Finley Ball by Nancy Finley

Author:Nancy Finley
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781621575429
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
Published: 2016-02-16T05:00:00+00:00

WHITE KNUCKLES

In the stands at Riverfront Stadium, Charlie put his hands together and nervously squeezed them. It was, literally, white-knuckle time. While Dad and I were watching on the big-screen TV at Oscar’s, our favorite restaurant in Oakland, Dad whispered his signature “Dammit!” I felt like throwing up. I was old enough to understand almost everything that was going on, but too young to have become philosophical about it. To me, losing this game would be the end of the world.

If anyone was going to be the Reds’ hero, it would be Rose. But Fingers was no slouch, either. He waited for Dave Duncan to flash the sign, nodded his head, gave a quick glance to Chaney at first, and then tossed his pitch. Rose swung and lifted a lazy fly ball to shallow left field.

Joe Rudi got under it and made the catch, squeezing the ball into his mitt.

The Oakland A’s were World Series champions!

Charlie Finley, the insurance salesman who had been mocked and vilified all these years, now had a team that was the envy of everyone.

I was jumping and skipping among the tables, and Dad just sat there with a huge grin on his face. I could tell he regretted not being part of it. I went to the big post-game party, but Dad stayed home.

Uncle Charlie was the king of the baseball world. In the stands he kissed Aunt Shirley while Williams kissed his wife, Norma. The A’s clubhouse was soaked with champagne. The celebratory food, as usual, included lobster, steak, ribs, chicken, prawns, good champagne, beer, pasta, cookies, and crackers with wonderful mystery stuff on top. The food didn’t last long.

The players’ beards and mustaches were shampooed with a mix of beer and bubbly. The fun continued on the flight back to Oakland. Charlie loaded the plane with old friends, family, and no shortage of booze, along with the players and coaches. Charlie walked up and down the plane aisles, grinning and singing.

The next day more than a hundred thousand people lined Broadway in downtown Oakland for the victory parade, which ended with the cheering throngs surrounding a stage where the players and Charlie gave speeches to the adoring A’s fans.

The World Series title was just as momentous for Oakland and all of Northern California as it was for Charlie. The A’s victory was the first major sports championship in Bay Area history. The 49ers, Giants, Raiders, and Warriors had all been playing longer than the A’s, but Oakland’s baseball team reached the top first. Charlie spared no expense, throwing a huge post-parade party for the players and team employees and their families.

“1972 was my favorite of the three World Series–winning years because it was the first one,” said Steve Vucinich, then the A’s visiting clubhouse attendant and now the team’s equipment manager. “Charlie went all out with the parties, and it was all so new and fun.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.