Thank you for sharing. ‘ Some 40,000 plus fans came together on Hegenberger Rd. in Oakland today and paid tribute to a special building, team and history that many of us have been around since the beginning in 1968. Fans were not here just to place blame but to celebrate this venue and the teams that played in it. It is a sad thing that Oakland has lost its third and last team but there were more beautiful memories made today and the team did do a good job of putting on a great program. And the fans did a great job of celebrating . And another fine young A’s team won the game- their last ever in Oakland!
They all came out on this special day- from Crazy George and his drum to the Scizophrenic Guitar Man to the Swinger’s Disxieland band , to the Wave-all back performing again like they did here decades ago.
er, BANJO MAN was here…And as if time stood still, there was the HIPPIE Banjo Man holding court again, leading the As chant- and more populR than ev er on this day. HE Couldnt GO MORE than A FEW steps without being mobbed
And the game was even a good one, with several great fielding plays by the As, great starting and ending g pitching performances by the A’s- all adding upnto a win. There were beach balls in flight, , music blasting nostalgically as in ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ even a ‘wave’ or two . On what could happen e been a real dow er of a day, fans were joyous really for the Coliseum itself more than anything else on this day.
Tears of joy flow from the ‘grand old lady’ as fans return for one last time to say their goodbye to the Oakland Coliseum Septeber 26, 2024. Oakland has lost its last major sports team and will be playing in Sacrame to next year, leaving a deserted coliseum after today
Normally one doesn’t gush over an inanimate object. But this is different.
58 years ago Oakland was able to come together with the Robert Nahas group and the Oakland Coliseum and Arena becsme a reality to the delight of Oakland and Bay Area California fans of baseball like me. Oakland was finally on the major league map with a major league baseball team to go along with the Oakland Raiders football team , both playing in the Coliseum during their respective seasons. The Raiders were almost instant successes With Champions throughout the 60s under Al Davis ownership and it only took Charlie Finley’s Oakland Athletics 4 years to become Major League champions not once but three years in a row from 1972 to 1974.
Culminating 56 years of A’s baseball in Oakland . MANY Interations of THE oakland As teams have come and gone over the years but there was only one Coloseum. TODAY more than anything was about the Oakland Coloseum building itself, paying tribute while sharing in one last good bye to the grand old home Sa from for so many As fans (as many would comment on this day).on your day.
The Oakland As quickly replaced the Raiders as THE major team of the Bay Area with those three Championships and they would go on to have another one in 1989 under Tony Larussa managing. Despite a run of ‘ cheapskate ‘ owners who wouldn’t spend the big bucks , like Finley after free agency, the Oakland A’s were able to put togbter at least three more runs of winning baseball during the bulk of their 56 years in Oakland with various interations- from the ‘Billy ball ‘ era of the eatly 1980s to the ‘bash brother’ of the late 80s to the Moneyball A’s of the 2000s. From Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers to McGwire and Conseco to the unlikely Mark Hatteberg and Art Howe’s Moneyballers with pitching aces Mulder, Hudson and Zito the stars came and went ,usually getting plenty of glory. But , the aging Coliseum became the subject of scorn and derision. Other teams were getting their brand new state-of-the-art digital stadiums and the Colissum was becoming a dinosaur- at least that’s what the Oakland A’s owners started saying as they demanded a new stadium.
Owners like Lou Wolf and John Fisher have come and gone because they couldn’t get their way with a new stadium; Oakland owners seemed to take out their frustrations by cutting back on payroll and putting out decent but not great teams as after the turn of the century following the unlikely money ballers success. For Oakland was becoming the Butt of jokes in baseball and otherwise and the Coliseum Was right in among them, considered by many the worst stadium in baseball.
They said Oakland could not attract Top Flight free agents because nobody wanted to play in Oakland , whether it be because of the city’s negative reputation or the aging stadium itself.
Then in recent years an i n teresting thing happened. Players like Michael Coforto of the cross bay Giants and of newish stadia started talking about the Oakland Coliseum as one of the more interesting places to play. what with all the foul territory where the pitchers had a big advantage and players could show off their fielding skills and they just like d the old style ways without the new generic cookie cutter stadium artificialoties.
Original Coliseum before Mt. DAVIS
Then , on the return of the Raiders to the Coliseum – and with Oakland taxpayer money, Al Davis disfigured the once beautiful ‘old lady'( or old man, not to be sexist) by adding a massive tower of seats behind center field, thus knocking out the beautiful view of the Oakland Hills and probably making it harder ifto hit balls out of the park with the wind shield. Meanwhile, the Giants were getting THEIR new stadium across the bay which sparked A’s ownerships to start demanding the same for Oakland . But taxpayers were more reticent this time after what Al Davis did and the n ew stadium ne er happened, despite valiant efforts from. msyor Jerry Brown and others but maybe less-so as the years dragged on. And As ownership took it out of the fans by threatening not to spend big money on free agents until a new stadium was built. Attendance dwindled at the Coliseum and the one-time ‘jewel box’ was becoming an eye-sore for many – until today with players and fans tiring of the new generic stadia and longing for the nostalgis of a real stafium of a one of the best grass playing fields in baseball . Little money was put stadium old ballpark with ownership hopes of getting a new stsdium.
Crazy George zips by still crazy after all these years and still moving good
Like with phonograph records , the few older parks are maki g a comeback like Dodger stadium, Wrigley and Fenway . but it may be a little to late for the Coliseum, poor thing.
At least folks recognized this by coming out today Sept 26 2024 to fill the house and put a temporsry smile back on her fading countenance. it wasn’t especially for any one team-afterall, the As despite some good young players, are mired in next to last place In the league standings , with a record well under .500. so, finally unlike the late great comic Rodney Dangerfiled, O.co (her moneyed name , today, finally got some respect for her 56 years of providing enjoyment for us baseball fans .
Game highlight belowJ-J Bleday fabulous catch
Folks ofnall ages and color tailgating before As last game at OaklandColiseum
Souvenirs given out in 1st picture, and more color, below
