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USING CONTENT FROM History of the Oakland Athletics#Kansas City (1955–1967), Satchel Paige#Kansas City Athletics, and Oakland Athletics#Uniforms

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Kansas City Athletics
Cap logo
Information
LeagueAmerican League (1955–1967)
BallparkMunicipal Stadium (1955–1967)
Established1901 (franchise, Philadelphia), 1955 (Kansas City)
Folded1967 (relocated to Oakland, California and became the Oakland Athletics)
American League pennant9 (0 in Kansas City)
World Series championships5 (0 in Kansas City)
ColorsKelly Green, Wedding Gown White, Fort Knox Gold
     
Retired numbersNone
OwnershipCharles Finley (1961–1967)
Arnold Johnson (1955–1960)
ManagerLuke Appling (1967)
Alvin Dark (1966–1967)
Haywood Sullivan (1965)
Mel McGaha (1964–1965)
Eddie Lopat (1963–1964)
Hank Bauer (1961–1962)
Joe Gordon (1961)
Bob Elliott (1960)
Harry Craft (1957–1959)
Lou Boudreau (1955–1957)
General ManagerEddie Lopat (1966–1967)
Henry Peters (1965)
Pat Friday (1961–1964)
Parke Carroll (1959–1960)
George Selkirk (1957–1958)

The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the Oakland Athletics. In 2025 the franchise will move temporarily to Sacramento before permanently moving to Las Vegas.

The Kansas City franchise played at Municipal Stadium from 1955 to 1967.

1955–1960: Johnson era[edit]

Arnold Johnson, owner of the Athletics from 1955 to 1960.

In 1954, Chicago real estate magnate Arnold Johnson bought the Philadelphia Athletics and moved them to Kansas City, Missouri. Although he was initially viewed as a hero for making Kansas City a major-league town, it soon became apparent that he was motivated more by profit than any particular regard for the baseball fans of Kansas City. He had long been a business associate of New York Yankees owners Dan Topping, Larry MacPhail, and Del Webb, and had even bought Yankee Stadium in 1953, though the league owners forced Johnson to sell the property before acquiring the Athletics. Johnson had also bought Blues Stadium in Kansas City, home of the Yankees' top Triple A level Minor league baseball farm team, the Kansas City Blues of the second American Association. After Johnson got permission from the American League to move the A's to Kansas City, he sold Blues Stadium to the city, which renamed it Kansas City Municipal Stadium and leased it back to Johnson. The lease gave Johnson a three-year escape clause if the team failed to draw one million or more customers per season. The subsequent lease signed in 1960 contained an escape clause that lowered that threshold to 850,000 per season.

Normally, Johnson would have had to pay the Yankees an indemnity for moving to Kansas City, and also would have had to reimburse the Yankees for the costs they incurred for moving the Blues to Denver as the Denver Bears to make way for the A's. Major-league rules of the time gave the Yankees the major-league rights to Kansas City. However, the Yankees waived these payments as soon as the purchase was approved. Even though the Yankees had no intention of going anywhere, the waivers led to rumors of collusion between Johnson and the Yankees. The rumors grew louder due to the Yankees' thinly concealed support for the sale, to the point of planting rumors in the press to derail an 11th-hour attempt to keep the A's in Philadelphia.[1]

Rumors abounded that Johnson's real motive was to operate the Athletics in Kansas City for a few years, then move the team to Los Angeles (the Brooklyn Dodgers would later move there after the 1957 season). Whatever the concern about the move to Kansas City, fans turned out in record numbers for the era. In 1955, the Kansas City Athletics drew 1,393,054 to Municipal Stadium, a club record easily surpassing the previous record of 945,076 in 1948; in fact, it was the third-highest attendance figure in the majors, behind only the all-powerful Yankees and the also recently relocated Milwaukee Braves in the National League (1953–1965). That number would never be approached again while the team was in Kansas City, and would remain the club record for attendance until 1982—the Athletics' 15th season in Oakland. The A's of this era were barely competitive; in five years under Johnson's ownership, the closest they got to a winning record was 1958, when they finished 73–81, eight games below .500 and 19 games out of first.

