Finley Ball, Nancy Finley
Finley Ball, Nancy Finley
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Finley Ball
How Two Outsiders Turned the Oakland A’s into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever

Author: Nancy Finley

Narrator: Pam Ward

Unabridged: 7 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/28/2016


Synopsis

When Charlie Finley bought the A’s in 1960, he was an outsider to the game—an insurance businessman with a larger-than-life personality. He brought his cousin Carl on as his right-hand man, moved the team from Kansas City to Oakland, and pioneered a new way to put together a winning team. With legendary players like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, and Vida Blue, the Finleys’ Oakland A’s won three straight World Series and riveted the nation.Now Carl Finley’s daughter Nancy reveals the whole story behind her family’s winning legacy—how her father and uncle developed their scouting strategy, why they employed odd gimmicks like orange baseballs and “mustache bonuses,” and how the success of the ’70s Oakland A’s changed the game of baseball.

About Nancy Finley

Nancy Finley was two years old when her father, Carl, joined his cousin Charlie Finley as head of the Athletics organization, and she spent her teen years helping out the team whenever she could. She has been interviewed in many sports outlets about the history of the A’s and her personal recollections.

About Pam Ward

Pam Ward has had many incarnations, including private detective, classical musician, television talk-show host, and actress, having performed in dinner theater, summer stock, and Off-Broadway, as well as in commercials, radio, and film. But she found her true calling reading books for the blind and physically handicapped for the Library of Congress Talking Books program, for which she received the prestigious Alexander Scourby Award from the American Foundation for the Blind. An AudioFile Earphones Award winner, her many audiobooks include Dancing in the Streets by Barbara Ehrenreich, Breaking Free by Lauraine Snelling, The Second Journey by Joan Anderson, and Lion in the White House by Aida D. Donald. She now records from her studio amidst the beauty of the Southern Oregon mountains.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nooilforpacifists on May 02, 2016

Non-kiss and non-tell about Charlie Finley and his consecutive three-time World Series Champs Oakland A's. Problem is that the author is Finley's niece, who was about three years old when Finley acquired the team, then in Kansas City; worse yet, the author's dad worked -- largely unheralded -- for C......more

Goodreads review by Joshua on June 22, 2017

The book starts off bad, as in her writing style was all over the place and she repeats her self often, same story just different wording. Despite the bad writing, it's a good story of the A's from the 60s to early 80s and their move from KC to Oakland where they built a dynasty only the Yankees can......more

Goodreads review by Will on April 01, 2019

I try to read one baseball book each spring, this is 2019's. This is a short interesting read about a team I wasn't very familiar with. Still, interesting because it is written from a woman's point of view, the neice of the team owner. I know a lot more now about thi period of baseball history.......more

Goodreads review by Tim on December 11, 2022

I enjoyed this book written by the niece of famed 1960' and 70's Oakland A's owner, Charlie Finley. The author's father was also instrumental in the A's success in the 70's. The author was a teenager when the A's were winning three consecutive World Series championships. There was a great deal of in......more

Goodreads review by Mike on July 14, 2018

I was excited to read a book about the A’s dynasty of the seventies. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to pick up another book on them to get a true sense of this team and their eccentric owner, Charlie Finley. This book is biased and poorly written. I understand the bias as the author was Charlie Fi......more


Quotes

“In June 1960, Chicago insurance salesman Charles Finley was an unlikely candidate to buy the St. Louis Athletics’ baseball club. When he shockingly outbid legendary sportswriter and nemesis Ernie Mehl, nobody imagined that he would put together a good team—let alone a baseball dynasty. Finley wasn’t afraid to make moves and his determination paid off. After making aggressive deals and bringing in his cousin Carl as his advisor, the Athletics won three consecutive World Series, between 1972 and 1974…Author Finley (Charles’ niece) gives the reader a behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary age of baseball…Finley’s impact on the sport is still legendary to this day.” Library Journal

“Nancy Finley tells what she sees as the story—or rather, stories—behind the dynasty that was the Oakland A’s in the early 1970s. Narrator Pam Ward uses gruff voices for the men involved and clear diction throughout. Her animated narration keeps the stories fun….[and] Ward’s reading gives decent glimpses of the colorful team owner.” AudioFile

“From the Charlie Finley dynasty years, to Billy Martin’s Billy Ball years, Nancy Finley reveals the inner workings of one of baseball’s greatest franchises and offers insights into the creative genius of one of its most colorful owners.” Brian Kingman, pitcher, Oakland A’s, 1978–1982

“If there was a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame for multitasking, the first member would be Carl Finley of the Oakland A’s. When I arrived on the scene in 1980, Carl was a one-man front office. Tickets, stadium operations, broadcasting, public relations. You name it, he did it—with quality and class.” Andy Dolich, vice president of marketing, Oakland A’s, 1981–1994

“Finley almost single-handedly saved baseball in the early 1970s with his showmanship and charisma, and, ultimately, his love and understanding of the game. And he built perhaps the best baseball team ever assembled and changed the game for the better.” Jay Darby, lawyer and sportswriter