The Cincinnati Reds, as their name implies, were dressed simply: White uniforms at home, gray ones on the road, and red lettering. Managed by George "Sparky" Anderson, with stars such as left fielder Pete Rose, catcher Johnny Bench, 1st baseman Tony Pérez and 2nd baseman Joe Morgan, and a bullpen led by Clay Carroll, whose 37 saves had just set a new major league record (which lasted all of 1 year), "The Big Red Machine" were dominant. They had won the National League Pennant in 1970, losing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Now, they had won the Pennant again, and were ready to take the title.
The Reds were clean-cut, and clean-shaven. Nothing unusual about that in baseball at the time: The sport has often seemed to be 10 years behind the rest of the country. But until the 21st Century, the Reds had a rule banning facial hair. They were good, but not flashy. Appropriate for Cincinnati, one of the most conservative cities in the country. Good for southern Ohio and southern Indiana on one side of the Ohio River. Good for the actually-Southern State of Kentucky and the quasi-Southern State of West Virginia on the other side.
The Oakland Athletics -- "A's" for short -- were not designed to appeal to "Middle America." Insurance tycoon Charles Oscar Finley saw to that when he bought the team in 1960, while they were still in Kansas City, the major city closest to the geographic center of "the 48 Contiguous States." Finley changed the team's colors from their traditional red, white and blue to what he termed "Kelly Green, Wedding Gown White and Fort Knox Gold." After looking into the ideas of Louisville, Dallas and Denver, he moved them to Oakland in 1968.
By that point, he already had some of the players who would dominate the American League Western Division in the early days of Divisional Play. In Spring Training in 1972, with the rest of the world having gotten used to men letting their hair grow long, and growing facial hair, Finley saw his best player, slugging right fielder Reggie Jackson, grow a mustache.
Instead of fining him for not "looking like a big-league ballplayer," he used reverse psychology: He offered a $300 bonus to every player who grew a mustache by Opening Day. He figured, if everybody did it, it would no longer be an act of rebellion, and they'd stop. The move backfired, and Finley, famously cheap, had to pay nearly everybody on the team $300 -- about $2,100 in 2022 money -- at a time when the average salary was about $34,000 (or $238,000 today).
Most notable was the 19th-Century-style "handlebar" mustache worn by the Oakland relief ace, Rollie Fingers. He would end his career in 1986 with 341 saves, more than any pitcher to that point. Ironically, the reason he retired is that the only team willing to offer him a contract -- he was 39 years old at the time -- was the Reds, and they insisted that he shave off the mustache, which had become his trademark. He wouldn't do it, and hung up his cleats.
Both teams needed to go the full 5 games in their League Championship Series. The Reds trailed the Pittsburgh Pirates in the bottom of the 9th, but Bench hit a game-tying home run, kept it going, and then Bob Moose threw a wild pitch that scored George Foster with the Pennant-winning run. (This turned out to be the last game for Pirates' star Roberto Clemente.)
The A's played the Detroit Tigers, and won, but lost Jackson to a torn hamstring as he scored the winning run in Game 5. They would have to go into the franchise's 1st World Series in 41 years -- since 1931, when they were the Philadelphia Athletics -- without their best player.
In Game 1, at Riverfront, A's catcher Gene Tenace hit home runs in his 1st 2 World Series at-bats, which had never been done before. The A's won, 3-2. In Game 2, Joe Rudi hit a home run, and made a spectacular catch in left field off a drive by Denis Menke. Despite a Reds comeback in the 9th, the A's hung on to win, 2-1.
Just when it looked like the Reds would be utterly humiliated, they waited out a one-day rain delay, and won Game 3 at the Oakland Coliseum, 1-0. The only run came in the top of the 7th inning, when César Gerónimo singled Pérez home. The Reds won despite Bench getting fooled on a trick play in the 9th: After Bobby Tolan stole 2nd base on a pitch that made the count 3-and-2, manager Dick Williams went to the mound for conference. It then appeared that Williams had ordered Fingers to intentionally walk Bench. But after Tenace motioned for the outside ball 4, Fingers threw a strike on the outside corner, and Bench was out.
