Charley O: The Man, Not The Mule

In the history of Kansas City baseball ownership, Charles O. Finley remained a controversial figure with the locals. His tenure in Kansas City with the A’s was marked with controversy and exemplified by his abrasive style that would follow him and the team to Oakland. Finley bought the team late in 1960 from the heirs of owner Arnold Johnson who had died earlier in the year. His penchant for controversy surfaced almost immediately. Between the 1961 season and the time the team departed for Oakland — after the 1967 season — Finley had employed no less than seven managers.

The Finley version of the Kansas City A’s never became a “threat” as a team. He would be constantly criticized for deals he made, sending better players to New York and elsewhere. Finley seemed almost immune to local criticism, aside from his periodic threats to move the franchise out of Kansas City. While many thought him to be eccentric, he displayed at times, a refreshing and innovative approach to the game.

Finley exhibited a flair for the extraordinary. He like to do things to attract attention and publicity for the ball club. This led to “Charlie O” and the Mule mascot of the team, sheep grazing beyond the outfield wall, Harvey the Rabbit, the Pennant Porch, Hot Pants Night, and the petting zoo. He also brought the aging, but great, “Leroy Satchel” Paige out of retirement in 1965 to pitch. That same year he changed the team dress to bright-green and yellow uniforms.

The Paige incident was Finley’s most memorable publicity stunt while in Kansas City. Paige, aged 59, took the mound at the old Municipal Stadium on 22nd and Brooklyn, on September 25, 1965, against the Boston Red Sox before a crowd of 9,289. Paige started the game and pitched three innings, giving up only one hit. That bingle was a first-inning double to Carl Yastrzemski. Paige later justified the hit, saying, “I got behind him 3-0 and he knew the next one had to be in there.”

Lee Thomas, who played first base for Boston remembered his “hesitation” pitch as being most effective. He led off the third inning and popped to Campaneris at short. “We were trying to hit,” insisted Thomas, “we would have hit our mothers if they had been on the mound.” After three innings, Paige had satisfied Finley’s publicity needs and came out of the game to ovations.

Finley’s most poignant recollection of the game was sitting behind the aged hurler’s children in his owner’s box. At the onset of the game, the children quietly poked fun at their father, for, once again, being out on the mound. As the great pitcher threw his stuff, the crowd began to come alive. By the third inning, the Paige children were in tears, seeing the respect their father had earned that day.

Finley and his team departed Kansas City in 1967. The city accepted his departure with a sense of relief as they looked forward to a “promised” expansion franchise. In Oakland, Finley realized a winning team, but his demeanor had not changed. His Oakland Athletics were the last three-time World Series Champions, but the team broke up amid a swirl of controversy, allegations, and threats from the Commissioner’s Office and other owners. Finley left baseball in 1981 and died in 1996.