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holding back the yearbooks. 1968 - 1985. a's yearbook covers.
by oakath on Jan 21, 2011 9:48 AM PST
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impossible to ever imagine a time when baseball fans looked forward to going to the park for the first time of every new season to not only see the game - but, to buy the new team yearbook. we were starved for pics and stats and stories. the combination of all three in these publications hit the right note. i liked yearbooks so much i would order other teams' through the mail to look through in the off season. (did i make the 75 word limit, yet?)
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Lot's of memories, thanks for showing the covers.
I wish the A’s would go with the old english script on the front of their jerseys.
"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King
This is great, thanks.
The 73-75 covers are so nice.
Being called a poet as a rock ’n’ roll musician is like being called a physicist as a baseball player. It might have some application but it’s pretty remote. - Richard Hell
by fridaynightfan on Jan 21, 2011 10:27 AM PST reply actions
something about the '84 didn't seem right.
I mean, it doesn’t look like mine here…
I’ll see if I can post some of my others from the late 80’s.
Nick Swisher is handsome.
ayup. different issues throughout the season for magazines.
the magazine may have had a different one monthly. yearbooks for some teams had an opening day and a mid season issue. doubt that was the case for us, though.
owner of a lonely tarp
Is that a touch of onychomycosis affecting
…that large toenail of yours, looking kind of green toward the end of the nail. Hopefully, it’s bad lighting.
"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King
Can we have more with trophies on them?
Thanks for sharing these. Love.
I'm here to talk about the past.
BTW, those 77-79 years were lean in the standings
and in the yearbook dept (the following season). Not only did they pretty much have the same design (78-80), they were ridiculously thin.
I'm here to talk about the past.
I think the 78 yearbook just listed the names and stats on the players .
I wonder how much Charlie O. saved by cutting back on the writers. Those years were bitter sweet because they were so close to the championship years and as a kid I wanted so badly to see them return to greatness.
"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King
I went to a doubleheader against the Yankees in 1980
Brian Kingman started and Mickey Klutts hit the game winner that Friday night as Kingman with his 8-20 record that year beat Louisiana Lightning Guidry. In the nightcap, I watched Keough strikeout Reggie from behind homeplate early on, but as I was leaving on BART I heard this roar followed by boos as Reggie hit a grandslam (I think) to seal the nightcap for the Yankees. At least that season was the start of better years as Billyball was taking hold.
Somehow, names such as Mario Guerrero, Rob Picciolo, Wayne Gross, Miguel Dilone , Jeff Newman and Dave Revering …will never mean much to most fans, but they represented what little hope I had in our team those years. I somehow wish Bowie Kuhn didn’t prevent Finley from trading some of his players to keep others, a year later he lost them all except for Blue and North. I will forever curse Bowie Kuhn!
"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King
I was there also.
I was supposed to play a concert at school for graduation, but went to the game instead. I remember going to the ticket office at the coliseum early in the day to get some tickets. They ran out of pre-printed tickets and they had to do them by hand! They had one guy with blank tickets and a rubber stamp. He was stamping seat numbers on them, he was pretty stressed as there must have been 20-30 people in line. Something not seen before.
It was a great double header, except I got a pitcher of beer dumped on my head from someone in the third deck. I was only 18, and it was the first beer I got at the park, not exactly what I had in mind.
Stomp,em, stomp the piss out of em.Then pound the budweiser after the game. Joe Schultz Seattle Piolts Mgr 1969
by billyball1981 on Jan 24, 2011 1:10 PM PST up reply actions
The Only place I ever had ANY beer spilled at was at Giants games
AT &T, Candlestick …didn’t matter, they remain a bunch of derelict fans that deserve no respect and this goes back about 20 years. Never failed, every time I went.
I had a seat somewhere near the foul pole down the 3rd base line, and Klutts put two in that direction…whatever happened to Mickey Klutts? The crowd was electric that night. I just couldn’t believe we beat Guidry.
"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King
Mickey Klutts
That was a big night for Mickey, as I remember the Yankees tied the game in the top of the 9th. Mickey led off the 9th for the A’s with a homerun, I believe it was Guidry’s first pitch of the inning. Too bad Reggie had to ruin the night cap with a slam. The A’s seemed to have Guidy’s number. In 78 they beat him twice I think.
