The Rise and Fall of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League
In 1954, the Athletics were the only baseball team in Philadelphia that had brought a World Championship to the city. In fact, the team won five! Arguably, the team was more popular than the Phillies. But 1954 was the last season that the American League had a team in Philadelphia. In the off season, the A's stunned the City of Philadelphia by announcing that they had found a new buyer for the team, and that they were moving to Kansas City. While the A’s fortunes hand dwindled in the past two decades, the Athletics still had a loyal following. Indeed, to this day, some Philadelphia baseball fans say the wrong team left. So what happened? How did Philadelphia lose the A’s? Cornelius McGillicuddy, known as Connie Mack for short, guided the Philadelphia Athletics since the inception of the American League as a rival major league in 1901. Charles Somers, who had made his money in the coal industry, invested the money to help seed five ...