Great Moments In Baseball History: The 1974 A's Beat Dodgers To Win Third Straight World Series Title
By Sam McPherson
Despite winning both the 1972 and 1973 World Series, the 1974 Oakland Athletics weren't really favored to do it again. After all, only one club in Major League Baseball had ever won three straight championships, and the New York Yankees of the past were considered a powerhouse unlike any other.
Plus, the 1974 A's featured a different manager: Dick Williams had grown tired of owner Charlie Finley and resigned after the 1973 Series. Former San Francisco Giants manager Alvin Dark—he almost won the World Series with S.F. in 1962—was hired to replace Williams, and it would be hard for a new guy to step in and manage the three-ring circus that was the Oakland ball club.
The A's ended up winning just 90 games—the least of any season in their five-year run as American League West division champions from 1971-75—but it was good enough. Oakland finished five games ahead of the second-place Texas Rangers and would face the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Championship Series.
The Orioles themselves were AL East champions for the fifth time in six seasons, and they had ended the A's season in the 1971 ALCS with a three-game sweep. In 1973, it was Oakland that emerged victorious in the ALCS over Baltimore, winning in the maximum five games. Thus, 1974's AL postseason would be a grudge match of sorts.
This Oakland team was an interesting bunch: The club had four hitters with at least 22 home runs each, and it also had three players in the lineup with at least 25 stolen bases. Throw in a dominant trio of starting pitchers and a stingy bullpen, and it was hard to beat these A's. The previous two postseasons had demonstrated that, as Oakland won both the 1972 and 1973 championships by playing the maximum number of games in both the ALCS and the Series both years.
This 1974 club managed to win the Series again, of course, and these A's did it in only nine games this time instead of the 12 it had taken them in both 1972 and 1973, respectively. However, it didn't start out on a good note when the Orioles blasted Catfish Hunter at the Coliseum in Game One of the ALCS to take the opener.
Oakland didn't dwell on that 6-3 loss for long, as the two-time defending champs won the next three games in a row to claim the AL pennant again, holding the mighty Baltimore lineup to just one run in 27 innings—and that one run came in the bottom of the ninth of Game Four.
Ken Holtzman and Vida Blue each tossed complete game shutouts in Games Two and Three, respectively, and Hunter was back in form for Game Four although Rollie Fingers came in to close out the game and the ALCS. Now, it was on to the World Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 1974 Series was a very close affair, despite the A's victory in five games. Four of the games featured the final score of 3-2, with Oakland emerging victorious three times. That's what made these A's very special: for three years, they mustered win after win in clutch form, winning when it mattered most under the most pressure.
On the road, Oakland won Game One, 3-2, strangely, with Fingers getting the win and Hunter getting the save. The Dodgers' Don Sutton outlasted Blue in Game Two as Los Angeles won their only game of the Series, 3-2. Heading back to the Bay Area and the Coliseum tied at one game apiece, it seemed like either team could win it all.
The Swingin' A's had other plans, of course, sweeping all three games in Oakland. In Game Three, Hunter got the win this time and Fingers the save (as one might expect) in another 3-2 victory. In Game Four, Oakland scored four times against Andy Messersmith in the fifth inning as Holtzman held the Dodgers to just two runs in a 5-2 Oakland win.
Game Five featured Blue and Sutton again, although neither would factor in the decision. Joe Rudi hit the Series-winning home run in the bottom of the seventh inning off Mike Marshall to give the A's another 3-2 win—and their third straight World Series championship. Fingers, naturally, earned the save.
In the history of Major League Baseball, only the 1936-39 Yankees, the 1949-53 Yankees, the 1972-74 A's and the 1998-2000 Yankees managed to win at least three consecutive World Series championships. Thus, it's pretty likely no Bay Area baseball team will ever be able to match Oakland's achievement. That's how special the 1974 A's truly are.
Of course, the most colorful dynasty of all time would be disbanded soon after winning this Series, but the memories—in bright yellow and green—always will remain close to the hearts of true Northern California baseball fans.
Sam McPherson is a freelance writer covering baseball, football, basketball and fantasy sports for many online sites, including CBS, AXS and Examiner.