Relive Campy's historic (and eventful) trip around diamond
Paul Casella
@paul_casellaMLBAs six-time All-Star Bert Campaneris turns 81 years old on Thursday, it's the perfect time to take a look back at his historic performance for the A's in a Sept. 8, 1965, game against the Angels.
It was on that night that Campaneris -- then just a 23-year-old in his first full big league season -- became the first player in AL/NL history to play all nine positions in the same game. Only four other players have accomplished the feat since: Cesar Tovar (Sept. 22, 1968), Scott Sheldon (Sept. 6, 2000), Shane Halter (Oct. 1, 2000) and Andrew Romine (Sept. 30, 2017).
But it wasn't all fun and games for Campy and Co. that evening at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium.
Far from it, in fact.
Though the visiting California Angels had long ago bid farewell to any postseason hopes, they took exception to what they felt was a gimmick -- and they weren't exactly wrong. Charles Finley, owner of the last-place Kansas City Athletics, had orchestrated the entire idea, even taking out a $1 million insurance policy on Campaneris ahead of the big event.
The motive was simple: sell a lot of tickets. And it worked.
More than 21,000 fans showed up to watch an otherwise insignificant Wednesday night game in early September between clubs with sub-.500 records. To put that in perspective, only 1,271 fans came out the following night to watch the same two teams.
"Well, Finley got what he wanted -- a big crowd," Halos manager Bill Rigney told the Press-Telegram at the time. "Big deal. It was bush."
As for the game itself, the A's couldn't have scripted a better start. Campaneris played his natural shortstop position during a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, then worked a leadoff walk, stole second and later scored the game's first run on Ed Charles' double in the bottom half.
Things remained relatively uneventful over the next handful of innings. Campaneris shifted to second base for the second inning, third base for the third, left field for the fourth and center field for the fifth.
It was in the sixth inning, however, when the spotlight really started to zero in on Campaneris. With two outs and a runner on first in a 1-1 ballgame, Campaneris -- now playing right field -- dropped a routine fly off the bat of Jim Fregosi, allowing Albie Pearson to score from first.
Two innings later, Campaneris ran into more trouble while making the first -- and what proved to be only -- pitching appearance of his big league career. After retiring his cousin, Jose Cardenal, to start the eighth, Campaneris walked the next two batters -- each on four pitches -- before serving up an RBI single to Fregosi.
"He has a fair curve, but he's some kind of wild," Fregosi told the Press-Telegram at the time. "Baby, you had to stay loose up there."
Campaneris escaped further damage by initiating an inning-ending strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play.
It's when Campaneris put on the catcher's gear to cross off his final position in the ninth that things really got interesting.
Ed Kirkpatrick, a 20-year-old making his season debut after being recalled from Triple-A Seattle, started the frame with a single. He then immediately put Campaneris' arm to the test, successfully swiping second base.
With two outs and Kirkpatrick at third, the Halos outfielder took off for the plate on a pitch to Cardenal, who was batting. Campaneris scrambled in front of the dish to tag out Kirkpatrick, who crashed into the A's super utility man in an attempt to jar the ball loose.
Campaneris, who held onto the ball for the inning-ending out, jumped to his feet and appeared ready to go after Kirkpatrick, only to be restrained by Cardenal.
"They threw rocks, beer cans and what looked like chicken bones," Kirkpatrick told the Press-Telegram. "I thought Campaneris was going to swing. Then, someone grabbed him. I wasn't going to swing first. After all, he was blocking the plate. I suppose I should stop and let him tag me."
Though the A's would rally to tie the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth, Campaneris wouldn't be around to see how it played out. While the Angels battled their way to a 5-3 win in 13 innings, Campaneris was on his way to St. Luke's Hospital after injuring his left shoulder in the collision.
Campaneris avoided a serious injury, returning to the lineup a week later, but it certainly wasn't the ideal ending to a night when he forever etched his name into the record books.