Jan 6, 2022
This episode of The K.P. Wee
Podcast features an author whose last name immediately calls up a
colorful baseball dynasty like no other. In her book,
"Finley Ball: How Two Baseball
Outsiders Turned the Oakland A's into a Dynasty and Changed the
Game Forever," Nancy
Finley traces the team’s journey from perennial loser in Kansas
City to World Championship glory days built on strategies and
stunts deployed by her father Carl and his cousin Charlie Finley,
the franchise’s larger-than-life owner.
Nancy shares front-seat
recollections about Oakland’s unique path to powerhouse heights in
the 1970s and the characters who shaped – and transformed – the
sport of baseball. Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Vida Blue are
just a few of the legendary names that captured the nation’s
attention and cemented the Finley family’s winning
legacy.
Lovingly and diligently
researched, this book – the first of what will ultimately be two
volumes – tells the story of how Charlie Finley bought the Kansas
City A’s franchise in 1960, when he was an insurance businessman
and pro sports outsider. With a showman’s instincts, Charlie
brought in his cousin Carl as a hands-on, savvy right-hand man.
Together they moved the team from Kansas City to Oakland,
pioneering a unique approach to recruiting talent that ultimately
netted three straight World Series victories in 1972, 1973 and
1974.
Nancy shares with K.P. details
about the collaboration between cousins, her early memories of team
life and her hopes that one day both Charlie Finley and her dad,
the lesser-known but no-less-pivotal Carl will find their rightful
places at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
Click
here to purchase either a print or audible version of
“Finley Ball: How Two Baseball Outsiders Turned the Oakland A’s
into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever.” You can also learn
much more about the legendary Oakland Athletics at Nancy’s
fascinating archival website:
www.oaklandathleticshistory.com.
Click here if you would like to hear previous episodes of
the K.P. Wee Podcast
If you’re a fan of this
podcast’s intro music, please follow Roger Chong: Twitter
@chongroger and Instagram @chongroger
KEY TOPICS:
- (1:00):
K.P. introduces Nancy Finley, niece of legendary Oakland Athletics
owner Charlie Finley.
- (3:28): The show
starts off with background on Nancy’s father Carl, a lesser known
but still pivotal figure in the history of the Oakland A’s. She
shares anecdotes about the relationship between the Finley cousins,
whose styles and career paths were a study in
contrasts.
- (07:29): About
how and when Charlie established the A’s in California, where he
also had a professional hockey team – a short-lived venture that
Carl was not onboard with helping to manage!
- (10:45): Nancy
recounts the first time that she heard Reggie Jackson and Vida Blue
were joining the A’s, back in 1971, a foundational move for what
would become a dynasty.
- (11:47): K.P.
asks Nancy for her thoughts about a quote from Catfish Hunter, who
credited Charlie with being a sports visionary, if also known as a
micro-manager.
- (17:30):
Winnowing down her book was a challenge for Nancy, who ultimately
had to cut it by 40 percent. She did copious, diligent research and
learned many things she never knew – too much to include it all in
a single volume. Stay tuned for Part II!
- (19:35): Nancy offers a peek into where she’s
heading with the second part of the Athletics’ history and path to
dynasty.
- (20:53): K.P. footnotes Nancy’s reference to
Mike Andrews, whose errors in a World Series game were perceived as
costing him his job. Nancy fleshes out the backstory.
- (22:00): Growing up with the A’s: Nancy could
write an entire book dedicated solely to her experiences attending
World Series games, including two Game 7s. She was also
instrumental in helping out with ticket sales and
allotments.
- (26:11): Nancy recalls unsettling times in the
mid-1970s, when Charlie was targeted for kidnapping by the
Symbionese Liberation Army (the radical underground group that
kidnapped Patty Hearst). Fortunately, his peripatetic lifestyle
kept him out of reach!
- (26:50): About Alvin Dark, a former
professional shortstop who managed Oakland in the mid-1970s (among
many other teams over the years).
- (28:00): About perceptions of the A’s as an
underdog team and other thoughts on play-off and World Series
showings.
- (29:37): Nancy recollects the special
relationship between her father and Billy Martin, offering a
glimpse into his personality and unique managerial style. Charlie
was very hands-off, which Nancy believes was due to Carl’s firm
advice.
- (31:40): The story of how MC Hammer – or
Stanley Burrell, as he was known locally in his hometown – came to
perform at the Oakland Coliseum at the suggestion of Nancy’s dad,
who made it happen.
- (35:10): Nancy’s father kept her low-visibility
during the height of the A’s dynasty because kidnapping threats
were regularly called into the front office.
- (35:50): About gimmicks, brainstorms and other
Charlie Finley innovations.
- (38:55): What Nancy would like readers to take
away from “Finley Ball”: Fans need to keep perspective, even when
their teams are losing. Also, it all depends neither solely on
stats nor instincts; it should be a mixture of both.
- (41:00): Nancy shares some history about the
Kansas City Athletics’ multiple trades to the Yankees in the
1950s.
- (43:05): About the audio version of Nancy’s
book, which is available along with the hardcover book
here. She’s also reachable via email through the
website https://oaklandathleticshistory.com.
- (45:05): K.P. observes that Carl deserves a
spot in the Athletics Hall of Fame, right alongside Charlie, the
cousin whose fortunes and storied team Carl was so instrumental in
shaping.
KEY QUOTES:
- (04:55):
“Charlie bounced all ideas off of Dad. He was on the phone with Dad
every morning, early … They would talk about
ideas.”
- (12:40):
“Charlie could just watch a game and know who should be playing
what. Yes, people say he micro-managed but at the same time, if you
own a team, you want it to win.”
- (16:40): “I just
feel that if you don’t step up and want respect for your family,
people will just continue piling it on.”
- (18:50): “I
don’t like name calling. If you’re going to say someone is
something, then you’ve got to prove it.”
- (25:32): “We had
to pay for World Series tickets because it’s not like being an
owner. It comes out of the Major League.”
- (36:45): “I
heard someone say that (the A’s) ‘inflicted’ things on
people.”
- (39:58): “Things
need to stay in perspective. Fans need to know that a team is
trying its best to win and that that’s the goal they all
have.”
- (44:35): “Dad
needs to be inducted (into the Baseball Hall of Fame). Charlie will
be, but I want to make sure that dad gets in there
too.”
About K.P. Wee:
K.P. Wee is the author of
multiple books and a regular contributor to sports radio programs
and websites. In addition to hosting The K.P. Wee Podcast, he also
enjoys writing sports and psychological fiction with a twist of
romance. He spent a decade working as a program developer and
instructor for a private school before joining the Vancouver
Canadians baseball club’s media relations
department.
You can find out more about books by K.P. Wee
here.
Follow K.P. Wee:
K.P. @Twitter
Additional episodes of the K.P.
Wee Podcast are available here.