Sweat plus sacrifice equals success.
Charlie Finley Quotes
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| Birth: | 22nd September, 1918 |
| Death: | 19th February, 1996 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Profession: | Businessman |
About
Finley was born in Ensley, Alabama, but was raised in Gary, Indiana, and later lived in La Porte, a small town 60 miles east of Chicago. Finley made his fortune in the insurance business, being among the first to write group medical insurance policies for those in the medical profession.
Finley first attempted to buy the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954, but American League owners instead approved the sale of the team to Arnold Johnson, who moved the A's to Kansas City for the 1955 season. On December 19, 1960, Finley purchased a controlling interest in the Kansas City Athletics from Johnson's estate; he then bought out the minority owners a year later. Finley quickly started to turn the franchise around, refusing to make deals with the New York Yankees and searching for unheralded talent. He also made significant investments in the minor league system for the first time in the franchise's history. Finley replaced the Athletics' traditional elephant mascot with a live mule. "Charlie-O" was paraded about the outfield, into cocktail parties and hotel lobbies, and into the press room after a large feeding to annoy reporters.
In 1963, Finley changed the team's colors to Kelly Green, Gold and White. In 1967, he replaced the team's traditional black cleats with white ones. Finley also started phasing out the team name "Athletics" in favor of "A's." The A's moved to California in January 1968, just as the new talent amassed over the years in the minors was starting to gel. During the early 1970s, the once-moribund A's became a powerhouse, winning three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974 and five straight division titles from 1971 to 1975, in the existing Oakland Coliseum.
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