Leaving ‘A’ mark

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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – For more than 20 years, Charlie Finley was described as both a maverick and a genius.

But at the end of his tumultuous ownership of the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, one adjective described him best: Winner.

Finley, who challenged the baseball establishment while building a powerhouse A's team that won three straight World Series titles from 1972 to 1974, is one of 10 finalists on this year's Golden Era ballot that will be considered by the committee on managers, umpires, executives and long-retired players at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The 16-person committee will vote at baseball's Winter Meetings, and the results of the vote will be announced Dec. 5.

The 10 candidates on the ballot are: Buzzie Bavasi, Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, Allie Reynolds, Ron Santo, Luis Tiant and Finley. Any candidate who is named on at least 75 percent of all ballots cast will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2012.

The committee consists of Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Al Kaline, Ralph Kiner, Tommy Lasorda, Juan Marichal, Brooks Robinson, Don Sutton and Billy Williams; executives Paul Beeston (Blue Jays), Bill DeWitt (Cardinals), Roland Hemond (Diamondbacks), Gene Michael (Yankees) and Al Rosen (retired); and media members Dick Kaegel, Jack O'Connell and Dave Van Dyck. Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark will serve as the non-voting chairman of the Golden Era Committee. 

Born Charles Oscar Finley Feb. 22, 1918 in Ensley, Ala., Finley's family moved to Gary, Ind., in 1933. Finley worked in a steel mill until World War II, when he went to work in a munitions plant. After the war, Finley became an insurance salesman until a bout with tuberculosis landed him in a sanitarium. While recovering, Finley discovered that the doctors there had little disability insurance.

In the years following his recovery, Finley sold insurance policies to doctor groups, and through shrewd stock market investing amassed a fortune.

"I hit the jackpot," Finley said.

A former semipro baseball player, Finley set out to purchase a big league team, only to be rebuffed in efforts to acquire the White Sox, Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics. Finally, in 1960, Finley outbid his competitors in probate court and purchased the Kansas City A's from the estate of Arnold Johnson on Dec. 19. He quickly assumed full ownership for about $4 million.

In short order, Finley proved he would be a hands-on owner, running through seven managers in seven seasons before moving the club to Oakland in 1968. While in Kansas City, Finley added bright green and gold colors to the A's uniforms, had baseballs delivered to the home plate umpire by a mechanical rabbit and replaced the A's traditional elephant mascot with a live mule, Charlie O.

It was Finley's investments in the team's player development system, however, that began to pay dividends in Oakland. After failing to finish better than seventh in the standings in Kansas City, the A's quickly morphed into a powerhouse in Oakland with young stars like Bert Campaneris, Sal Bando, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Reggie Jackson. In 1971, after hiring future Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, the A's won 101 games and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1931, when the club was in Philadelphia.

From 1971-75, the A's won five American League Western Division titles, three AL pennants and three World Series championships from 1972-74. The A's are the only franchise other than the Yankees to win three straight World Series crowns.

In that same time span, Finley also championed ideas like the designated hitter and weeknight World Series games. He encouraged his players to grow mustaches for a team promotion – leaving many players, like future Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, with an indelible mark that would last a lifetime.

But during those same years, Finley also clashed with his players, his managers and the league. In his most infamous incident, Finley attempted to place second baseman Mike Andrews on the disabled list during the 1973 World Series – despite the fact that Andrews, who had committed two errors in the 12th inning of Game 2, insisted he was uninjured.

Finley was later forced to re-instate Andrews. And despite the turmoil, the A's went on to win the World Series.

"I don't care what anybody else says," said Jim "Catfish" Hunter, a 1987 Hall of Fame inductee and the ace of the Oakland pitching staff that led the A's to three straight World Series titles. "Charlie Finley was good for baseball."

But as the free agency era dawned in baseball in 1976, Finley was unwilling to pay top dollar to keep his stars. Hunter left for Yankees riches after the 1974 season due to a breach of contract dispute with Finley, and Jackson – another future Hall of Famer – was traded to the Orioles after the 1975 season.

Then on June 15, 1976, Finley attempted to sell Fingers and Joe Rudi to the Red Sox and Vida Blue to the Yankees – deals which would have netted Finley $3.5 million. Three days later, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the deals and sent Fingers, Rudi and Blue back to the A's.

The A's posted nine winning seasons from 1968-76, but failed to win as many as 70 games during 1977, 1978 or 1979 as Finley allowed his free agents stars to sign elsewhere. In 1980, the A's rebounded with 83 wins – largely on the strength of the 100 stolen bases of future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson and the managerial skills of Billy Martin – but Finley believed he could not deal with the new salary structure in baseball.

Following the 1980 season, Finley sold the A's to a group led by Walter A. Haas Jr. for $12.7 million.

"During the time we were winning championships, survival was a battle of wits," Finley said. "We did all right then. But it is not longer a battle of wits, but how much you have on the hip."

Finley, however, spent much of his life giving away everything he had on "the hip", and he spent the rest of his life supporting various charitable causes. He passed away on Feb. 19, 1996.

In the end, his World Series rings best sum up the career of Charles O. Finley.

"In all the years I've known Charlie Finley, he has been tremendous for baseball," said former American League President and future Hall of Famer Lee MacPhail. "No one important innovation was made that he didn't have a part in. He's done a great job on the field, and he did it mostly by himself."

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum