Athletics Hall of Fame

Philadelphia A's 1903-14

Charles "Chief" Bender was a Native American who pitched in five World Series for the A's. He had his finest season in 1910 when he authored a no-hitter while compiling a 23-5 record and a 1.58 ERA before helping the A's to their first World Championship. Bender, who was Connie Mack's choice "if there was one game I wanted to win above all others" won five of his seven World Series starts in 1910, 11 and 13 to lead the A's to their first three World Championships.

Philadelphia A's 1925-33

One of baseball's greatest catchers, Mickey Cochrane was the backstop for the A's three consecutive American League Pennant winning teams from 1929-31. He was named AL MVP 1928 and homered twice in the 1930 World Series as the A's won their second straight World Championship. Cochrane had a .321 batting average in nine seasons with the A's and also had a .419 on-base percentage nearly 70 years before it gained mainstream acceptance.

Philadelphia A's 1906-14; 27-30

The first Athletic to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Eddie Collins batted .337 and stole 373 bases in 13 seasons over two stints with the A's. He finished in the top six in Chalmer's Award Voting, a precursor to the MVP, in four straight seasons from 1911-14 and won the award in 1914. He hit .429 in the 1910 World Series to start the A's championship run of three Series titles in four years. The second baseman led the AL in steals in 1910 and runs from 1912-14.

Philadelphia A's 1925-35

Jimmie Foxx did not finish his senior year of high school as he went to spring training with the Philadelphia A's in 1925 and made his Major League debut later that year at the age of 17. He would go on to hit 302 home runs in 11 seasons as an Athletic, a franchise record that stood for 61 years. Foxx earned back-to-back MVP awards from 1932-33 and a Triple Crown in 1933. He represented the A's in the first three All-Star Games from 1933-35 and was a World Champion in 1929 and 30.

Philadelphia A's 1901-54

Connie Mack managed the A's for 50 seasons from 1901-50 and was part-owner of the club for all 54 seasons in Philadelphia. Under his leadership, the A's would win five World Championship and nine American League Pennants. He built two dynasties, winning back-to-back World Series in 1910-11 as well as 1913, and then did it again in 1929-30. Known for managing in a suit, with a derby or bowler in place of a baseball cap, the A's won 3,582 games with Mack at the helm.

Philadelphia A's 1925-33

Lefty Grove pitched for nine seasons with the Philadelphia A's, leading the league in strikeouts seven times, ERA five times and wins four times. He won the pitching Triple Crown by leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts in back-to-back seasons from 1930-31. Grove capped that streak by going 31-4 with a 2.06 ERA and 175 strikeouts in 1931 to earn American League MVP honors. He was a member of the A's back-to-back World Champions in 1929-30 and was a 1933 All-Star.

Philadelphia A's 1901-14

Eddie Plank was a member of the original 1901 Philadelphia A's and in 14 seasons as Athletic, he won 284 games, started 459, completed 362, had 59 shutouts and struck out 1,985, all franchise records that still stand today. He never led the American League in wins, strikeouts or ERA but was always one of the top pitchers in the game, earning him a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. Plank's tenure with the A's included six AL Pennants and three World Championships.

Philadelphia A's 1924-32; 40-41; 44

Al Simmons was a major factor in the A's three consecutive American League pennant winning clubs from 1929-31, hitting .346 with 92 home runs and 450 RBI. He led the AL in RBI in 1929 and then won back-to-back batting titles in 1930 and 31. Simmons hit .341 or better in seven consecutive seasons from 1925-31 and had a .356 average in 12 seasons with Philadelphia. He drove in at least 100 runs in each of his first nine seasons with the A's and had at least 200 hits five times.

Philadelphia A's 1902-07

A fan favorite at the turn of the century not only for his skills on the mound but for his eccentricities that earned him the nickname Rube, George Waddell pitched six seasons for the Philadelphia A's from 1902-07. He led the AL in strikeouts in each of those six campaigns and won the pitching Triple Crown in 1905 with a 27-10 record, a 1.48 ERA and 287 strikeouts. Waddell fanned a career-high 349 batters in 1904 and his 24 wins in 1902 led the A's to their first AL Pennant.

Philadelphia A's 1908-14

Frank "Home Run" Baker led the American League in home runs from 1911-13 and tied for the lead in 1914, but earned his nickname by hitting two home runs in the 1911 World Series against the Giants, the second of three World Champion A's teams that featured Baker as the A's third baseman. A member of the A's famed $100,000 infield, Baker led the league in triples in his rookie season of 1909 and topped the AL in RBI from 1912-13.

The Athletics all-time leader in games played (1,795) and hits (1,882), Bert ¡°Campy¡± Campaneris played 13 seasons for the A¡¯s, including four in Kansas City (1964 to 1967) and nine in Oakland (1968 to 1976). When you trace the roots of the A¡¯s three straight World Championships from 1972 to 1974, it all began on April 25, 1961, when the Kansas City A¡¯s signed a 19-year-old Cuban named Dagoberto Campaneris. Campy made his Major League debut on July 23, 1964 and homered twice in his first game. He famously played all nine positions in a nine-inning game on Sept. 8, 1965.

Tony La Russa managed the A¡¯s for 10 seasons from 1986 to 1995 and, under his guidance, won four American League West titles, three consecutive AL Pennants from 1988 to 1990, and the World Championship in 1989. La Russa won 798 games during his tenure with the A¡¯s, which are the most in Oakland history and second only in Athletics history to Connie Mack¡¯s 3,582. The A¡¯s won an Oakland-record 104 games in 1988 and La Russa was named AL Manager of the Year, an honor he would garner again in 1992. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

The A¡¯s all-time home run king with 363, Mark McGwire played 12 seasons with Oakland from 1986-97. He broke the Major League record for home runs by a rookie with a league leading 49 in 1987 and was named American League Rookie of the Year. McGwire was tabbed to his first of an Athletics-record nine All-Star Games that year, including six straight from 1987 to 1992. The A¡¯s reached the Postseason four times with McGwire, highlighted by a World Championship in 1989.

No pitcher in Oakland history has struck out more batters (1,315) or started more games (262) than Vida Blue. Drafted by the Kansas City A¡¯s in 1967, Blue made his Major League debut in 1969 just eight days before his 20th birthday. He tossed a no-hitter in 1970 and then burst onto the national scene in 1971 when he won both the American League Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award as a 21-year-old. Blue set Oakland records with 301 strikeouts and a league-leading 1.82 ERA while compiling a 24-8 record.