Oakland, 1968–2024: A Dynasty, Then a Long Decline

Owners: Charlie Finley (1968–1980); Walter A. Haas Jr. (1981–1995); Steve Schott & Ken Hofmann (1995–2005); Lewis Wolff (2005–2016); John J. Fisher (2016–2025)

Notable Managers: Dick Williams (1971–73); Alvin Dark (1974–75); Billy Martin (1980–82); Tony La Russa (1986–95); Art Howe (1996–2002); Bob Melvin (2011–2021)

Home Park: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (1968–2024)

 The A’s arrived in Oakland on April 17, 1968, losing their home opener 4-1 to the Baltimore Orioles in front of 50,164 fans. Three weeks later, Catfish Hunter (RHP, OAK) threw the American League’s first regular season perfect game since 1922, against the Minnesota Twins. Only 6,298 people showed up for it.

That tension, between what was happening on the field and what was happening at the box office, would define the Oakland years.

Under Finley and manager Dick Williams, the A’s won three consecutive World Series titles: 1972, 1973, and 1974. The “Swingin’ A’s” roster was loaded with talented, independent-minded players who bickered as much with each other as with the opposition. Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, and Sal Bando were the core.

Reggie Jackson (OF, OAK) was one of the most compelling players of his generation. His 1969 season alone produced a 9.3 WAR, 47 home runs, and an OPS+ of 189. Over ten seasons in Oakland he hit 269 home runs with a .355 OBP, .496 SLG, and OPS+ of 145. His career WAR of 74.0 makes the Hall of Fame call an easy one.

Season

Team

WAR

HR

RBI

OBP

SLG

OPS+

1969

OAK

9.3

47

118

.410

.608

189

1971

OAK

6.4

32

80

.352

.508

144

1973

OAK

7.8

32

117

.383

.531

161

1974

OAK

5.7

29

93

.391

.514

166

1975

OAK

6.7

36

104

.329

.511

137

Career (OAK)

OAK

48.1

269

776

.355

.496

145

Career (Total)

21 Yrs

74.0

563

1,702

.356

.490

139

Source: Baseball Reference. WAR = Wins Above Replacement. OPS+ = Adjusted OPS (100 = league average).

 Catfish Hunter (RHP, OAK) was the ace of those championship teams. His 1974 Cy Young season was 25-12, 2.49 ERA, ERA+ of 134 with a sterling 0.986 WHIP. The 1972 season was arguably even better: 21-7, 2.04 ERA, ERA+ of 140. Hunter’s ten seasons in Oakland produced a 161-113 record, 3.13 ERA, and 26.4 WAR.

Season

Team

WAR

W-L

ERA

ERA+

WHIP

SO/9

1972

OAK

5.7

21-7

2.04

140

0.914

5.8

1973

OAK

1.8

21-5

3.34

107

1.135

4.4

1974

OAK

6.9

25-12

2.49

134

0.986

4.0

Career (OAK)

OAK

26.4

161-113

3.13

105

1.126

5.6

Career (Total)

15 Yrs

36.3

224-166

3.26

104

1.134

5.2

Source: Baseball Reference.

 Vida Blue (LHP, OAK) gave the franchise one of the greatest single seasons any pitcher has had. His 1971 campaign: 24-8, 1.82 ERA, ERA+ of 183, and a 9.0 WAR. He won the AL Cy Young Award and the MVP. Blue’s nine seasons in Oakland produced a 124-86 record, 2.95 ERA, and 29.0 WAR.

Season

Team

WAR

W-L

ERA

ERA+

WHIP

SO9

1971

OAK

9.0

24-8

1.82

183

0.952

8.7

1973

OAK

2.1

20-9

3.28

109

1.210

5.4

1975

OAK

4.6

22-11

3.01

121

1.230

6.1

1976

OAK

7.6

18-13

2.35

142

1.109

5.0

Career (OAK)

OAK

29.0

124-86

2.95

118

1.165

6.1

Career (Total)

17 Yrs

44.9

209-161

3.27

108

1.233

5.9

Source: Baseball Reference.

 But Finley kept the payroll low, clashed constantly with his players, and fought free agency at every turn. When the reserve clause fell in 1975 and free agency arrived, he couldn’t hold his roster together. Hunter left first, after a contract dispute that got Finley declared in breach after the 1974 season. Jackson went to Baltimore in a trade following 1975. The dynasty came apart quickly.

By 1979 the A’s were drawing announced crowds of 653 fans on some nights. The team was nicknamed “the Triple-A’s.” Finley hired Billy Martin before the 1980 season, who implemented an aggressive style the press called “Billyball,” and the club surprised everyone by finishing second. But the economics of Finley’s ownership made the team unsellable to anyone who would keep them in Oakland. He sold to Walter Haas Jr., president of Levi Strauss & Co., before the 1981 season.

Haas was everything Finley wasn’t. He put money into the organization, repaired relationships with the city, and brought back the full name “Athletics.” The team improved steadily. Tony La Russa took over as manager in 1986. By 1988, the “Bash Brothers” had Oakland back in the World Series.

 Jose Canseco (OF, OAK) and Mark McGwire (1B, OAK) were as advertised. Canseco’s 1988 MVP season was 7.3 WAR, 42 home runs, 124 RBI, and an OPS+ of 170. McGwire’s Oakland career produced a 42.9 WAR, 363 home runs, and an OPS+ of 155. Together they gave Oakland a power combination few teams in baseball history have matched.

