Athletics

The Athletics are a Major League Baseball franchise with roots in Philadelphia, where they began play in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. The team relocated to Kansas City in 1955 and then to Oakland in 1968, where they became the Oakland Athletics. After the 2024 season, the franchise left Oakland for West Sacramento, California, with plans to settle permanently in the Las Vegas area by 2028. The Athletics have won nine World Series championships and fifteen American League pennants, the second-most in the AL behind the New York Yankees. Their titles came in five distinct eras: five under founder Connie Mack in Philadelphia (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930), three consecutive as the 'Swingin' A's' in Oakland (1972, 1973, 1974), and one more in 1989. The 2002 team famously won 20 straight games, a streak that helped popularize sabermetric approaches to roster construction. [edit]

Connie Mack, the team's first owner and manager, guided the Philadelphia Athletics to five World Series titles between 1910 and 1930. That era produced Hall of Famers such as Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, and Eddie Collins. After Mack's retirement, the franchise struggled and was sold, moving to Kansas City in 1955. Attendance and results remained poor until Charles O. Finley bought the team and relocated it to Oakland in 1968. Finley's colorful ownership saw the A's win three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974, featuring stars like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, and Rollie Fingers. The team was sold to Walter A. Haas Jr. in 1980, ushering in the 'Bash Brothers' era of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, which culminated in a 1989 World Series sweep of the San Francisco Giants. The 1990s brought decline, but general manager Billy Beane and his staff pioneered 'Moneyball' analytics, leading to a 2002 season with 103 wins and a record 20-game winning streak. The team made the playoffs in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2020, often with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. After the 2024 season, the A's played their final game at the Oakland Coliseum and moved temporarily to West Sacramento. [edit]