View source for Charlie Finley

{{short description|American businessman (1918–1996)}}
{{for-multi|other people named Charles Finley|Charles Finley (disambiguation)|the former baseball mascot|Charlie-O (mascot)}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox person 
| name        = Charlie Finley
| image       = Charlie_Finley.png
| caption     =
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1918|02|22}}
| birth_place = [[Ensley (Birmingham)|Ensley, Alabama]], U.S.
| birth_name  = Charles Oscar Finley
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1996|02|19|1918|02|22}}
| death_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| alma mater  =
| education   =
| occupation  = Baseball franchise owner and executive
| known_for   = Owner of the [[Oakland Athletics|Kansas City / Oakland A's]]
| years_active = December 1960–August 1980
| networth    =
| spouse      =
| parents     =
| children    =
| family      =
| website     = 
}}
'''Charles Oscar Finley''' (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed "'''Charlie O'''" or "'''Charley O'''", was an American businessman who owned [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[Oakland Athletics]]. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], moving it to [[Oakland]] in 1968.  He is also known as a short-lived owner of the [[National Hockey League]]'s [[California Golden Seals]] and the [[American Basketball Association]]'s [[Memphis Tams]].

==Early life==
Finley was born in [[Ensley (Birmingham)|Ensley, Birmingham, Alabama]], attended [[Ensley High School]] but was further raised in [[Gary, Indiana]], and later lived in [[La Porte, Indiana|La Porte]], {{convert|60|mi|-2}} east of [[Chicago]]. Finley made his fortune in the insurance business, being among the first to write group [[Health insurance|medical insurance]] policies for those in the medical profession.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Twombly |first1=Wells |title=Let's Hear It For Charlie O. |url=https://people.com/archive/lets-hear-it-for-charlie-o-vol-1-no-8/ |website=People |access-date=November 1, 2018}}</ref>

Finley showed a penchant for flair and inventive business practices. Sometimes, when wooing prospective customers, Finley would drive the client through the richest section of Gary. Pointing out a large mansion, Finley would declare "That's my place there, but I'm having it remodeled right now." Finley's fortunes grew and he ended up owning a 40-story insurance building in downtown Chicago. In 1956, Charles Finley purchased a home built in 1942 on Johnson Road just north of Pine Lake in LaPorte, Indiana.  He hired John Mihelic as his [[ranch]] caretaker. The property was a working cattle ranch which consisted of an 18th-century, eleven-room colonial manor house and nine [[barn]]s with various outbuildings. Finley had a large mansion built on the property, keeping the colonial house as caretakers quarters.  The new house, which featured rounded porticoes and columns, resembled the [[White House]].{{Citation needed|date = October 2016}}

Finley had a large "Home of the Oakland A's" sign installed on the roof of another large barn where it could be viewed by vehicles passing on the Indiana toll road. It was to this place that Finley often brought the whole team and held picnics and pool parties attended by friends, business associates, and locals, who mingled with members of the team and took numerous photographs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holtzman |first1=Jerome |title=Remembering Charlie O: 37 Years of Memories |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-02-21-9602210218-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune  |date=21 February 1996 |access-date=November 1, 2018}}</ref>

In 1941, Finley married the former Shirley McCartney. They had eight children before the marriage ended in a bitter divorce, the proceedings of which lasted 6 years. The Finleys separated in 1974, and according to a biographer, Finley was unfaithful during his marriage and frequently estranged both his friends and family. Shirley Finley won a massive divorce settlement. Finley was estranged from most of his children at the time of his death. Finley died three days shy of his 78th birthday. His former wife, who remarried, died in 2010.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVBjXrHA9GwC&q=shirley|title=Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman|last1=Launius|first1=Roger D.|last2=Green|first2=G. Michael|date=2010-07-11|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=9780802778574|language=en}}</ref>

==Owner of the A's==

===In Kansas City===
Finley entered the ranks of Major League Baseball owners after multiple failed attempts to acquire franchises during the 1950s.

He first attempted to buy the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] in [[1954 in baseball|1954]], but [[American League]] owners instead approved the sale of the team to [[Arnold Johnson (industrialist)|Arnold Johnson]], who moved the club to [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] for the [[1955 Kansas City Athletics season|1955]] season.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Neumann |first1=Thomas |title=Before Oakland, Vagabond A's led colorful past lives in Philadelphia, Kansas City |url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/16289067/before-oakland-vagabond-franchise-led-colorful-lives-philadelphia-kansas-city |website=ESPN  |access-date=November 1, 2018|date=2016-08-26 }}</ref>

In 1956, Finley unsuccessfully bid for the [[Detroit Tigers]], who instead were sold to a [[Michigan]]-based group led by broadcasting magnates [[John Fetzer]] and [[Fred Knorr]]. In 1959, when [[Dorothy Comiskey Rigney]] put her majority holdings in the [[Chicago White Sox]] up for sale, Finley lost out to a group headed by [[Bill Veeck]]. Then, one year later, he was among a group of contenders for the [[American League]] [[expansion team|expansion]] franchise earmarked for [[Los Angeles]], but actor, singer and broadcasting tycoon [[Gene Autry]] ended up as the founding principal owner of the [[Los Angeles Angels|Angels]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/charlie-finley/ |title=Charlie Finley |last=Armour |first=Mark |date=2015 |website=sabr.org |publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]] Biography Project |access-date=February 22, 2024 |quote=}}</ref>

Fate, however, would play a role in Finley's fifth, and ultimately successful, attempt to enter baseball — and it would come from his 1954 target, now the [[Kansas City Athletics]]. On March 3, 1960, owner Arnold Johnson died suddenly and unexpectedly from a [[cerebral hemorrhage]] at the age of 54. The [[first division (baseball)|second-division]] Athletics struggled through a last-place season while being operated by Johnson's estate. Just weeks after Finley lost his bid for the Angels' franchise, on December 19, 1960, he purchased the estate's controlling interest in the [[1961 Kansas City Athletics season|Athletics]];<ref name=cfigok>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m8MxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=buUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6522%2C6523055 |work=Lawrence Daily Journal-World |location=Kansas |agency=Associated Press |title=Charles Finley is given okay |date=December 21, 1960 |page=17}}</ref> he then bought out the minority owners a year later. Finley quickly started to turn the franchise around, refusing to make deals with the [[New York Yankees]] (for which the Athletics had been criticized) and searching for unheralded talent. From [[1961 Kansas City Athletics season|1961]] onward, Finley was effectively his own general manager, though the A's nominally had someone who had the title or duties of general manager until [[1966 Kansas City Athletics season|1966]].

Finley also repeatedly tried to move the team. In January 1964 he reached an agreement with [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], to move the team there for the 1964 season, signing a two-year lease on a stadium.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/01/07/archives/finley-signs-contract-to-transfer-athletics-to-louisville-league.html|title=Finley Signs Contract to Transfer Athletics to Louisville; LEAGUE SANCTION NEEDED FOR SHIFT; 7 Clubs Must Approve Move — Cronin Calls Meeting Here for Jan. 16|work=The New York Times |date=7 January 1964 |access-date=9 August 2022}}</ref> When that proposed move was blocked by the American League he entertained offers from [[Denver]] and [[San Diego]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Finley_Charles.html|title=Finley entertained and enraged|access-date=9 August 2022}}</ref>

====Charlie-O becomes the Athletics' mascot====
Finley replaced the Athletics' traditional [[elephant]] [[mascot]] with a live [[mule]]. "[[Charlie-O (mascot)|Charlie-O]]" was paraded about the outfield, into [[cocktail]] parties and hotel lobbies and into the press room after a large feeding to annoy reporters. (The mule died in [[1976 Oakland Athletics season|1976]], at age 20.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://morganking.com/Athletics/athletics_history.html|title=Athletics History|access-date=28 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230213/http://morganking.com/Athletics/athletics_history.html|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====The "K.C. Pennant Porch"====
After supposedly being told by manager [[Ed Lopat]] about the Yankees' success being attributable to the dimensions of [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]], Finley built the "K.C. Pennant Porch" in right field in April [[1964 Kansas City Athletics season|1964]], which brought the right field fence in [[Municipal Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)|Municipal Stadium]] to match Yankee Stadium's dimensions exactly, just {{convert|296|ft}} from home plate.<ref name=fpps>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j6ZAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_OUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6999%2C886925 |work=Lawrence Daily Journal-World |location=Kansas |agency=Associated Press |last=Van Valkenburg |first=Jim |title=Finley's Pennant Porch set |date=April 10, 1964 |page=11}}</ref><ref name=ppapk>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0oBfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZTAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3123%2C1720317 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=Idaho |agency=Associated Press |title=Finley building Yankee-style 'Pennant Porch' in A's park |date=April 10, 1964 |page=14}}</ref> However, a rule passed in {{mlby|1958}} held that no (new or renovated) major-league fence could be closer than {{convert|325|ft}}, so league officials forced Finley to move the fences back after two exhibition games.<ref name=ykeefen>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1IBfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZTAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5727%2C1999289 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=Idaho |agency=Associated Press |title=Finley says he'll defy edict to dismantle 'Yankee' fence |date=April 12, 1964 |page=11}}</ref><ref name=hfpor>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kqZAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_OUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6118%2C1142027 |work=Lawrence Daily Journal-World |location=Kansas |agency=Associated Press |last=Van Valkenburg |first=Jim |title=Finley now has Half-Porch and will continue a fight |date=April 14, 1964 |page=11}}</ref><ref name=noanswr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=maZAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_OUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6936%2C1839335|work=Lawrence Daily Journal-World |location=Kansas |agency=Associated Press |last=Rathet |first=Mike |title=Pennant Porch no answer to Kansas Dity's problem |date=April 22, 1964 |page=15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Treder |first1=Steve |title=The Pennant Porch Pie-in-the-Face |url=https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/the-pennant-porch-pie-in-the-face/ |website=Fangraphs.com |date=28 February 2006 |access-date=October 15, 2018}}</ref>

The A's owner then ordered a white line to be painted on the field at the original "Pennant Porch" distance, and told the public address announcer to announce "That would have been a home run in Yankee Stadium" whenever a fly ball was hit past that line but short of the fence. The practice was quickly abandoned after it turned out that the announcer was calling more "would-be" home runs for the opposition than the A's.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Landers |first1=Chris |title=Seven bizarre ballpark features from baseball history that you'll need to see to believe |url=https://www.mlb.com/cut4/seven-of-baseballs-weirdest-ballpark-features/c-144747404 |website=MLB.com |date=30 September 2015 |publisher=MLB Advanced Media, LP |access-date=October 25, 2018}}</ref>

====Uniform changes====
In [[1963 Kansas City Athletics season|1963]], Finley changed the team's colors to Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold, and Wedding Gown White.  In [[1967 Kansas City Athletics season|1967]], he replaced the team's traditional black spikes with white. Finley also started phasing out the team name "Athletics" in favor of "A's." (When [[Mickey Mantle]] saw the A's' green-and-gold uniforms, he jeered, "They should have come out of the dugout on tippy-toes, holding hands and singing," according to ''[[Baseball Digest]]''.)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fai |first1=Rob |title=Why do the C's wear white spikes? |url=https://www.milb.com/milb/news/why-do-the-cs-wear-white-spikes/c-8987826 |website=Milb.com |access-date=October 25, 2018}}</ref>

====The Beatles====
When [[the Beatles]] made their August/September 1964 concert tour of the United States, Finley was determined to bring them to Kansas City to perform at Municipal Stadium. Seeing one open date on the tour, Finley offered and paid the Beatles $150,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|150|1964|r=1}}}} million+ today) for a concert on September 17, 1964, erasing a scheduled off day for the band in [[New Orleans]]. The tickets read: "CHARLES O. FINLEY/ IS PLEASED TO PRESENT..FOR THE ENJOYMENT/ OF THE BEATLE FANS IN MID-AMERICA/ 'THE BEATLES'/ IN PERSON” on the front, and showed a photograph of Finley wearing a Beatles wig on the back with the quote, "Today's Beatle's (sic) Fans/ Are/ Tomorrow's Baseball Fans."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.icollector.com/The-Beatles-Kansas-City-Concert-Ticket-Stub_i7034833 | title=The Beatles Kansas City Concert Ticket Stub }}</ref> [[John Lennon]] was quoted later as saying he disliked Finley's attempt to strong-arm the Beatles into playing longer than their then-standard half-hour concert set. The Beatles' $150,000 fee for the concert was considered a show business record for a one-night stand appearance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seamheads.com/blog/2014/11/01/john-lennon-on-charlie-finley-i-just-didnt-particularly-like-him/|title=John Lennon on Charlie Finley: "I Just Didn't Particularly Like Him"}}</ref>

