In October 1954, the Philadelphia Athletics relocated to Kansas City, putting an end to more than a half-century of American League baseball in the City of Brotherly Love. However, of all the professional sports teams ever to play in the city, Connie Mack’s Athletics remain the most successful–and frustrating. Their five World Series titles and nine pennants were balanced with seventeen last-place finishes. Mack’s 3,776 victories as a manager were only exceeded by the 4,025 defeats he suffered–still a record for most losses by a single manager. In the Philadelphia Athletics, author William C. Kashatus tells the story of Connie Mack’s talented and comedic team.
Eighteen Philadelphia Athletics are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including players as famous as Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove and as colorful as Rube Waddell, Chief Bender, and Al Simmons. From the early days of the American League, when the Athletics were ridiculed as the “White Elephants,” through the glory years and their final decade in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Athletics tells the poignant story of a manager and team who were among the greatest of all time.
William C. Kashatus works for the Chester County Historical Society in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he curated the exhibition “Baseball’s White Elephants: Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics.” A regular contributor to the Philadelphia Daily News, he is also the author of several baseball books, including One-Armed Wonder: Pete Gray, Wartime Baseball and the American Dream; Mike Schmidt; Connie Mack’s ’29 Triumph; and Diamonds in the Coalfields.
Below are just a few of the images of the Philadelphia Athletics you will see inside this book.
Connie Mack Statue. The failure of the Mack family to keep up with the increasing costs of operating a modern sports franchise and their inability to compete for the city’s fans with the wealthier, more successful Phillies resulted in the sale of the A’s to Chicago businessman Arnold Johnson after the 1954 season and a move to Kansas City.
Connie Mack remained in Philadelphia. Occasionally, he attended Phillies games at the same ballpark in which he once managed his beloved A’s. Only now, the park was renamed “Connie Mack Stadium” in his honor. On February 8, 1956, the Grand Old Man of Baseball died.
Twenty years later, the ballpark that bore his name was demolished, the Phillies having relocated to Veterans Stadium. Today, all that remains is a statue of Connie Mack waving his trademark scorecard, a poignant reminder of a manager and a baseball team that were among the greatest of all time. (The Philadelphia Inquirer.)
Integrating the A’s. The first African American player signed by the A’s was pitcher Bob Trice, who came to the majors after winning 21 games at Ottawa in the International League in 1953. In 1954, he was 7-8 with a 5.60 ERA. When the A’s moved to Kansas City in 1955, Trice appeared in only four games and never made it back to the big leagues. (Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.)
Vic Power. After leading the American Association with a .349 batting average in 1953, Vic Power, a black Puerto Rican, joined Elston Howard as the first black players on the Yankees’ roster. Inexplicably traded to the A’s before the season began, Power was platooned in the outfield. He would blossom as a showboating first baseman when the team moved to Kansas City in 1955. (Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.)
Joe Astroth. One of only nine players to collect six RBIs in a single inning, Joe Asroth accomplished that remarkable feat on September 23, 1950. He was also Bobby Shantz’s personal catcher during the hurler’s most-valuable-player season of 1952. (Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.)
The 1954 Athletics. The 1954 Athletics were the last to perform in Philadelphia. The men pictured are, from left to right, as follows: (front row) Renna, Limmer, Ditmar, Hemsley (coach), Joost(manager), Moses (coach), Galan (coach), Robertson, McGhee, Power, and Jacobs; (middle row) Zernial, Bollweg, Asroth, DeMaestri, Billy Shantz, Valo, Suder, Finigan, McCrabb (coach), Tadley (trainer); (back row) Rozek, Fricano, Scheib, Kellner, Van Brabant, Trice, Wheat, Burtschy, Portocarrero, Martin, Upton, and Bobby Shantz. The two bat boys are unidentified. (Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.)
Connie Mack’s Swan Song. On October 18, 1950, the elderly Mack retired from baseball with the words “I’m not quitting because I’m getting old, I’m quitting because I think people want me to.” But that still did not stop Mack from appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show (above) with new manager Jimmy Dykes (far right) and former players Mickey Cochrane (far left) and Bing Miller (second from right). Sullivan (third from left) began his career as a Philadelphia sportswriter before becoming a television variety show host. (Charles Burkhardt.)
Ferris Fain. The first baseman on the Joost-Suder-Fain double play combination of the late 1940s was Ferris Fain. Considered the best fielding first baseman in the American League until Vic Power came up, Fain led the league four times in assists and twice each in total chances per game and double plays. Known as “Burrhead” because of his short-cropped hair, Fain won American League batting titles in 1951 and 1952 when he hit .344 and .327 respectively. (Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.) 8.jpg – 13093 Bytes
Nellie Fox. Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox began his major league career with the A’s. After an unimpressive 1949 rookie season in which he hit only .255, the A’s traded him to the Chicago White Sox. In Chicago, Fox became a reliable .300 hitter and established a record for consecutive games at second base, playing 798 straight. In 1959, when the Sox won their first pennant in 40 years, Fox was the American League’s most valuable player. (Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.)
A’s Enlist. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, some of the A’s enlisted in the military and others were drafted. Sam Chapman (pictured left) and the Cleveland Indians’ Bob Feller were two who enlisted. (Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.)
You’re in the Navy Now! Sam Chapman salutes at the head of a platoon of chief specialists at the Norfolk, Virginia, Naval Training Station. (Charles Burkhardt.)
Rooftop Squatters. During the 1929 World Series, the row-house residents of North Twentieth Street, which bordered Shibe Park’s right field fence, constructed portable bleachers on their rooftops, removed the windows from their front bedrooms, and sold tickets to watch the games to those not fortunate enough to get seats inside the park. (Temple University Urban Archives.)
