick by beating Tom Seaver and the Mets, 5-4, with a three-run bottom of the ninth. Willie McCovey hit a homer, and both Seaver and Juan Marichal got no decisions. The picture you see above Joe D. is of Nate Oliver joyously sliding home in the ninth with the winning run for the Giants in their opener.

Also, a sports column by Ron Fimrite talked about S.F. raconteur Sam Cohen closing his Sam’s Lane Club:

It was Sam who . . . first launched the ‘Help Sam Stamp Out Candlestick Park’ campaign. Sam, in fact, began his siege of that beleaguered edifice while it was still under construction . . . . Sam’s objections to our ballpark are not, of course, founded on a solely altruistic base. Naturally, as a humanist, he is concerned about the frequently appalling shortage of creature comforts in the wind-swept stadium.But he equally deplores its location–on the outer edge of the city, far from such business establishments as Sam’s Lane Club.

By the way, in their sole season in an American League not split into divisions, the Oakland A’s went 82-80, good for sixth in the A.L., and drew 837,466 to the Coliseum. Many of the A’s who would take part in the ’71 to ’75 dynasty were on this team, which had no player over 32. Reggie Jackson, with his 29 homers, was the only A with more than 9 dingers. Some other players on the ’68 team: Tony La Russa, Dave Duncan, Rollie Fingers, Blue Moon Odom, Rene Lachemann, Joe Rudi, Rick Monday.

Ron Guidry’s Retirement

Louisiana Lightning’s retirement in July 1989 didn’t necessarily mean the end of an era, but if memory serves, he was the last of the late ’70s Yankees to leave the team. Some quotes from his teammates:
Reggie Jackson: “I remember Louisiana Lightning. I remember his small frame, stepping behind the mound, taking a deep breath and throwing a hellish slider to strike somebody out.

“Great career, great man, great Yankee. The sad thing is he won’t touch as many lives now that he’s out of the game. And anyone who was touched by Ron Guidry was made better for it.”

Willie Randolph said: “I’ve always said Ron Guidry, pound for pound, was the fiercest competitor I ever played with. Nobody wanted to give him a chance when he first came up. Too skinny, too small, they all thought. They couldn’t see what he had in his heart. He had a big one and a lot of determination.”

Sparky Lyle: “He was kind of like Thurman [Munson] in a way. He just went out, did his job and never complained. We all felt bad that he never got to the big leagues sooner. He got jerked around a little, but he never said anything . . . He was a great one. He sure did the pinstripes proud.”

His manager, Bob Lemon, on 1978: “In the playoff game, he gave up a hit and I brought in [Rich] Gossage. When he got in the dugout, Guidry said, ‘What the hell, can’t you give up a hit in this game?’ I told him I had Goose ready, but he didn’t want to come out of the game for nothing.”

Dave Righetti: “He was my role model in the beginning, and he probably will be until I die.”

And, Carl Yastrzemski said: “I loved the competition facing Guidry, especially in his younger years. You knew he was going to come right after you. He’d come after you with fastballs, but then he got cute with that slider . . . I think he loved the challenge of facing each other as much as I did.”

Marty Noble of Newsday wrote: “The image of Ron Guidry was forged on a Saturday night in June, 1978, when he struck out 18 California Angels. On that night, when two-strike clapping was born in the Bronx, Guidry became a Strikeout Pitcher – with an upper-case K. He repeatedly reinforced that image during the next decade. And he never declined that identification until yesterday, when he retired.”

Finally, Steve Jacobsen of the Los Angeles Times wrote: “Remember the night in 1982 when Reggie Jackson came back to Yankee Stadium in a California Angels uniform for the first time after being cast aside? It was April 27 and it was raining, and the Angels had a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning. Jackson had no home runs. Guidry, who then had considerable powers, threw his considerable slider right where he wanted it and Jackson hit one of his lightning bolts against the facing of the upper deck.
Before Jackson reached second base, the fans were beating their hands together and chanting, “Reg-gie! Reg-gie!” And Guidry, too, was silently clapping his hand in his glove.”

Reggie Jackson’s Last Game(s)

On October 1, 1987, Reggie Jackson played his last game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum with the A’s. The next day, the AP reported the story like this:

Reggie Jackson bowed out in style at the Oakland Coliseum yesterday.

“There a few ballplayers whom I have found were a privilege to manage. Reggie Jackson was one of those players. To me, that says it all because there is no higher compliment,” California Angel Manager Gene Mauch said after Jackson made his last appearance at the Coliseum yesterday.

Jackson singled in a pinch-hitting role to start a two-run rally against the Cleveland Indians, then announced after the game, “That was probably my last at-bat.”

His final hit came against ex-Mariner Ed Vande Berg.

The Athletics will finish out their season with a three-game series at Chicago.

It was a premature statement by Reggie though. His last game was on October 4 in Chicago, playing the full game at DH. The next day, the Los Angeles Times summarized:

“Reggie Jackson of the A’s had two hits in the final game of his 21-year career, including a broken-bat single in the eighth in his last at-bat, but the White Sox won at Chicago to finish the season with 17 victories in their last 21 games.”

The L.A. Times added: “Among the spectators in Chicago to watch Reggie Jackson play his last game for the Oakland A’s was former owner Charlie Finley, who signed Jackson to an A’s contract in 1966.

On the morning of the game, Jackson had breakfast with Finley, who owns an insurance business in Chicago.

“He forgot his wallet,” Jackson said. “I bought breakfast.”

On the day of Reggie’s last game in Oakland, the newswires also had news of what may be the last triple steal in big league history:

HOUSTON – Atlanta completed a bases-loaded triple steal in the fourth inning of their game against Houston last night.

With Jeff Blauser on first, Ken Oberkfell on second and Gerald Perry on third, Houston catcher Ronn Reynolds threw the ball back to pitcher Danny Darwin just as Perry broke for the plate.

Darwin threw the ball back to Reynolds, but the catcher dropped the ball and was injured on the play as Perry slid home safely.

Reynolds had to leave the game with a bruised and lacerated right hand and his replacement, Troy Afenir, allowed Oberkfell to score on a passed ball.

And in commemoration of Reggie in 1987, here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on his steal of home on April 18:

The chance of an Oakland A’s victory was starting to seem as remote as the possibility that 40-year-old Reggie Jackson would steal home.

Ah, but wasn’t that Reggie bowling over Seattle catcher Bob Kearney in the eighth inning Saturday night?

And wasn’t that a 7-5 A’s victory over the Seattle Mariners ?

Yes and yes. And no, don’t expect Reggie’s theft to become a daily ritual.

“The next time I steal home, it’ll be in a beer league,’’ said Jackson, who last stole home in the 1972 American League Championship Series against Detroit.

The A’s thought they had it in the eighth when Jose Canseco, who was at first, and Jackson, who was at third, perfectly executed a delayed double steal to break a 3-3 tie.

Canseco, who had just driven in the tying run with a broken-bat single to right off loser Mike Moore, 0-2, took off for second on the first pitch to Dwayne Murphy and stopped halfway.

Kearney threw to second to try to get Canseco. By the time Mariners shortstop Rey Quinones figured out what was happening, Jackson scored.

“I wanted to slide,‘’ Jackson said, “but Kearney was blocking the plate because I was safe, easy. If I slid, I couldn’t have gotten there. So I had to go for the Jim Brown act.

“It wouldn’t have worked if Alfredo Griffin was on third base. But they said the hell with the old man — he ain’t running.’’

Old man? Joked La Russa: “We figured we get Reggie into the Guinness Book of World Records: Oldest guy to steal home.’’