Charlie Finley

The flamboyant insurance magnate who turned the A's into a dynasty.

Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed "Charlie O" or "Charley O", was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City, with the sale approved by MLB owners in December 1960 and control assumed in early 1961, moving the team to Oakland in 1968. He is also known as a short-lived owner of the National Hockey League's California Golden Seals and the American Basketball Association's Memphis Tams.

Quick Facts

Born: 22 February 1918
Birthplace: Ensley, Alabama, U.S.
Birth name: Charles Oscar Finley
Died: 19 February 1996
Place of death: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation: Baseball franchise owner and executive
Known for: Owner of the Kansas City; Oakland A's
Years active: December 1960–August 1980

Lore & Background

Finley was born in Ensley, Birmingham, Alabama, attended Ensley High School but was further raised in Gary, Indiana, and later lived in La Porte, 60 miles east of Chicago. He made his fortune in the insurance business, being among the first to write group medical insurance policies for those in the medical profession. Finley showed a penchant for flair and inventive business practices. He purchased the Kansas City Athletics in December 1960 (with control assumed in early 1961) and moved the team to Oakland in 1968. He introduced a live mule named "Charlie-O" as a promotional addition in the 1960s, but the team's traditional elephant mascot was not entirely replaced. In 1963, he changed the team's colors to Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold, and Wedding Gown White. In 1967, he replaced the team's traditional black spikes with white. He also started phasing out the team name "Athletics" in favor of "A's." Finley brought the Beatles to Kansas City for a concert on September 17, 1964, paying them $150,000. During the early 1970s, the A's won three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974 and five straight division titles from 1971 to 1975. He was named The Sporting News Sportsman of the Year in 1972.

Reader's Guide

Finley's tenure as owner of the A's is marked by his innovative and sometimes controversial methods. He was effectively his own general manager from 1961 onward. He built the "K.C. Pennant Porch" in right field in April 1964, but league officials forced him to move the fences back after two exhibition games. He then ordered a white line painted on the field at the original distance and had the public address announcer announce "That would have been a home run in Yankee Stadium" for fly balls past that line, but abandoned the practice after it favored the opposition. Finley visited the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein in San Francisco on August 19, 1964, and later in Los Angeles, eventually agreeing on $150,000 for the Kansas City concert. John Lennon later said he disliked Finley's attempt to strong-arm the Beatles into playing longer than their standard half-hour set.

Did You Know?

Finley purchased a home on Johnson Road just north of Pine Lake in LaPorte, Indiana, in 1956, which included a working cattle ranch and a mansion resembling the White House.
He had a large 'Home of the Oakland A's' sign installed on a barn roof visible from the Indiana toll road.
Finley married Shirley McCartney in 1941; they had eight children and divorced after a bitter, six-year proceeding.