During Johnson's tenure, virtually every good young A's player was traded to the Yankees for aging veterans and cash. Over the years, Johnson traded such key players as Roger Maris, Bobby Shantz, Héctor López, Clete Boyer, Art Ditmar and Ralph Terry to New York; in return, he did receive some talented younger players such as Norm Siebern and Jerry Lumpe, and the cash helped the team pay the bills. However, with few exceptions, the trades were heavily weighted in favor of the Yankees and arguably helped keep the Yankee dynasty afloat. For example, ten players from the 1961 Yankees, reckoned as one of the best teams of all time, came from the A's.[2] This led to accusations from fans, reporters and even other teams that Johnson had reduced the A's to a Yankee farm team at the major-league level. Bill Veeck, for instance, recalled that under Johnson, the A's were "nothing more than a loosely controlled Yankee farm club."[3]

The Athletics played at Municipal Stadium during their time in Kansas City.

On the positive side, Johnson devoted attention to player development for the first time in the history of the franchise. Under longtime owner and manager Connie Mack, the A's did not or could not spend any money building a farm system, a major reason why Mack's Philadelphia teams fell from World Series champions to cellar-dwellers so quickly. When Johnson bought the team, the A's only had three scouts in the entire organization. Johnson did make some improvements to the farm system, but was unwilling to pay top dollar for players that could get the A's within sight of contention.

Johnson was returning from watching the Athletics in spring training when he was fatally stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage. He died in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 3, 1960, at the age of 53.[4]

1961–1967: Finley era[edit]

On December 19, 1960, Chicago insurance magnate Charlie Finley purchased a controlling interest in the team from Johnson's estate after losing out to Johnson six years earlier in Philadelphia. He bought out the minority owners a year later. Finley promised the fans a new day. In a highly publicized move, he purchased a bus, pointed it in the direction of New York, and burned it to symbolize the end of the "special relationship" with the Yankees. He called another press conference to burn the existing lease at Municipal Stadium which included the despised "escape clause". He spent over $400,000 of his own money in stadium improvements (though in 1962 the city reimbursed $300,000 of this). He introduced new uniforms which had "Kansas City" on the road uniforms for the first time ever and an interlocking "KC" on the cap. This was the first time the franchise had acknowledged its home city on its uniforms. He announced, "My intentions are to keep the A's permanently in Kansas City and build a winning ball club. I have no intention of ever moving the franchise." The fans, in turn, regarded Finley as the savior of Major League Baseball in Kansas City.[citation needed]

Leo Posada with the 1961 Athletics

Finley immediately hired Frank Lane, a veteran baseball man with a reputation as a prolific trader, as general manager. Lane began engineering trades with several other teams, including the Yankees, the bus-burning stunt notwithstanding. Lane lasted less than one year, being fired during the 1961 season. He was temporarily replaced by Pat Friday, whose sole qualification for the job was that he managed one of Finley's insurance offices. On paper, Friday remained general manager until 1965, when he was replaced by Hank Peters. After only a year, Peters was fired and replaced by Eddie Lopat, who also lasted only one season. After Lopat's ouster in 1966, the team had no formal general manager until 1981. In fact, Friday, Peters and Lopat were mere figureheads. With the firing of Lane in 1961, Finley effectively became the team's de facto general manager, and would remain so for the duration of his ownership.[citation needed]

Finley made further changes to the team's uniforms. The Philadelphia Athletics wore blue and white or black and gray outfits through most of their history;[5] in the last years in Philadelphia and the first in Kansas City, the team used a red, white and navy blue scheme.[6] In 1963, Finley changed the team's colors to "Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold and Wedding Gown White". In June 1963, Bill Bryson wrote of the uniforms,

Kelly green is the Athletics' accent color. It was more a nauseous green the players wore on their wholesome, clean-cut faces the first few times they had to appear in public looking like refugees from a softball league.[7]

Yankees vs. Athletics at Municipal Stadium

Finley replaced Mack's elephant with a Missouri mule—not just a cartoon logo, but a real mule, which he named after himself: "Charlie O, the Mule". He also began phasing out the team name "Athletics" in favor of simply "A's". Some of his other changes—for instance, his repeated attempts to mimic Yankee Stadium's famous right-field "home run porch"—were less successful. AL President Joe Cronin ordered Finley to remove the fence which duplicated the 296-foot right-field foul line in Yankee Stadium. Smarting from this edict from the league office, Finley ordered Municipal Stadium PA announcer Jack Layton to announce, "That would have been a home run in Yankee Stadium", whenever a fly ball passed the limit in Municipal Stadium's outfield. That practice ended quickly, however, when it was apparent that other teams were hitting more "would-be" home runs than the A's.[citation needed]

