Sep 24, 2024
(KRON) -- The Oakland A's will play their last game in the East Bay on Thursday, wrapping up 57 seasons of baseball at the Oakland Coliseum. The A's moved to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968, winning four World Series since then. Only the New York Yankees have won more titles in that timeframe. The A's created a rich baseball culture in Oakland. The Coliseum has been home to some of the greatest players in the history of the sport and plenty of classic games. KRON4 compiled a list of eight memorable A's moments at the Coliseum. May 8, 1968: Catfish Hunter tosses perfect game in inaugural season (Original Caption) Oakland's Jim "Catfish" Hunter shows off his pitching form as he prepares to fire the ball in 8th inning against the Minnesota Twins. Hunter went on to pitch a perfect game, the first in regular season play in the American League since 1922. Athletics won, 4-0. In the 11th-ever MLB game at the Oakland Coliseum, A's pitcher Catfish Hunter made history. The future Hall of Famer threw a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins, becoming the ninth player to accomplish that feat. Hunter was just 22 years old at the time, and he remains the youngest pitcher to throw a perfect game in the modern era. He threw 107 pitches and struck out 11 batters. 1972-74: A's three-peat as World Series champions It didn't take long for Oakland to become a baseball powerhouse. The team won the World Series in its fifth year in Oakland, and it followed that up with titles in the next two years. The teams dubbed the "Swingin' A's" featured star players such as Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue, Hunter and Rollie Fingers, and a colorful owner in Charles Finley. The A's notched their first-ever playoff win in Oakland in Game 1 of the 1972 ALCS on a walk-off single by Gonzalo Marquez. They won that year's World Series in Cincinnati when Fingers pitched two innings to close out a tense Game 7 against the Reds' "Big Red Machine" team. In 1973 and 1974, the A's took care of business in front of their home crowd. In a do-or-die Game 7 of the 1973 World Series, Jackson and Bert Campaneris hit home runs in the 3rd inning to propel the A's to victory over the New York Mets at the Coliseum. In 1974, Joe Rudi hit a go-ahead home run to push the A's past the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the fans stormed the Coliseum field to celebrate. Fans pour onto the field at the Oakland Coliseum after the Oakland A's beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 and won their third straight World Series, Oct. 17, 1974, in Oakland. (AP Photo) Oct. 14, 1989: Dave Stewart shuts out SF Giants in World Series After losing the 1988 World Series to the Dodgers, the A's were back again the next year against their rivals across the Bay. Even an earthquake could not stop them from sweeping the Giants. Games 1 and 2 were played at the Coliseum, and a dominant A's pitching staff held the Giants to one run before the series shifted west. A's legend and Oakland native Dave Stewart took the mound in Game 1 and pitched all nine innings, striking out six Giants and not permitting a run. OAKLAND - OCTOBER 1989: Dave Stewart #34 of the Oakland Athletics pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the World Series at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California in October of 1989. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images) The loaded 1989 A's roster also featured superstars such as Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, Dave Parker and Mark McGwire. They went back to the World Series in 1990, losing in four games to the Reds. May 1, 1991: Rickey Henderson breaks stolen base record Perhaps the most legendary Oakland A was Rickey Henderson, an Oakland native who blended speed and power over 14 years with the organization, cementing himself as one of the best leadoff hitters of all time. Henderson became MLB's all-time stolen base leader in 1991 when he stole third base against the New York Yankees and ripped the bag out of the ground to celebrate. OAKLAND, CA - MAY 1: Outfielder Rickey Henderson #24 of the Oakland Athletics celebrates after stealing third base against the New York Yankees during a Major League Baseball game May 1, 1991 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. The stolen base was 939 for Henderson breaking the record of 938 held by former St. Louis Cardinal Lou Brock. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) Henderson swiped 1,406 bags in his career, hundreds more than any other player accomplished. His 130 steals in 1982 is MLB's single-season record. Sept. 4, 2002 Scott Hatteberg home run In a moment that was immortalized by the movie Moneyball, A's first baseman Scott Hatteberg ripped a walk-off home run for the 2002 team's 20th-straight win -- an American League record. OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 4: Scott Hatteberg #10 of the Oakland A's celebrates after hitting a game winning home run against the Kansas City Royals on September 4, 2002 at the Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, California. The A's have won 20 straight games for a new American League record. The A's edged the Royals 12-11. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) The A's led 11-0 before allowing the Kansas City Royals to come all the way back and tie the game. Hatteberg pinch-hit and whacked a home run, sending the Oakland crowd into a frenzy. Hatteberg epitomized the early 2000s "Moneyball" A's teams when general manager Billy Beane built championship contenders around a tight budget. Beane used advanced statistics to find undervalued talents like Hatteberg, who was cast aside by the Boston Red Sox. May 9, 2010: Dallas Braden throws a perfect game OAKLAND, CA - MAY 09: Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics celebrates his perfect game with teammates Landon Powell and Daric Barton after the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, May 9, 2010, at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. Dallas Braden pitched the 19th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. The Athletics defeated the Rays 4-0. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB via Getty Images) Dallas Braden became the second Oakland A to throw a perfect game when he retired 27 straight Tampa Bay Rays in 2010. Braden, a Stockton native, threw 109 pitches and struck out six batters. He would go on to become the A's color commentator after retiring. There were a total of six no-hitters thrown by A's pitchers at the Coliseum, including Hunter and Braden's perfect games. Oct. 3, 2012: A's stun Rangers to win AL West Coming off a 74-88 2011 season, the A's came out of nowhere in 2012 to win the American League West. The team brought in fan favorites such as pitcher Bartolo Colon and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, catching fire in the second half of the season to challenge the two-time defending AL champion Texas Rangers for the AL West. The Rangers came to the Coliseum for the final three games of the season with a two-game lead in the division. The A's won the first two games of the series, setting up a season finale that would decide the division. With the game tied in the fourth inning, Rangers star Josh Hamilton dropped a fly ball, allowing two runs to score. The A's would go on to win 12-5, capturing their first division title since 2006. Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, drops a fly ball hit by Yoenis Cespedes in centerfield that allowed Stephen Drew and Coco Crisp to score in the fourth inning on the error. The Oakland Athletics won the American League West division after they defeated the Texas Rangers at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, October 3, 2012. (Photo By Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) Another classic Coliseum moment happened in the postseason when outfielder Coco Crisp hit a walk-off single to keep Oakland's season alive, but the A's were eliminated by the Detroit Tigers the next night. June 13, 2023: A's fans stage reverse boycott Baseball: Oakland Athletics fans hold signs vs Tampa Bay Rays during a reverse boycott at the Oakland Coliseum. Oakland, CA 6/13/2023 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) After several failed deals to build a new stadium and paltry attendance numbers for years, A's owner John Fisher announced in April 2023 that he planned to move the team to Las Vegas. In response, A's fans planned a "reverse boycott," attempting to show that the low attendance numbers were not due to a lack of passion from the fan base. More than 27,000 fans packed the Coliseum on a June night against the Tampa Bay Rays, loudly chanting "Sell The Team" during the fifth inning. The team came through as well, beating Tampa Bay 2-1 for one of its 50 wins on the season.
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