Finley visited the group's manager, [[Brian Epstein]], in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] on August 19, 1964, where the Beatles were playing the first date of the tour.  He told Epstein that he was disappointed that Kansas City was not among the group's itinerary, and offered first $50,000 and then $100,000 if the Beatles would schedule a concert in the [[Missouri]] city.  Epstein refused, pointing out that on the only free date available, September 17, the band was scheduled for a day of rest in [[New Orleans]].  Finley encountered Epstein again in [[Los Angeles]] a week later and they agreed on $150,000.<ref>Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.76, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-8027-1745-0}}</ref><ref>Mark Lewisohn, ''The Beatles Live!: The Ultimate Reference Book'' (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1986), 168–69.</ref>

===In Oakland===
====World Series success====
The A's (as they were officially known from {{baseball year|1970}}) moved to [[California]] in January 1968, just as the new talent amassed over the years in the minors (such as [[Reggie Jackson]], [[Sal Bando]], [[Joe Rudi]], [[Bert Campaneris]], [[Catfish Hunter]], [[Rollie Fingers]], and [[Vida Blue]]) became ready for the Majors. [[Marvin Miller]], the founder of [[Major League Baseball Players Association|MLB's players union]], called him "absolutely the best judge of baseball talent I've ever seen."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/09/the-many-problems-with-moneyball/245769/ | title=The Many Problems with 'Moneyball' | website=[[The Atlantic]] | date=27 September 2011 }}</ref>

During the early 1970s, the once-moribund A's became a "[[Swingin' A's]]" powerhouse, winning three straight [[World Series]] from [[1972 World Series|1972]] to [[1974 World Series|1974]] and five straight division titles from [[1971 in baseball|1971]] to [[1975 in baseball|1975]], in the [[Oakland Coliseum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Oakland Athletics Team History & Encyclopedia |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/OAK/index.shtml |website=Baseballreference.com |publisher=Sports Reference, LLC |access-date=October 14, 2018}}</ref> Though he no longer owned the team when the A's won the World Series again in [[1989 World Series|1989]], [[Tony La Russa]], who managed that team, and outfielder [[Rickey Henderson]] were originally scouted by Finley.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holtzman |first1=Jerome |title=Finley Proves to be a Hall-of-Fame Scout |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-01-07-9303151387-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune  |date=7 January 1993 |access-date=October 14, 2018}}</ref>

====The beginning of free agency====
In [[1974 Oakland Athletics season|1974]], after winning a third straight World Series championship, Finley lost ace pitcher [[Catfish Hunter|Jim 'Catfish' Hunter]] to free agency as a result of a contract clause violation. The A's still managed to dominate throughout the [[1975 Oakland Athletics season|1975]] regular season without Hunter, but were swept by [[1975 Boston Red Sox season|Boston]] in the [[1975 American League Championship Series|playoffs]]. With free agency looming at the end of the 1976 season, Finley began dismantling the ball club. [[Reggie Jackson]] and [[Ken Holtzman]] were traded to [[1976 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore]] a week prior to the start of the [[1976 Oakland Athletics season|1976]] season. Finley attempted to sell Rudi and Fingers to the Red Sox for $1 million each and Blue to the Yankees for $1.5 million, at which Major League Baseball commissioner [[Bowie Kuhn]] decided to invoke the rarely used "best interests of baseball" clause in order to void Finley's sales. Finley, in turn, hired famed sports attorney [[Neil Papiano]] and proceeded to file a $10 million restraint-of-trade lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball. Papiano and Finley lost the case (see ''Finley v. Kuhn''). The court ruled that the commissioner had the authority to determine what is in the best interests of baseball. This lawsuit is widely recognized as one of the most famous, influential, and precedent-setting sports-related cases in the history of U.S. [[jurisprudence]].{{Citation needed|date = October 2016}}

