The Great A's Of the Past?

[DoubleX]

Do the A's do a good job at all of honoring or acknowledging the team's history? The team has a very rich history, 9 World Series (second most), and 15 Pennants. Plus the A's have had some great players over the years - Eddie Plank, Chief Bender, Eddie Collins, Frank Baker, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Bob Johnson, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, Mark McGwire, and many others. Connie Mack also. Does the team do anything to honor these greats? I ask because I get the feeling that the team doesn't really acknowledge it's Philadelphia roots and the great teams and players of the franchise's past. I would think a franchise that has such a rich history, like the A's, would really want to stress it.

[mojorisin71]

Do the A's do a good job at all of honoring or acknowledging the team's history? The team has a very rich history, 9 World Series (second most), and 15 Pennants. Plus the A's have had some great players over the years - Eddie Plank, Chief Bender, Eddie Collins, Frank Baker, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Bob Johnson, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, Mark McGwire, and many others. Connie Mack also. Does the team do anything to honor these greats? I ask because I get the feeling that the team doesn't really acknowledge it's Philadelphia roots and the great teams and players of the franchise's past. I would think a franchise that has such a rich history, like the A's, would really want to stress it.

I think the front office chooses to keep the Philadelphia and Oakland histories separate. The only retired numbers honor those that played in the Bay Area (Catfish, Fingers, Eck, and Reggie), and nothing at the Coliseum even acknowledges the Philadelphia and Kansas City (can't blame them for that) days.

[mlazar]

this is an interesting issue with the A's.......a couple years back they had an All Century team selected and had some outfield banners with names from members of past history that played in Philly also that made the team and Rickey Henderson was named the greatest A 's player, but all those banners have vanished...

[Catfish27]

Yes, the A's acknowledge their glory days in Philadelphia. However, the focus is naturally on their history in Oakland. The A's also acknowlege the history of the Oakland Oaks, the PCL team that pre-dated the arrival of Major League Baseball in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I think it highly unlikely that the A's will go back and retire the uniform numbers of the Hall of Fame greats from Philadelphia. There really isn't much point to it. The Oakland fans never got to see them play, the players are all deceased, and the players' children, if they had any, are probably mostly deceased, too.

The A's are a progressive, forward-thinking franchise concerned with winning in the present and the near future. Their #1 concern at this point is building a new ballpark, and rightfully so. Trumping up the exploits of players from 75 years ago or more who played in a city on the other side of the country is a pretty low on the "To Do" list.

[Zito75]

Cool thread- I have to agree with you guys. I get the impression that Philly and Oakland have been separated as well.

I'm curious to see who you'd all have on your A's All-Time team. Would you mix it up with the great players from the Philly days? When I think of the A's, I automatically associate them with Oakland. Then again, I am just a young pup.

[RedSoxVT92]

I think that oakland should reconize Connie Mack more. He was the A's for along time. He owned them and also managed them 1901-1950 (50 seasons!) His last year managing he was 87 years old. Mack won 9 pennats and 5 WS with the A's. He established the franchise so even though they are no longer in Phillidelphia he should still get a large amount of reconition.

[Zito75]

I think that oakland should reconize Connie Mack more. He was the A's for along time. He owned them and also managed them 1901-1950 (50 seasons!) His last year managing he was 87 years old. Mack won 9 pennats and 5 WS with the A's. He established the franchise so even though they are no longer in Phillidelphia he should still get a large amount of reconition.

Agree 100%. They certainly don't make 'em like that any more. Connie was one of a kind.

[DoubleX]

Even with their Oakland tradition, the A's have struck me as kind of lax in honoring it. Like the team just retired Reggie Jackson's number a couple of seasons ago, shouldn't that have been done like 15 years ago? I assume Rickey Henderson will be honored when he finally calls it quits.

As for the Philadelphia greats, I'm not saying that the team should go and retire their numbers, but I think it would be nice to have some kind of acknowledgement of some of these great players, even if it's just names or pictures posted someplace in the stadium. Many teams do this to honor their past greats. Even if these players never played in Oakland, they did play for the organization and helped to create the organizations rich tradition. Players like Foxx, Grove, Simmons, Cochrane, Plank, Baker shouldn't have their team affiliation lost in history, particularly because their team chose to foresake their memories and contributions. I could understand bypassing the acknowledgement if it was just marginal players, but guys like Foxx and Grove especially rank way up there in the annals of baseball history, and I would have thought it would be nice to acknowledge that the A's, just like the Yankees, Cardinals, Tigers, Pirates, Red Sox, and so forth, also have their share of legends.

Don't the Twins still have some kind of acknowledgement to Walter Johnson, even though the team has both moved and changed it's name?

The Atlanta Braves pay homage to Warren Spahn and Eddie Mathews even though Spahn never played in Atlanta and Mathews only had one season near the end of his career there.

