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Oakland A’s announce 2019 Class for Athletics Hall Of Fame

Three players and a few other greats will be inducted.

By Alex Hall
Photo by David Madison/Getty Images

Last year, the Oakland A’s created the Athletics Hall of Fame, to recognize the greats from the team’s past and celebrate their history. The inaugural 2018 class featured six players and an owner. On Monday, they announced the new 2019 class:

  • Vida Blue, LHP
  • Bert Campaneris, SS
  • Mark McGwire, 1B
  • Tony La Russa, manager
  • Walter Haas, owner

In addition, sportswriter Ron Bergman will be the first journalist inducted into the A’s Hall, in a special ceremony on Tuesday. A new honor called the Ron Bergman Award will be given annually to a journalist for “meritorious contributions to the coverage of the Athletics.” For more on Bergman, check out this story we ran about him a few years ago after he passed away.

With this group, the A’s Hall adds two key stars of the 70s championship teams in Vida and Campy, plus the franchise’s career home run leader in Big Mac. McGwire and his manager La Russa, who is also in the national Hall of Fame, helped lead Oakland to their latest championship, over the Giants in 1989. Haas owned the team at that time, and is still one of the most beloved owners in the club’s history.

Athletics Nation will surely approve of these picks. In our post about the A’s Hall last year, we included a poll asking who should be inducted next, which drew 825 votes. Philadelphia star Jimmie Foxx led the way, but otherwise Vida, Tony, Mac, and Campy were the next four, in that order. As long as we’re sticking to Oakland for now, these guys were definitely the right choices. There will be time to recognize the Philly years (including Foxx and longtime owner/manager Connie Mack) in future classes.

These new inductees join the inaugural class, which featured pitchers Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, and Dave Stewart; outfielders Rickey Henderson and Reggie Jackson; and former team owner Charlie Finley. Five of them (all but Stewart and Finley) are also in the national Hall of Fame.

The 2019 class will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Sept. 21. Congrats to all of them, and props to the A’s for another well-executed nod to the team’s amazing history.

Poll

Who is your next pick for the A’s Hall of Fame?

This poll is closed

  • 20%
    Sal Bando
    (124 votes)
  • 8%
    Joe Rudi
    (53 votes)
  • 18%
    Jose Canseco
    (113 votes)
  • 9%
    Carney Lansford
    (60 votes)
  • 3%
    Terry Steinbach
    (23 votes)
  • 13%
    One of Big 3 (Hudson, Mulder, Zito)
    (82 votes)
  • 5%
    One of 2000s hitters (Giambi, Tejada, Chavez)
    (33 votes)
  • 19%
    Bring on Philly! (Foxx, Mack, Plank, Grove, Collins, Simmons)
    (119 votes)
  • 1%
    Someone else (to the comments!)
    (10 votes)
617 votes total Vote Now

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