By the end of the 1976 season, most of the A's stars had left the team as free agents. The few remaining stars from the A's dynasty years were traded away, with the exceptions of Vida Blue and Billy North. There was much bad blood between the ace and his owner. Going back to 1971 when Vida Blue first joined the As, and had a legendary 24-8 rookie season, he earned $14,000. That winter, Blue sought a $92,500 salary, held out, missed much of the 1972 season, before Blue and Finley settled at $63,000. Later, in 1976, after an 18–13 season with a 2.35 ERA, Blue told reporters, "I hope the next breath Charlie Finley takes is his last. I hope he falls flat on his face and dies of [[polio]]."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Iber |first=Jorge |title=Mike Torrez: A Baseball Biography |publisher=McFarland |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-7864-9632-7 |location=Jefferson, NC |page=132}}</ref> Blue's curse seemed to strike home, as in the [[1977 Oakland Athletics season|1977]], only two years after winning a fifth straight division title and three years after winning a third consecutive World Series, the A's finished in last place in their division, with one of the worst records in baseball. After the 1977 season, Finley tried to sell Blue again, this time to the Cincinnati Reds. Kuhn vetoed this trade as well, saying that it amounted to a [[fire sale]]. Kuhn also claimed that the addition of Blue to an already formidable Reds pitching staff would make a mockery of the National League West race.

====Selling the A's====
Finley and his "right-hand man," cousin [[Carl A. Finley]], started scouting for new talent in 1977. The Finleys brought in future stars such as [[Rickey Henderson]], [[Tony Armas]], [[Mitchell Page]], [[Mike Norris (baseball)|Mike Norris]], and [[Dwayne Murphy]] to rebuild the team.  It was not until 1980 that the A's showed signs of improvement, under manager and Berkeley native [[Billy Martin]].  However, after that season, Finley's wife divorced him and would not accept an interest in the A's as part of a settlement.  With most of the Finleys' assets invested in either Charlie O's insurance interests or the A's, the Finleys were forced to sell.

In [[1980 Oakland Athletics season|1980]], Finley agreed in principle to sell to businessman [[Marvin Davis]], who planned to move the Athletics to [[Denver]]. However, just before Finley and Davis were due to sign a contract, the [[National Football League|NFL]]'s [[Oakland Raiders]] announced they were moving to [[Los Angeles]] in [[1982 Los Angeles Raiders season|1982]].  Oakland and Alameda County officials, not wanting to be held responsible for losing Oakland's status as a big-league city in its own right, refused to let the A's out of their lease with the Coliseum. Forced to turn to local buyers, Finley agreed to sell the A's to [[Walter A. Haas, Jr.]], president of [[Levi Strauss & Co.]], in August 1980 for $12.7 million,<ref name=fsoas>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xpwcAAAAIBAJ&pg=6214%2C4033559 |newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |agency=Associated Press |title=Finley sells Oakland A's |date=August 24, 1980 |page=1C }}</ref><ref name=finsellupi>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E1kdAAAAIBAJ&pg=5432%2C3792815 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Press |agency=UPI |title=Finley sells A's to Levi Strauss |date=August 24, 1980 |page=D11 }}</ref><ref name=fthrec>{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1123739/2/index.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140607010505/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1123739/2/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 7, 2014 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |title=For the record: mileposts |last=Johnson |first=Roy S. |date=September 1, 1980 |page=89 }}</ref> with the deal finalized before the {{baseball year|1981}} season. Carl Finley was asked to remain with the new owners as vice president/mentor. Under new management, the A's made the playoffs in [[1981 Oakland Athletics season|1981]].<ref>https://www.mlb.com/athletics/history/postseason-results</ref>