The Reds led Game 4, 2-1 with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th. But Gonzalo Márquez singled, Tenace did the same, Don Mincher added another that scored pinch-runner Allan Lewis, and Ángel Mangual singled Tenace home with the winning run, 3-2.
The A's looked to close it out in Game 5, at home. They led 3-1 after 2 innings, 4-2 after 4, and were still up 4-3 after 7, thanks to Tenace's 4th home run of the Series. That tied a Series record, which would be broken in 1977, by Reggie Jackson. But the Reds tied it in the 8th, and won it in the 9th, 5-4. The winning run was singled home by Rose, who had homered earlier.
Back in Cincinnati, the Reds won Game 6, 8-1, and tied the Series. Game 7 was Catfish Hunter against Jack Billingham. Tolan's error on a Mangual fly ball gave the A's a 1-0 lead in the 1st. The Reds tied it in the 5th on a sacrifice fly by Hal McRae. But in the 6th, Sparky Anderson replaced an exhausted Billingham with Pedro Borbón, who gave up RBI doubles to Tenace and Bando. The Reds scored a run in the 8th, but couldn't find a tying run, and the A's won, 3-2.
The A's had won their 1st World Championship in 42 years, since the 1930 Philadelphia team. Tenace‚ who had only 5 homers in the regular season, had 4 in the Series‚ and was named the Series' Most Valuable Player.
The Reds eventually won the World Series in 1975 and 1976, and won more games in the decade than the A's. They win 4 Pennants and 6 Division Titles in the decade, to the A's' 3 Pennants and 5 Division Titles. For these reasons, their surviving players are convinced that they, not the A's, were the team of the decade.
However, the A's won 3 World Series in a row, something not achieved by any other franchise in baseball history except for the New York Yankees. What's more, in the one head-to-head matchup between the A's and the Reds, the A's won, winning 3 of the 4 games in Cincinnati, including the clincher, and doing so without their best player, Reggie Jackson, who was injured in the American League Championship Series clincher. So there can be no doubt that the A's were the Team of the Seventies.
Besides, neither team was the one that won the most games in the decade: It was the Baltimore Orioles who did that, while winning 5 Division Titles and 3 Pennants, but only 1 World Series.
It would take until 1990 for the Reds to get revenge on the A's.
Having a fascinating (if occasionally controversial) history, even if you only count the Oakland years, the A's have had several books written about them, although they don't always put the team in a good light. The ones about the "Swingin' A's" of the 1970s invariably mention Finley's successes and excesses, including his cheapness and pettiness. And the players often don't come off much better in these books.
These books include Bruce Markusen's 2002 A Baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's; Roger D. Launius and G. Michael Green's 2010 Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman; Finley Ball: How Two Baseball Outsiders Turned the Oakland A's Into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever, by Nancy Finley, daughter of Charlie's cousin Carl, who was also involved with the team; and Jason Turbow's Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's.
In 2016, Ed Gruver published Hairs vs. Squares: The Mustache Gang, the Big Red Machine, and the Tumultuous Summer of '72, which culminates in the World Series between the A's and the Cincinnati Reds. Matthew Silverman wrote Swinging '73: Baseball's Wildest Season, and John Rosengren wrote Hammerin' Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid: The Year That Changed Baseball Forever, whose cover includes a photo of Reggie Jackson at Yankee Stadium -- the pre-renovation Stadium, and he's wearing an A's uniform.
Also on this day, Arthur Agee Jr. (no middle name) is born in Chicago. Along with William Gates, he was the focus of the documentary Hoop Dreams. He attended St. Joseph High School in the Chicago suburb of Westchester, Illinois, as had his hero, Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas. But it was too expensive for his parents, and he transferred to John Marshall High School in the city, winning the 1991 Public League Championship.
He played at Arkansas State, but never professionally. He now runs the Arthur Agee Role Model Foundation, "to help underprivileged kids to understand that their role models are not professional athletes, but their parents at home."