But perhaps the best example is the San Francisco Giants. Despite their cross-country move, they still honor some of the greats from the New York teams, namely Mel Ott, Bill Terry and Carl Hubbell have their numbers retired. There is a restaurant at the stadium named after John McGraw, and I'm pretty sure there is some kind of acknowledgement of Christy Mathewson there as well, and perhaps some others from the numberless era.

To me, it's not just about the city, it's about the franchise, and the A's are really neglecting some players, IMO, that they should be proud of. Even though I'm a Yankee fan, I've liked the A's for a long time, and I don't think many people realize that the A's are a team that is ladened in tradition about as much as any other team in the game not named the Yankees. But the A's don't project themselves at all in that way and I think it kind of cheapens the perception that most casual fans have of the A's. Acknowledging their history and tradition could really add some glamour and luster to the franchise. The A's deserve to be up there with the Yankees and Cardinals and Giants and Dodgers and Red Sox and Cubs, it's just management that seems to want to keep that luster dull instead of embracing the tradition, at least that's how it comes across from my distant perspective

[RedSoxVT92]

Even with their Oakland tradition, the A's have struck me as kind of lax in honoring it. Like the team just retired Reggie Jackson's number a couple of seasons ago, shouldn't that have been done like 15 years ago? I assume Rickey Henderson will be honored when he finally calls it quits.

As for the Philadelphia greats, I'm not saying that the team should go and retire their numbers, but I think it would be nice to have some kind of acknowledgement of some of these great players, even if it's just names or pictures posted someplace in the stadium. Many teams do this to honor their past greats. Even if these players never played in Oakland, they did play for the organization and helped to create the organizations rich tradition. Players like Foxx, Grove, Simmons, Cochrane, Plank, Baker shouldn't have their team affiliation lost in history, particularly because their team chose to foresake their memories and contributions. I could understand bypassing the acknowledgement if it was just marginal players, but guys like Foxx and Grove especially rank way up there in the annals of baseball history, and I would have thought it would be nice to acknowledge that the A's, just like the Yankees, Cardinals, Tigers, Pirates, Red Sox, and so forth, also have their share of legends.

Don't the Twins still have some kind of acknowledgement to Walter Johnson, even though the team has both moved and changed it's name?

The Atlanta Braves pay homage to Warren Spahn and Eddie Mathews even though Spahn never played in Atlanta and Mathews only had one season near the end of his career there.

But perhaps the best example is the San Francisco Giants. Despite their cross-country move, they still honor some of the greats from the New York teams, namely Mel Ott, Bill Terry and Carl Hubbell have their numbers retired. There is a restaurant at the stadium named after John McGraw, and I'm pretty sure there is some kind of acknowledgement of Christy Mathewson there as well, and perhaps some others from the numberless era.

To me, it's not just about the city, it's about the franchise, and the A's are really neglecting some players, IMO, that they should be proud of. Even though I'm a Yankee fan, I've liked the A's for a long time, and I don't think many people realize that the A's are a team that is ladened in tradition about as much as any other team in the game not named the Yankees. But the A's don't project themselves at all in that way and I think it kind of cheapens the perception that most casual fans have of the A's. Acknowledging their history and tradition could really add some glamour and luster to the franchise. The A's deserve to be up there with the Yankees and Cardinals and Giants and Dodgers and Red Sox and Cubs, it's just management that seems to want to keep that luster dull instead of embracing the tradition, at least that's how it comes across from my distant perspective

I agree. I think its dissapointing when a team forgets its roots. They should look at the whole franchise not just after a move to a diffrent city. I actually think that the Minnesota Twins are even worse. I dont think they have any reconition of Walter Johnson at all. They have no Senator in their Twins hall of fame. On the Twins site they have their timeline from 1961- completley whiping out the Senators history. The A's are pretty bad too because they dont reconize their former greats eithier (and philidelphia had alot more greats then the senators) And although many people disagree, I think that franchises should retire numbers from their whole franchise not just the city their currentley in. Because then people like Walter Johnson, Jimmie Foxx, Goose Goslin, Connie Mack, etc are forgotten and have a history with a team that has abanded them. They have no team to be honored with. It's very sad because all of what they have done for that franchise is dismissed.

[DoubleX]

I agree. I think its dissapointing when a team forgets its roots. They should look at the whole franchise not just after a move to a diffrent city. I actually think that the Minnesota Twins are even worse. I dont think they have any reconition of Walter Johnson at all. They have no Senator in their Twins hall of fame. On the Twins site they have their timeline from 1961- completley whiping out the Senators history. The A's are pretty bad too because they dont reconize their former greats eithier (and philidelphia had alot more greats then the senators) And although many people disagree, I think that franchises should retire numbers from their whole franchise not just the city their currentley in. Because then people like Walter Johnson, Jimmie Foxx, Goose Goslin, Connie Mack, etc are forgotten and have a history with a team that has abanded them. They have no team to be honored with. It's very sad because all of what they have done for that franchise is dismissed.

Didn't realize that about the Twins, but the Senators were nothing like the A's in Philadelphia. The A's history going back to 1901 is just about as rich as any team in the game outside the Yankees.