Mickey was traded to Toronto after the 82 season, he was always hurt, so the Jay’s let him go.
When he came to bat the organist would always play the Mickey Mouse club theme song. It was good times in 1980, that was exciting baseball.
Stomp,em, stomp the piss out of em.Then pound the budweiser after the game. Joe Schultz Seattle Piolts Mgr 1969
by billyball1981 on Jan 24, 2011 6:05 PM PST up reply actions
How Could Anyone Not Love Billyball!
Bring back the organist!
It’s amazing to believe that was 31 years ago. I loved our outfield of Rickey/Dwayne/Armas and our starters. That was one team that could have done damage with a reliever of Fingers’ skills. Pretty amazing to think Finley Billy Martin in what I consider his last great baseball related move.
"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King
That move
Increased the value of the A’s a great deal. After the sale, Billy asked Finley for a percentage since his work made the value of the team greater…you can imagine Finley’s response. The funny thing about that was, Finley was such a control freak, as was Billy, how could they work together? But they did it.
A few year ago I ran into Mike Norris at a local eatery, I sat down and thanked him and the 1980 A’s for saving the team for Oakland. He looked at me and said “You’re right, we did save the team, didn’t we. You are the only person who ever thanked me.” He should have won the Cy Young that year.
Stomp,em, stomp the piss out of em.Then pound the budweiser after the game. Joe Schultz Seattle Piolts Mgr 1969
by billyball1981 on Jan 25, 2011 11:52 AM PST up reply actions
This is fantasic
I love how they were still putting the 71-75 division championships on the cover as late as 1980. Also, I want that portrait of Connie Mack for my living room.
by Glorious Mundy on Jan 21, 2011 11:20 AM PST reply actions
This is super rad.
Can anyone post pics of 1986 – 2010? It would be cool to have a complete gallery of the yearbooks…
At one point in my life I liked Dave Kingman more than Rickey Henderson. I was stupid.
stay tuned
‘86 – 2010 coming forthwith…glad everyone likes ’em…three weird things about a’s ybooks. 78 – 81 are really scorecards/programs. as don said, embarrassingly thin and very unyearbook like. 1984 until 1999, we had a “magazine” take the place of a yearbook. thankfully, we went back to yearbooks in 2000. in ’96 and ’97, still a magazine, but, the size increased to 10 inches x 13 inches for those 2 years from standard 8 1/2 × 11.
owner of a lonely tarp
By the way...
Thanks for posting these, oakath. I didn’t mean to get greedy asking for 1986-2010 so soon…
Do you still have the “hi-lite” record that came with the ‘82 yearbook? It’s awesome (and almost worn through because I played it so much when I was 10).
At one point in my life I liked Dave Kingman more than Rickey Henderson. I was stupid.
by the_rozeboom on Jan 21, 2011 9:23 PM PST up reply actions
The 1980 one bugged me.
It has Giant’s colors on it. Was Charlie trying to tell us something?
Stomp,em, stomp the piss out of em.Then pound the budweiser after the game. Joe Schultz Seattle Piolts Mgr 1969
What else are you going to do as a background for orange balls?
It is kind of ironic but not even the Giants had that kind of marketing.
"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King
"Keep It Alive in '75"
“Take Us to Heaven in 2011!”
Empires may crumble, FIP statistics may lose their meaning, but only a Keetsa mattress puts years back on your life while you're sleeping.
Love the '82 cover
It was appropriate that the Billy Ball era was about to blow up. Also, I love the note about the highlight record inside. Records – how quaint.
Now there's nothing left to say, so let's go drink beer.
As much as I enjoyed that era
I always felt having Billy Martin as a manager was like eating twinkies when you are hungry. Makes you feel full for awhile, but they have no nutrition.
Stomp,em, stomp the piss out of em.Then pound the budweiser after the game. Joe Schultz Seattle Piolts Mgr 1969
by billyball1981 on Jan 24, 2011 6:08 PM PST up reply actions
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