The 1965 season is most notable for a promotional move of Finley's. On September 25, against the Boston Red Sox, Finley invited several Negro league veterans, including Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell, to be introduced before the game. Paige, who was 59 at the time, had signed earlier in the month to play one game. This game would make Paige the oldest player to ever play in Major League Baseball. Paige went three scoreless innings, facing ten batters and giving up only one hit and throwing one strikeout.[8]

While the A's were still dreadful in the first eight years of Finley's ownership, he began to lay the groundwork for a future contender. Finley poured significant resources into the minor league system for the first time in the history of the franchise. By 1966, the A's were reckoned as having the strongest farm system in the majors. He was assisted by the creation of the Major League Baseball draft in 1965, which forced young prospects to sign with the team that drafted them—at the price offered by the team—if they wanted to play professional baseball. Thus, Finley was spared from having to compete with wealthier teams for top talent. The Athletics, owners of the worst record in the American League in 1964, had the first pick in the first draft, selecting Rick Monday on June 8, 1965.[citation needed]

Finley looks for a way out[edit]

Kansas City Athletics alternate logo, 1963–1967

Almost as soon as the ink dried on his purchase of the Athletics, Finley began shopping the Athletics to other cities despite his promises that the A's would remain in Kansas City. Soon after the lease-burning stunt, it was discovered that what actually burned was a blank boilerplate commercial lease available at any stationery store. The actual lease was still in force—including the escape clause. Finley later admitted that the whole thing was a publicity stunt, and he had no intention of amending the lease.[citation needed]

In 1961 and 1962, Finley talked to people in Dallas–Fort Worth and a four-man group appeared before American League owners,[9] but no formal motion was put forward to move the team to Texas. In January 1964, he signed an agreement on to move the A's to Louisville,[10] promising to change the team's name to the "Kentucky Athletics".[11] (Other names suggested for the team were the "Louisville Sluggers" and "Kentucky Colonels", which would have allowed the team to keep the letters "KC" on their uniforms.) The owners turned it down by a 9–1 margin on January 16, with Finley being the only one voting in favor.[12] Six weeks later, by the same 9–1 margin, the A.L. owners denied Finley's request to move the team to Oakland.

Rocky Colavito 1964 Kansas City Athletics Spring Training

These requests came as no surprise, as impending moves to these cities, as well as to Atlanta, Milwaukee, New Orleans, San Diego, and Seattle— all of which Finley had considered as new homes for the Athletics — had long been afloat. He also threatened to move the A's to a "cow pasture" in Peculiar, Missouri, complete with temporary grandstands.[13] Not surprisingly, attendance tailed off. The city rejected Finley's offer of a two-year lease agreement;[14] finally, American League President Joe Cronin persuaded Finley to sign a four-year lease with Municipal Stadium in February 1964.[15]

During the World Series on October 11, 1967, Finley announced his choice of Oakland over Seattle as the team's new home.[16][17] A week later on October 18 in Chicago, A.L. owners at last gave him permission to move the Athletics to Oakland for the 1968 season.[18][19] According to some reports, Cronin promised Finley that he could move the team after the 1967 season as an incentive to sign the new lease with Municipal Stadium. The move came in spite of approval by voters in Jackson County, Missouri of a bond issue for a brand new baseball stadium (the eventual Royals Stadium, now Kauffman Stadium) to be completed in 1973. Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri blasted Finley on the floor of the U.S. Senate, calling Oakland "the luckiest city since Hiroshima".[20]

During the Johnson years, the Athletics' home attendance averaged just under one million per season, respectable numbers for the era, especially in light of the team's dreadful on-field performance. In contrast, during the years of Finley's ownership, the team averaged under 680,000 per year in Kansas City. According to baseball writer Rob Neyer (a native of the Kansas City area), this was largely because Finley tried to sell baseball tickets like he sold insurance. Just before the 1960 season, he mailed brochures to 600,000 people in the area, and only made $20,000 in ticket sales.[21] During their thirteen years in Kansas City, the Athletics' overall record was 829–1224 (.404), and the best season was 1966 at 74–86 (.463).[22]

Legacy[edit]

When Symington threatened to have baseball's antitrust exemption revoked, the owners responded with a hasty round of expansion. Kansas City was awarded an American League expansion team, the Kansas City Royals. They were initially slated to begin play in 1971, but Symington was not willing to have Kansas City wait three years for another team, and renewed his threat to have baseball's antitrust exemption revoked unless the expansion teams — the Royals and the Seattle Pilots — began play in 1969, two years earlier than originally planned. The owners complied, but while Kansas City was major league ready, Seattle was not; its stadium problems affected profitability and ultimately forced the sale and move to Milwaukee after only one season as the Pilots.

