including Reggie Jackson (2nd from left)
April 17, 1968: After 13 seasons in Kansas City, and 54 before that in Philadelphia, the Oakland Athletics (usually referred to as the Oakland A’s) play the 1st American League game in Northern California, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
The ceremonial first ball is thrown out by the Governor of California, Ronald Reagan. Noting that April 15 was 2 days earlier, he tells the crowd, "One thing I'm sure of is that you all paid your taxes." Reagan is soundly booed. He was never particularly popular in the Bay Area, especially in the East Bay, home also to the University of California, the alternative newspaper the Berkeley Barb, and the Black Panther Party.
The A's lose to the Baltimore Orioles 4-1, Their only run comes on a home run by Rick Monday. Reggie Jackson goes 0-for-4. Apparently, having East Bay native Joe DiMaggio as hitting instructor didn't work. (DiMaggio needed 2 more years of baseball service to qualify for the league's maximum pension allowance. He didn't need the money, but he sure wanted it.)
Dave McNally outpitches Lew Krausse, who surrenders home runs to Boog Powell (understandable), Brooks Robinson (a little less understandable) and Mark Belanger (considerably less understandable).
That 1st season in Oakland, as they had in Kansas City since 1963, the A's held their Spring Training in Bradenton, Florida. In 1969, they moved training to Mesa, Arizona, and have trained in the Phoenix suburbs ever since: Mesa, 1969-76; Scottsdale, 1977-81; Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 1982-2014; and in Mesa again since 2015.
The A's reached the postseason in 1971, won 3 straight World Series from 1972 to 1974, and after another Division title in 1975 and a 2nd-place finish in 1976, were broken up by the man who'd moved them to Oakland, team owner Charlie Finley, because he didn't want to pay the new high salaries that were coming with the acceptance of free agency. He never accepted it.
Under 3 different ownership groups, the A's, as they had under Connie Mack in Philadelphia, resumed their cycle of boom and bust, Pennant and selloff, rebounding again in 1980-81, then 1988-92, then again in 2000-06, then again in 2012-14, then again in 2018-20, before falling off every time. And the Coliseum became increasingly unsuitable for modern baseball. The City of Oakland and the County of Alameda have put forward ideas for a new stadium, but nothing has worked. As of Opening Day 2022, the A's are the MLB team most in danger of moving.
UPDATE: After the 2024 season, the A's moved to Sacramento, as a stopgap location until a domed stadium could open in Las Vegas, they hope, for the 2028 season.
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April 17, 1968 was a Wednesday. These other baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 3-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Stan Bahnsen, who went on the be named American League Rookie of the Year, outpitched Rickey Clark. Mickey Mantle, starting his 18th and, as it turned out, his final season, went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-0 at Shea Stadium. Jerry Koosman allowed 7 hits, but only 2 walks, striking out 10, and kept the shutout. Cleon Jones hit a home run. Willie Mays went 0-for-4. Willie McCovey went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Dick Ellsworth pitched a 5-hit shutout. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-1 -- a solo home run -- and 3 walks.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Woodie Fryman outpitched Don Drysdale. Cookie Rojas hit a home run off Drysdale.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). Phil Niekro outpitched Bill Hands. Hank Aaron hit his 483rd career home run. Ernie Banks went 0-for-4.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 13-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Willie Stargell went 2-for-4 with a walk.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Lee May singled Pete Rose home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning, making Bob Lee a winning pitcher in relief of Milt Pappas, and Ron Willis a losing pitcher in relief of Steve Carlton. May went 3-for-5 with 2 walks and that RBI. Rose went 1-for-5, but still went on to win the National League batting title. Johnny Bench went 0-for-3, but still went on to win the NL Rookie of the Year. For the Cards, Lou Brock went 5-for-6 with a home run, a stolen base, and 2 RBIs.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. Eddie Fisher (not the singer) got the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, but walked Al Kaline, and then Willie Horton hit a game-winning home run, ruining (for Cleveland fans) what had been a good pitching duel between their Sam McDowell and Detroit's Denny McLain (who went on to go 31-6 and help the Tigers win the World Series).
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Washington Senators, 13-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-3 with a home run, 2 walks and 2 RBIs. Rod Carew went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were underway, but no games were scheduled for this day. The American Basketball Association, in its 1st season, was in its Playoffs, but had no game scheduled. There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 114-106 at the Boston Garden, despite 40 points from the Sixers' Hal Greer.
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