Player

OAK WAR

OAK HR

OAK RBI

OPS+ (OAK)

Career WAR

Career HR

Jose Canseco (OF, OAK)

27.2

254

793

136

42.4

462

Mark McGwire (1B, OAK)

42.9

363

941

155

62.2

583

Source: Baseball Reference. OPS+ = Adjusted OPS (100 = league average). WAR = Wins Above Replacement.

 Adding to that lineup were Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson (OF, OAK) and Dennis Eckersley (RHP, OAK). Henderson is the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history and it’s not particularly close. His 1990 Oakland season was 9.9 WAR, a .439 OBP, .577 SLG, and OPS+ of 189. He stole 65 bases and won the AL MVP. Over 14 seasons with Oakland, Henderson posted a .409 OBP, stole 867 bases, and accumulated 72.7 WAR. 

Season

Team

WAR

SB

OBP

SLG

OPS+

1980

OAK

8.8

100

.420

.399

135

1982

OAK

6.7

130

.398

.382

122

1990

OAK

9.9

65

.439

.577

189

1991

OAK

4.6

58

.400

.423

135

Career (OAK)

OAK

72.7

867

.409

.430

137

Career (Total)

25 Yrs

111.2

1,406

.401

.419

127

Source: Baseball Reference. WAR = Wins Above Replacement. OPS+ = Adjusted OPS (100 = league average).

 Eckersley, meanwhile, was reborn in Oakland’s bullpen after years as a starter. His 1989 postseason was otherworldly: 33 saves, 1.56 ERA, and an ERA+ of 239. His 1990 season was somehow even more dominant statistically: a 0.61 ERA, ERA+ of 603, and a WHIP of 0.614. His nine seasons in Oakland produced 320 saves, a 2.74 ERA, and an ERA+ of 145.

Season

Team

WAR

SV

ERA

ERA+

WHIP

SO9

1988

OAK

2.3

45

2.35

163

0.867

8.7

1989

OAK

2.6

33

1.56

239

0.607

8.6

1990

OAK

3.3

48

0.61

603

0.614

9.0

1992

OAK

2.9

51

1.91

195

0.913

10.5

Career (OAK)

OAK

15.9

320

2.74

145

0.953

9.3

Career (Total)

24 Yrs

62.2

390

3.50

116

1.161

6.6

Source: Baseball Reference. ERA+ = Adjusted ERA (100 = league average). SV = Saves.

The A’s reached the World Series in 1988, 1989, and 1990, winning the 1989 Bay Bridge Series against the San Francisco Giants, a series interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake. They also pioneered the use of sabermetric analysis under general manager Billy Beane in the early 2000s, winning 20 consecutive games in 2002, an American League record, as documented in the book and film Moneyball.

The Oakland Coliseum itself became a long-running problem. Opened in 1966 and shared with the NFL’s Raiders, the facility aged badly. When the Raiders returned from Los Angeles in 1995, temporary bleacher sections in the outfield blocked the views and earned the nickname “Mt. Davis” from disgusted fans. The seats were never removed. The A’s explored new ballpark options for nearly two decades without success. Under owner John Fisher, the team bottomed out: 102 losses in 2022, 112 in 2023. The final game in Oakland came September 26, 2024, a 3-2 win over Texas in front of 46,889. The A’s finished 69-93.

Sacramento, 2025–Present: The Awkward Intermission

The Athletics are currently playing at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, home to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. It’s a 14,014-seat minor league facility. They opened the 2025 season with an 18-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day. They missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The young core, featuring Nick Kurtz (1B) and Jacob Wilson (SS), gave the fanbase something to follow during a rough year.

The plan is to play in Sacramento through 2027, then open in Las Vegas for the 2028 season. A $2 billion, 33,000-seat ballpark is under construction on the site of the former Tropicana casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Construction has cleared its first-year benchmarks and officials say it’s on track.

Then came the trademark news. On December 29, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued its second refusal of the team’s application to trademark “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics.” The reason: “Athletics” is too generic and geographically descriptive to be granted federal trademark protection. The word, the PTO said, could describe any number of goods or services.

The team’s legal situation is more procedural than fatal. Trademark attorneys note these are “non-final office actions,” common in the application process. The real problem is timing. Because the A’s haven’t started operations as the Las Vegas Athletics yet, they can’t build the commercial evidence, merchandise sales, advertising, consumer recognition, that would help overcome the descriptiveness objection. Major League Baseball, which handles trademarks for all 30 clubs, is expected to file for an extension and refile. Notably, MLB successfully trademarked “Sacramento Athletics” and “Sacramento A’s” as interim designations, suggesting the “Las Vegas Athletics” opposition is largely a timing issue.

But the underlying question is genuinely interesting. Can a name used continuously in major league baseball for 125 years really be considered too generic to trademark? The PTO thinks so, at least for now. The franchise that started as the Philadelphia Athletics has been through four cities, five ballparks, two complete dynasties, and a bankruptcy or two. Losing a trademark fight would be one more chapter in a very long book.

 Franchise Summary

Era

Years

W-L

Best Finish

Philadelphia

1901-1954

3,886-4,248

9 pennants, 5 WS titles (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930)

Kansas City

1955-1967

829-1,224

Never finished higher than 6th; no winning seasons

Oakland

1968-2024

[see Baseball-Reference]

4 WS titles (1972, 1973, 1974, 1989); 6 AL pennants

Sacramento

2025-present

76-86 (2025)

Ongoing; Las Vegas relocation targeted 2028