====Marketing====
The Finley management was very effective at marketing.  They changed the team uniforms to green and gold with white shoes and they gave some players colorful nicknames.  The Finley organization introduced ball girls (one of whom, the future [[Debbi Fields]], went on to found [[Mrs. Fields|Mrs. Fields' Original Cookies, Inc.]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fancher |first1=Lou |title=Book details A's on-field glory, clubhouse drama |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/06/13/book-details-as-on-field-glory-clubhouse-drama/ |website=Eastbaytimes.com |publisher=Bay Area News Group, LLC. |access-date=October 12, 2018|date=2017-06-13 }}</ref>), and advocated night games for the World Series to increase the ability for fans to attend. Finley also was an outspoken advocate of the [[designated hitter]] rule, which he advocated until it was adopted by the American League.<ref>{{cite web |title=American League adopts designated hitter rule |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-league-adopts-designated-hitter-rule |website=History.com |publisher=A&E Television Networks |access-date=October 12, 2018}}</ref> They were always full of new ideas, including:
*Orange baseballs – Tried in a few exhibition games, but hitters found it too hard to pick up the spin. The week of August 18, 1975, Charlie Finley was on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine and his orange baseballs were featured in the article.<ref>Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.229, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-8027-1745-0}}</ref>
*A mechanical [[rabbit]] that would pop up behind home plate and deliver new balls to the umpire and was named "[[Harvey (play)|Harvey]]," at the A's home ballparks in Kansas City and Oakland.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Landers |first1=Chris |title=The A's are bringing back Harvey the Rabbit, one of the wackiest ballpark quirks of all-time |url=https://www.mlb.com/cut4/oakland-as-bring-back-harvey-the-rabbit-for-50th-anniversary-season/c-269800210 |website=MLB.com |date=27 March 2018 |publisher=MLB Advanced Media, LLC. |access-date=October 12, 2018}}</ref>
*Hired Stanley Burrell (who would later gain worldwide fame as [[MC Hammer]]) as executive vice president when he was just a teenager to be his "eyes and ears."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gergen |first1=Joe |title=MC Hammer Has a Baseball Background |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-07-sp-2869-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=October 12, 2018|date=1990-10-07 }}</ref>
*Offering players $300 bonuses to grow [[moustache]]s during the 1972 baseball season. For star relief pitcher [[Rollie Fingers]], the [[handlebar moustache]] he grew for Finley became a trademark.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Landers |first1=Chris |title=Rollie Fingers chose to retire from baseball rather than shave off that iconic mustache |url=https://www.mlb.com/cut4/this-day-in-baseball-history-rollie-fingers-retires-rather-than-shave-off-mustache/c-266765214 |website=MLB.com |date=21 February 2018 |publisher=MLB Advanced Media, LLC. |access-date=October 12, 2018}}</ref>

Despite his reputation as a master promoter, Finley had less success marketing his team.  According to baseball writer [[Rob Neyer]], a Kansas City native, Finley thought he could sell a baseball team like he sold insurance.  Soon after buying the A's, he sent out 600,000 brochures to area residents and only netted $20,000 in sales.<ref>{{cite book |last=Neyer |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Neyer |title=Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders |year=2006 |publisher=Fireside |location=New York City |isbn=0-7432-8491-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/robneyersbigbook0000neye }}</ref>  While in Oakland, the A's rarely had radio and television contracts, and were practically invisible even in the Bay Area.  For the first month of the 1978 season, the A's radio flagship was [[KALX]], the 10-watt [[college radio]] station of the [[University of California, Berkeley]].  A year later, the A's didn't sign a radio contract until the day before Opening Day.  Largely as a result, the A's never drew well even in their championship years, and were even sued by the city of Oakland and [[Alameda County]] in 1979.<ref name=Mad>{{cite magazine |first=Ron |last=Fimrite |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1094953/index.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121203052040/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1094953/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 3, 2012 |title=They're Just Mad About Charlie |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=May 21, 1979 |page=36}}</ref>

The A's have recently held promotional days with throwback uniforms from the Finley years, and have invited former players and play-by-play announcer [[Monte Moore]] to attend.{{Citation needed|date = October 2016}}

==Other sports ventures==
Finley purchased the [[California Golden Seals|Oakland Seals]] of the [[National Hockey League]] in 1970,<ref name=cfbhc>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7wQhAAAAIBAJ&pg=2298%2C5371302 |newspaper=Norwalk (CT) Hour |agency=UPI |title=Charles Finley buys hockey club |date=June 30, 1970 |page=25 }}</ref> renaming the team California Golden Seals.  Mimicking the A's, he changed the team colors to green and gold and had the Seals wear white skates instead of the traditional black skates, a move deeply unpopular with both players and fans.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Currier |first1=Steve |title=Finley's White Skates |url=http://goldensealshockey.com/?page_id=31 |website=goldensealshockey.com |access-date=October 12, 2018|date=2016-06-22 }}</ref>

