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Lot # 940: 1973 Charles O. Finley Oakland Athletics World Series Championship Ring (Family Sourced)

Category: Baseball Awards

Starting Bid: $3,000.00

Bids: 10 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2023 Fall Classic",
which ran from 10/29/2023 7:00 PM to
11/18/2023 10:00 PM



Displayed is Charles O. Finley's impressively crafted1973 Oakland Athletics World Championship ring. Charlie Finley was the owner of the Oakland Athletics who moved the team to California in 1968 from the former home of the franchise in Kansas City, Missouri. Finley was a baseball maverick who made himself the general manager of the team. The team was already well-stocked in its farm system, and Finley arrived with the Athletics just as up-and-coming minor league talent was reaching the Major League team. Terrific young players arrived in Oakland: Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Bert Campaneris, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Vida Blue. The team went on to win an extremely rare "three-peat," three consecutive World's Championships: 1972-74. Finley changed the team's colors from red and blue to green, gold, and white. He changed the mascot from an elephant to a mule. He advocated that the color of a baseball be changed from white to orange. He had a mechanical rabbit pop up out of the ground to supply baseballs to the umpires. He made sure that pitcher Jim Hunter would play under the colorful nickname "Catfish." He paid players a bonus for growing a mustache. Finley even offered pitcher Vida Blue a bonus if he would legally change his name to "True Blue." Blue declined. Stars on the 1973 Oakland Champions included future Hall of Famers: Hunter, a right-handed starter (21-5), Fingers, a right-handed (7-8, 1.92 ERA, 22 saves), and Jackson, an outfielder (.293, 32 homers, 117 RBIs). The ring is size 8.5. It has Jostens 14K stamped inside. Finley, OAKLAND, and a large letter "A" are on the right shank. On the left shank is "A's 4, Mets 3" (the result, in games, of the World Series), and "S+S=S" (code for the Finley mantra of "Sweat plus Sacrifice equals Success"). The ring has a green center stone and imprinted around the center stone is World Champions '72, '73. The ring comes in its original wooden box (3.5x3.5x2.5"), with "1979 A's World Champions" on the top. Comes from the family of Charles O. Finley and shown is the note that Finley signed when he gifted his family member the ring. Note not included.

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