When the A’s, Raiders and Warriors left, Oakland lost a shared language |
Oakland Athletics fans April Kenton of Tracy, center. and Sara Dunaway of San Leandro get emotional as a tribute to the Oakland Coliseum is played before the A’s final game in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2024.
In Oakland, professional sports weren’t just entertainment. It was a shared language. It didn’t matter what neighborhood you lived in or what job, race, age or gender defined you. You could always talk about our local sports teams.
My three brothers and I were kids when the Athletics arrived in 1968. Brought in by owner Charlie Finley, with his flair and sense of spectacle, the team felt larger than life — and somehow, still completely ours.
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I remember piling into my dad’s flashy yellow Thunderbird in the early 1970s and driving to King Junior High School (which became King Estates Middle School before closing in 2005) for a fan event featuring A’s outfielder Joe Rudi and third baseman Sal Bando. That afternoon, we shared a few laughs with Rudi, making the line separating fans from players feel paper-thin.
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A few years later, my brother was friends with one of the A’s ball girls, and Reggie Jackson drove them home after a game and stayed to field questions from........