A Baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's

by Bruce Markusen

The winner of the Society of American Baseball Research's Seymour Medal as the best book of 1998, this revised edition of "Baseball's Last Dynasty" now contains added interviews with stars Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace, and John "Blue Moon" Odom. Other new material includes updated and expanded accounts from the raucous 1972 regular season and World Series, year-by-year statistical summaries of Oakland's dynastic run, and news-making headlines from the turbulent 1970s. Here is the full and complete story of the team known as the "Mustache Gang."

Genres: Sports, Baseball

430 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a teenager in the early-seventies, I gravitated to the long-haired, mustachioed Oakland Athletics. They were the "rock stars" of the era.

Appearances aside, they were also a pretty talented group of ballplayers.

Markusen dutifully chronicles the era of 1971 to 1977, reporting omnipresent owner Charles O. Finley's non-stop meddling, the locker room squabbles and the continual drama that surrounded this team.

But for me, the book never quite became compelling. For a team that generated such national interest and local apathy, that seems odd.

I would have liked to see what another sportswriter would have done with this story.

[Bill Freil · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a quick read. markusen is a great writer and researcher. makes a good argument on why 70s athletics are the last great dynasty. (written before Tanks of late 90s)