Great Moments In Baseball History: The 1972 Oakland A's Bring World Series Title To Bay Area For The First Time Ever
By Sam McPherson
The Kansas City Athletics had a sordid history to bring to Oakland when they arrived in 1968, and Bay Area baseball fans didn't know what to expect from the American League team that had once been a powerhouse back in Philadelphia. With the New York Giants failing to bring much East Coast magic with them to San Francisco, baseball fans could hardly expect the A's to do well in the California sun, either. Catfish Hunter's perfect game withstanding, Oakland didn't make too much noise in the American League right away.
The Swinging A's soon brought some joy to the Bay, however, and they did it in their own unique way. The 1972 season itself started off on the wrong foot with labor strife, forcing MLB to cancel some games early in the season. The A's ended up winning the AL West for the second straight season, nonetheless. Oakland's 93-62 record was the best in the league by 5.5 games, so the pressure was on the A's to advance to the World Series—especially after Oakland had won 101 games in 1971 before falling to the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Championship Series.
The 1972 A's had a winning record in every month of the season, and they were in first place for 133 days during the regular season. Center fielder Reggie Jackson (25 home runs, 75 RBI), left fielder Joe Rudi (19 HR, 75 RBI) and first baseman Mike Epstein (26 HR, 70 RBI) were the big bats, while shortstop Bert Campaneris stole 52 bases. The top five starters on the team each registered ERAs under 3.00, though, as the pitching staff was the true strength of the team.
Catfish Hunter (21-7, 2.04), Ken Holtzman (19-11, 2.51) and Blue Moon Odom (15-6, 2.50) were a formidable trip at the top of the rotation, and Rollie Fingers (11-9, 21 saves) anchored a deep bullpen that saw two other relievers (Darold Knowles and Bob Locker) also save double-digit wins. It was hard to beat these A's, in truth, because they had so many weapons on the mound.
Facing the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS, Oakland won the first two games at the Coliseum. Game One was an 11-inning affair, where the Tigers scored one run in the top half of the inning and chose to keep starter Mickey Lolich in the game for the bottom half. After Al Kaline homered off Fingers to give the Tigers the lead, the A's were able to score two runs to win the game, 3-2. Game Two wasn't so exciting as Odom threw a three-hit, complete-game shutout. Oakland scored four runs in the fifth behind a Jackson double on its way to the 5-0 victory.
Detroit was able to return the favor, however, winning both Games Three and Four at Tiger Stadium. Joe Coleman threw a shutout himself in Game Three to beat the A's, 3-0, and Locker took the loss in 10 innings for the A's in Game Four while trying to close out the game and the series. Oakland had scored two runs in the top of the 10th, but Detroit fought for its playoff life and rallied for three runs in the bottom to win the game, 4-3. Three A's pitchers failed to record a single out in that inning.
Game Five was in Detroit, despite the fact Oakland had the better regular-season record, but it didn't matter. Odom and Vida Blue combined on a five-hit gem to win the game, 2-1, and the A's were off to the World Series for the first time since 1931. There, Oakland faced the Big Red Machine from Cincinnati, a team that knocked off the defending World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series.
The A's took the first two games in Riverfront Stadium, winning each by one run—Holtzman and Hunter, respectively, got the wins. Back in Oakland at the Coliseum, Odom was the hard-luck loser in Game Three, as the Reds won, 1-0, behind Jack Billingham. Oakland stole Game Four in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run rally of Clay Carroll to win, 3-2, and go up 3-1 in the Series overall. Game Five looked to be an exciting clinching opportunity for the A's in front of the hometown fans.
However, the Reds scored single runs in both the eighth and ninth innings in Game Five to overcome the A's and pin Fingers with the loss, and when Cincinnati steamrolled Oakland in Game Six back at Riverfront Stadium—the final score was 8-1, and it was ugly—the Reds looked primed to win Game Seven at home. However, Oakland Manager Dick Williams used only his four best pitchers in this game: Odom, Hunter, Holtzman and Fingers. That was the right strategy, as the Big Red Machine managed just four hits in Game Seven. Meanwhile, the A's got huge hits from Gene Tenace and Sal Bando to score three runs and win the game, 3-2.
Tenace was the huge hero, hitting four HRs and driving in nine runs against Cincinnati in the absence of Jackson, out with injury. The backup catcher had stroked just five HRs in 82 games during the regular season, but he was there when his Oakland teammates needed him most—and he was rewarded with the most unlikely World Series MVP Award ever. Six of the games in the Series had been decided by one run, with the A's winning four of them.
It was magic, indeed, for Bay Area baseball's first World Series champions.
Sam McPherson is a freelance writer covering baseball, football, basketball and fantasy sports for many online sites, including CBS, AXS and Examiner.