Charley O!

Have you ever heard of Charles O. Finley? Unless you are an old baseball fan, probably you do not. He was the owner of the Kansas City A’s, which moved to Oakland, and he was quite a proponent of innovation and showmanship. I knew he was primarily responsible for the introduction of the designated hitter into the game, and for white shoes on the ball players of the 70’s. He instigated bright colors for his uniforms and came up with the idea of variations on the uniforms for day games, weekends, and holidays.

But in a book on baseball trivia that I recently received as a gift I found out a couple of things about Charley O. that made me say “Really, I never heard that before.” The first was that in home games at the A’s stadium, Finley hired a lady named Debbie Fields to present the umpires with her homemade cookies and a drink of water in the fifth inning. Debbie went on to establish her own success, with her Mrs. Fields’ line of baked goods!

The second was that in 1968, Finley had a batboy that had other talents. Stanley Burrell would entertain the players with his singing and dancing in the locker room before and after games. That talented young man is much better known today, as M.C. Hammer!