These books include Bruce Markusen's 2002 A Baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's; Roger D. Launius and G. Michael Green's 2010 Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman; Finley Ball: How Two Baseball Outsiders Turned the Oakland A's Into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever, by Nancy Finley, daughter of Charlie's cousin Carl, who was also involved with the team; and Jason Turbow's Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's.
In 2016, Ed Gruver published Hairs vs. Squares: The Mustache Gang, the Big Red Machine, and the Tumultuous Summer of '72, which culminates in the World Series between the A's and the Cincinnati Reds. Matthew Silverman wrote Swinging '73: Baseball's Wildest Season, and John Rosengren wrote Hammerin' Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid: The Year That Changed Baseball Forever, whose cover includes a photo of Reggie Jackson at Yankee Stadium -- the pre-renovation Stadium, and he's wearing an A's uniform.
*
October 22, 1972 was a Sunday. Gordon Banks crashed his Ford Consul into an Austin A60 van in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and ended up in a ditch. He needed over 300 stitches on his face, and lost the sight in his right eye. The goalkeeper who had helped Stoke City win its 1st (and still only) major trophy the season before, the League Cup, and had backstopped the England team that won the 1966 World Cup, retires at the end of the season. He briefly came back to play in America for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, but never played in Europe again.
Also on this day, Arthur Agee Jr. (no middle name) is born in Chicago. Along with William Gates, he was the focus of the documentary Hoop Dreams. He attended St. Joseph High School in the Chicago suburb of Westchester, Illinois, as had his hero, Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas. But it was too expensive for his parents, and he transferred to John Marshall High School in the city, winning the 1991 Public League Championship.
He played at Arkansas State, but never professionally. He now runs the Arthur Agee Role Model Foundation, "to help underprivileged kids to understand that their role models are not professional athletes, but their parents at home."
Gates -- no relation to legendary basketball coach William "Pop" Gates, and definitely not to Bill Gates -- stayed at St. Joseph, played at Marquette University in Milwaukee, also fell short of playing pro ball, and is now a minister outside San Antonio. His son, William Gates Jr., now plays basketball at Furman University in South Carolina. Neither man's hoop dream came true, but both are doing a lot of good now.
Being a Sunday, there were NFL games:
* The New York Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 27-21 at Yankee Stadium.
* The New York Jets beat the Baltimore Colts, 24-20 at Shea Stadium. Yes, both New York teams were at home at the same time. (Both games were 1:00 starts.)
* The Washington Redskins beat their arch-rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, 24-20 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.
* The Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills, 24-23 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
* The San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints played to a tie, 20-20 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
* The Cleveland Browns beat the Houston Oilers, 23-17 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New England Patriots, 33-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Detroit Lions beat the San Diego Chargers, 34-20 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Green Bay Packers, 10-9 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 21-20 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 15-12 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. So, not a good day for Cincinnati sports. And the NBA's Cincinnati Royals couldn't help them, because they'd just moved, becoming the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
* The Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders, 30-23 at the Oakland Coliseum.
* And, the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings, 13-10. Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
There were 3 games in the NBA:
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 104-84 at the Cleveland Arena.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls, 104-99 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Jerry West scored 35 points.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat their arch-rivals, 120-119 in overtime at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
There was 1 game in the American Basketball Association: The New York Nets beat the Utah Stars, 119-116 at the Nassau Coliseum.
There were 5 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens played to a tie, 1-1 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Boston Bruins, 5-4 at the Boston Garden.
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Atlanta Flames, 7-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the California Golden Seals, 4-2 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
* And the New York Islanders, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Minnesota North Stars, the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings were not scheduled.
And there were 4 games in the World Hockey Association:
* The New York Raiders lost to the Minnesota Fighting Saints, 5-4, as Madison Square Garden hosted both an NHL game and a WHA game on the same day.
* The Ottawa Nationals beat the Quebec Nordiques, 3-2 at the Colisée de Québec.
* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Philadelphia Blazers, 6-3 at the Winnipeg Arena.
* And the Chicago Cougars beat the Los Angeles, Sharks, 4-2 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
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