Charlie Finley

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Lore & Background

Finley entered the ranks of Major League Baseball owners after multiple failed attempts to acquire franchises during the 1950s. He first tried to buy the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954, then bid for the Detroit Tigers in 1956, and lost out on the Chicago White Sox in 1959 and the Los Angeles Angels in 1960. On December 19, 1960, he purchased the controlling interest in the Kansas City Athletics from the estate of Arnold Johnson. Finley quickly started to turn the franchise around, refusing to make deals with the New York Yankees and searching for unheralded talent. From 1961 onward, Finley was effectively his own general manager. He changed the team's colors to Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold, and White in 1963. In 1964, he paid the Beatles $150,000 for a concert at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City. 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." Finley moved the team to Oakland after the relocation was approved in October 1967, and the team began play in Oakland in 1968, just as new talent amassed in the minors—Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Bert Campaneris, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Vida Blue—became ready for the Majors. The A's won three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974 and five straight division titles from 1971 to 1975. He was named The Sporting News Executive of the Year in 1973.

In Their Own Story

In 1964, Finley was determined to bring the Beatles to Kansas City. Seeing one open date on their tour, he offered and paid the Beatles $150,000 for a concert on September 17, 1964. The tickets read: "CHARLES O. FINLEY/ IS PLEASED TO PRESENT..FOR THE ENJOYMENT/ OF THE BEATLE FANS IN MID-AMERICA/ 'THE BEATLES'/ IN PERSON" on the front, and showed a photograph of Finley wearing a Beatles wig on the back with the quote, "Today's Beatle's (sic) Fans/ Are/ Tomorrow's Baseball Fans." John Lennon was quoted later as saying he disliked Finley's attempt to strong-arm the Beatles into playing longer than their then-standard half-hour concert set. 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. He told Epstein he was disappointed that Kansas City was not among the group's itinerary, and offered first $50,000 and then $100,000. 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. Finley encountered Epstein again in Los Angeles a week later and they agreed on $150,000.

Reader's Guide

Finley's ownership of the A's produced three consecutive World Series championships from 1972 to 1974. He was named The Sporting News Sportsman of the Year in 1972. Marvin Miller, the founder of MLB's players union, called him "absolutely the best judge of baseball talent I've ever seen." The A's won five straight division titles from 1971 to 1975. In 1974, after winning a third straight World Series championship, Finley lost ace pitcher Jim 'Catfish' Hunter to free agency as a result of a contract clause violation. The A's still managed to dominate throughout the 1975 regular season without Hunter, but were swept by Boston in the playoffs. With free agency looming at the end of the 1976 season, Finley began dismantling the ball club. Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman were traded to Baltimore a week prior to the start of the 1976 season. Finley attempted to sell Rudi and Fingers to the Red Sox for $1 million each and Blue to the Yankees for $1.5 million, at which Major League Baseball commissioner Bowie 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 restraint-of-trade lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball.

Did You Know?

• Finley paid the Beatles $150,000 for a single concert in Kansas City on September 17, 1964, which was considered a show business record for a one-night stand appearance.
• 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.'
• Finley replaced the Athletics' traditional elephant mascot with a live mule named 'Charlie-O,' which died in 1976 at age 20.
• In 1964, Finley built the 'K.C. Pennant Porch' in right field to match Yankee Stadium's dimensions exactly at 296 feet, but league officials forced him to move the fences back after the 1964 season.
• Finley was named The Sporting News Executive of the Year in 1973.