[Catfish27]

..the A's are pretty bad too because they dont reconize their former greats eithier (and philidelphia had alot more greats then the senators) And although many people disagree, I think that franchises should retire numbers from their whole franchise not just the city their currentley in.

You're mistaken if you don't think the A's honor their Philadelphia past and the greats that wore the "A" on their uniform. I know that they used to fly white and blue flags honoring each of the Worls Series they won in Philly. (I'm not certain if they still do or not. I'll check in April when I go to a game.)

If you check the list of all-time A's on their website you'll find the names of Philadelphia players listed. The names of Philadelphia Hall of Famers , All-Stars, MVPs, and the team history dating back to 1901 is also given on their website. There's a lot more if you'd only look.

Unlike the Yankees, the A's do not have a history of retiring numbers. It's only been since 1991 that they began retiring numbers, and they're only retiring the numbers of Hall of Famers. I don't expect them to retroactively retire numbers for deceased players for the reasons stated above.

There are a lot more ways to honor players and a team's past then a retired uniform number.

[west coast orange and black]

xx: the San Francisco Giants ... honor some of the greats from the New York teams, namely Mel Ott, Bill Terry and Carl Hubbell have their numbers retired. There is a restaurant at the stadium named after John McGraw, and I'm pretty sure there is some kind of acknowledgement of Christy Mathewson there as well, and perhaps some others from the numberless era.

mathewson and mcgraw each has his name included with the retired numbers, which are:
3 - bill terry
4 - mel ott
11 - carl hubbell
24 - willie mays
27 - juan marichal
30 - orlando cepeda
42 - jackie robinson
44 - willie mccovey

the home dugout roof features portraits of the modern era giants players, while the visitor dugout roof features the oldtimers.

the bridge that traverses mccovey cove is the lefty o'doul bridge.

one of my favorite parts of the ballyard is actually across the water, on the opposite side of mccovey cove.

bronze plaques, shaped like home plate, serve as memorials to each of the giants teams that played in san francisco prior to pac bell park. the plaques feature that season's entire roster, as well as the opening day starting lineup. hitting and pitching leaders for that particular season, as are all-star selections, batting, rbi and home run leadres, and win, innings pitched and strikeout leaders.

a walk around the entire mall is a trip down memory lane, and the beautiful statue of willie mccovey is featured at one end of the san francisco giants history mall.

large bronze circular plaques tout barry bonds and the division and league championships along the promenade, at the water's edge. and the graceful statue of juan marichal is passed on the way from the o'doul bridge to willie mays plaza, where 24 palm trees give homage to mays' number.
the bronze statue catching mays on his follow-through is truly the magnificent eye-catcher of the entire park. hordes clamor around to snap photos with the bronze on granite base piece.

[mlazar]

xx: the San Francisco Giants ... honor some of the greats from the New York teams, namely Mel Ott, Bill Terry and Carl Hubbell have their numbers retired. There is a restaurant at the stadium named after John McGraw, and I'm pretty sure there is some kind of acknowledgement of Christy Mathewson there as well, and perhaps some others from the numberless era.

mathewson and mcgraw each has his name included with the retired numbers, which are:
3 - bill terry
4 - mel ott
11 - carl hubbell
24 - willie mays
27 - juan marichal
30 - orlando cepeda
42 - jackie robinson
44 - willie mccovey

the home dugout roof features portraits of the modern era giants players, while the visitor dugout roof features the oldtimers.

the bridge that traverses mccovey cove is the lefty o'doul bridge.

one of my favorite parts of the ballyard is actually across the water, on the opposite side of mccovey cove.

bronze plaques, shaped like home plate, serve as memorials to each of the giants teams that played in san francisco prior to pac bell park. the plaques feature that season's entire roster, as well as the opening day starting lineup. hitting and pitching leaders for that particular season, as are all-star selections, batting, rbi and home run leadres, and win, innings pitched and strikeout leaders.

a walk around the entire mall is a trip down memory lane, and the beautiful statue of willie mccovey is featured at one end of the san francisco giants history mall.

large bronze circular plaques tout barry bonds and the division and league championships along the promenade, at the water's edge. and the graceful statue of juan marichal is passed on the way from the o'doul bridge to willie mays plaza, where 24 palm trees give homage to mays' number.
the bronze statue catching mays on his follow-through is truly the magnificent eye-catcher of the entire park. hordes clamor around to snap photos with the bronze on granite base piece.

all that glitters is not gold.... wouldn't you trade all that "stuff" for a World Series banner ?

[Catfish27]

all that glitters is not gold.... wouldn't you trade all that "stuff" for a World Series banner ?

I don't think the Giants even know what a World Series banner looks like. How long has it been? 1954? I guess when you can't win a Series you have to compensate.

[west coast orange and black]

#13 + 14: expected sniping from the east bay.
many (incorrectly) believe that "there is no there, there" quote. why give 'em reasons to believe?