1972 Oakland Athletics

1972 Oakland Athletics / Franchise: Oakland Athletics / BR Team Page

Record: 93-62, Finished 1st in AL Western Division (1972 AL)

Clinched Division: September 28, 1972, vs. Minnesota Twins

World Series Champs

Managed by Dick Williams

Coaches: Jerry Adair, Vern Hoscheit, Irv Noren and Bill Posedel

Ballpark: Oakland Coliseum

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1972 Oakland Athletics repeated as American League West division title winners, but this time made it to the World Series after defeating the Detroit Tigers in a tightly-fought League Championship Series. The World Series, in which they faced the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds was even more tightly fought, but they emerged as winners in seven games. It was the Athletics first participation in a Fall Classic since 1931, when they were the Philadelphia Athletics and managed by Connie Mack. They would not have to wait so long to return, as the A's went on to win the following two World Series as well.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Sal Bando, Bert Campaneris, Ken Holtzman, Jim Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Joe Rudi

Further Reading

• Gary Belleville: "October 7, 1972: A’s win ALCS opener in 11 innings thanks to Gonzalo Márquez’s pinch-hit single," SABR Baseball Games Project.
• Chip Greene, ed.: Mustaches and Mayhem, Charlie O's Three-Time Champions: The Oakland Athletics 1972-74, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015. ISBN 978-1-943816-07-1
• Ed Gruver: Hairs vs. Squares: The Mustache Gang, the Big Red Machine, and the Tumultuous Summer of '72, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2016. ISBN 978-0-8032-8558-3
• John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden: The Mustache Gang Battles the Big Red Machine: The 1972 World Series, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2022. ISBN 978-1-4766-8860-2
• Jason Turbow: Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, MA, 2017. ISBN 9780544303171

Related Sites

<< 1971 1972 Postseason 1973 >>

NL Championship Series (3-2) Reds over Pirates

World Series (4-3) Athletics over Reds

AL Championship Series (3-2) Athletics over Tigers