Notable Kansas City Athletics[edit]

Uniforms[edit]

When the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, new owner Arnold Johnson kept the franchise's traditional color scheme of red, white, and blue. The home uniforms was a plain white uniform with script "Athletics" across the chest. The road uniforms were the same save for the shirt being gray.

Following the purchase of the team in 1960 by owner Charles O. Finley, he introduced road uniforms with "Kansas City" printed on them, with an interlocking "KC" on the cap (as opposed to the previous "A"). In 1963, Finley changed the team's colors from their traditional red, white, and blue to what he termed "Kelly Green, Wedding Gown White and Fort Knox Gold". It was here that he began experimenting with dramatic uniforms to match these bright colors, such as gold sleeveless tops with green undershirts and gold pants.

List of Kansas City Athletics seasons[edit]

Main article: List of Oakland Athletics seasons
Kansas City Athletics season-by-season record
Season Wins Losses Win % Place Playoffs
1955 63 91 .409 6th in AL —
1956 52 102 .338 8th in AL —
1957 59 94 .386 7th in AL —
1958 73 81 .474 7th in AL —
1959 66 88 .429 7th in AL —
1960 58 96 .377 8th in AL —
1961 61 100 .379 9th in AL —
1962 72 90 .444 9th in AL —
1963 73 89 .451 8th in AL —
1964 57 105 .352 10th in AL —
1965 59 103 .364 10th in AL —
1966 74 86 .463 7th in AL —
1967 62 99 .385 10th in AL —
All-Time Record 829 1,224 .404 — —

References[edit]

  1. ^ Warrington, Robert D. Departure Without Dignity: The Athletics Leave Philadelphia. Society for American Baseball Research, 2010.
  2. ^ David L. Fleitz (April 2001). "The Yankees and the A's". Baseball Almanac.
  3. ^ Melissa Lockard (February 25, 2007). "Athletics History: KC A's-Yankees Pipeline". 247Sports.
  4. ^ "Arnold Johnson Dead, Owner of Athletics". The Telegraph-Herald. 1960-03-09.
  5. ^ http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?league=AL&city=Philadelphia&lowYear=1920&highYear=1956&sort=year&increment=18 [permanent dead link]
  6. ^ http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?league=AL&city=Kansas+City&lowYear=1955&highYear=1969&sort=year&increment=18 [permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Bryson, Bill (June 1963). "Whose Hues? A's colored uniforms recall varied suits of the past". Baseball Digest. pp. 33, 34. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  8. ^ Kelly, Matt. "Satch's Swan Song". baseballhall.org. Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  9. ^ "The Bonham Daily Favorite – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  10. ^ "Athletics sign lease for Louisville move". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 7, 1964. p. 8.
  11. ^ "Finley Signs Contract to Transfer Athletics to Louisville". The New York Times. 1964-01-06. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
  12. ^ "Finley hears AL message; sign contract or go away". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 17, 1964. p. 12.
  13. ^ Castrovince, Anthony (January 9, 2022). "Cities that almost had an MLB team". MLB.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  14. ^ "City rejects Finley's offer". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. February 19, 1964. p. 17.
  15. ^ "Finley, KC agree". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. February 28, 1964. p. 18.
  16. ^ "Finley picks Oakland as home for his A's". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. October 12, 1967. p. 12.
  17. ^ "Finley picks Oakland for A's new home". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 12, 1967. p. 22.
  18. ^ "Transfer of Athletics to Oakland approved". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. October 19, 1967. p. 10.
  19. ^ "Seattle promised American League club; Athletics moved from KC to Oakland". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 19, 1967. p. 16.
  20. ^ Ron Fimrite (1979-05-21). "They're Just Mad About Charlie". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  21. ^ Neyer, Rob. Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders. ISBN 0743284917
  22. ^ "Oakland Athletics Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
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