Finley Ball : How Two Baseball Outsiders Turned the Oakland A's Into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever

"This is the story of a losing baseball team that became a 1970s dynasty, thanks to the unorthodox strategies and stunts of two very colorful men. When Charlie Finley bought the A's in 1960, he was an outsider to the game-a insurance businessman with a larger-than-life personality. He brought his cousin Carl on as his right-hand man, moved the team from Kansas City to Oakland, and pioneered a new way to put together a winning team. With legendary players like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, and Vida Blue, the Finleys' Oakland A's won three straight World Series and riveted the nation. Now Carl Finley's daughter Nancy reveals the whole story behind her family's winning legacy-how her father and uncle developed their scouting strategy, why they employed odd gimmicks like orange baseballs and "mustache bonuses, " and how the success of the '70s Oakland A's changed the game of baseball"-- Provided by publisher Tells the story of how baseball outsiders Charlie and Carl Finley took a losing baseball team, moved it to Oakland, and created one of the sport's great dynasties, the 1970s A's, and how their success changed Major League Baseball