In 1970, Finley also purchased the [[Memphis Pros]] of the [[American Basketball Association]], changing the team's name to the [[Memphis Tams]], the name being an acronym for Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.  As was the case with the A's, he changed the Tams' colors to green and gold.  He hired recently retired [[Kentucky Wildcats basketball]] coach [[Adolph Rupp]] as team president.  Finley ran it on a shoestring budget.  After the first season, he sold the teams and returned to baseball.{{Citation needed|date = October 2016}}

In March 1987, Finley proposed a new football league. The league would merge with the [[Canadian Football League]] and be renamed the North American Football League. The American cities would be made up of those that lost out on the [[United States Football League]] folding, with Finley representing [[Chicago Blitz|Chicago]];<ref name=rejected>[https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/204371473_1198137157314752_2958838324693816158_n.png?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=cekrvCiTGWwAX8mKMG2&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=acf276d6f59b29141ec93253cd595635&oe=60F54C2E Finley wants to merge CFL with 9 U.S. teams to create league] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716055207/https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/204371473_1198137157314752_2958838324693816158_n.png?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=cekrvCiTGWwAX8mKMG2&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=acf276d6f59b29141ec93253cd595635&oe=60F54C2E |date=2021-07-16 }}. ''The Ledger'' via wire services (March 1987). Retrieved July 16, 2021.</ref> the USFL's [[Arizona Outlaws]] had already come out in support of the idea of playing in the CFL as an American team,<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3811251.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309194824/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3811251.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-03-09 |title=New football league hope slim // CFL 'lukewarm' to merger with the defunct USFL |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=1987-02-18 |access-date=2012-07-04|via=HighBeam}}</ref> as had certain executives with the [[Memphis Showboats]].<ref name=willtheyplay>[https://www.birminghamprosports.com/otherteamsnafl.html Will Birmingham play in the North American Football League?] via BirminghamProSports.com</ref> The CFL insisted upon a minimum $20 million per year television contract to even consider the idea, and though Finley was optimistic that such a contract could be secured, networks all rejected the plan,<ref name=willtheyplay/> and the CFL Commissioner at the time, [[Douglas Mitchell]], explicitly ruled out adding teams from the United States or changing the CFL's format.<ref name=rejected/>

==Later life==
Finley lived his final years on his farm in LaPorte. He died at age 77 on February 19, 1996, three days before his 78th birthday. He had suffered from heart disease and had been admitted two weeks earlier to [[Northwestern Memorial Hospital]] in Chicago.<ref name=foaodap>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3hEmAAAAIBAJ&pg=4552%2C2019805 |newspaper=Gettysburg Times |agency=Associated Press |title=Former Oakland A's owner Charles Finley dies at age 77 |date=February 20, 1996 |page=B3}}</ref><ref name=flfidi>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SfAbAAAAIBAJ&pg=6323%2C3856571 |newspaper=The Dispatch |location=Lexington, NC |agency=(Los Angeles Daily News) |last=Rosenthal |first=Michael  |title=Flamboyant Finley dies |date=February 20, 1996 |page=1B }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Green, G. Michael and Roger Launius ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20110726140220/http://www.walkerbooks.com/books/catalog.php?key=865 Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman]'', Walker & Co, 2010.

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070420070350/http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/news/2007/election/vc/finley.htm Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile]
* {{Find a Grave|6819040}}

{{Oakland Athletics}}
{{Athletics owners}}
{{Oakland Athletics Presidents}}
{{Oakland Athletics general managers}}
{{Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame}}
{{SN Sportsman of the Year}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finley, Charlie}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American Basketball Association executives]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Chicago]]
[[Category:California Golden Seals owners]]
[[Category:Kansas City Athletics executives]]
[[Category:Kansas City Athletics owners]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball general managers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball owners]]
[[Category:Memphis Sounds]]
[[Category:National Hockey League executives]]
[[Category:Oakland Athletics executives]]
[[Category:Oakland Athletics owners]]
[[Category:People from Ensley, Alabama]]
[[Category:People from Gary, Indiana]]
[[Category:People from La Porte, Indiana]]