The Oakland Athletics team was created to help fill the new American League in the majors back in 1901. Over the last hundred years, the team has changed cities three times, won nine World Series, and had 32 former players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Connie Mack managed the team, then known as the Philadelphia Athletics, for 50 years, from 1901 to 1950. Mack took the team to its first pennant win in 1902, and went on to lead the Athletics to eight more pennants and five World Series championships during his tenure. In fact, his 1929 team, which swept the league championship and took the World Series, has been called “the greatest team in baseball history.”

The A’s phenomenal reputation tarnished a bit over the next few decades, with the team failing to make the playoffs for 38 years. In 1954, the last grand slam home run of the Philadelphia Athletics history was hit by Gus Zernial, during a game against the Red Sox. The next year, the A’s left Philadelphia to become the Kansas City Athletics. Nine managers later, having finished no higher than sixth place during its entire residence in Kansas City, the A’s moved again.

In 1968, the team found itself in California, renamed the Oakland Athletics and playing in the beautiful Alameda County Coliseum, now known as McAfee Coliseum. That year Jim “Catfish” Hunter achieved one of the rarest of all baseball accomplishments: he pitched a perfect game, against the Twins.

Athletics tickets became a must-have item for baseball fans within driving distance of the Coliseum when the team put together three back-to-back years of World Series championships. From 1972 to 1974, the A’s were on fire, with the help of legendary players like Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers. The team hit another downward slide in the years following those wins, however, and baseball tickets sales hit rock bottom in 1979, when less than 700 fans showed up to watch the A’s play the Mariners in Oakland. Attendance bounced back over the next couple of seasons, and on October 15, 1981, fans created the first “Wave” ever done by a baseball crowd.

In the late 1980s, the Athletics rebounded and fans were rewarded with some fantastic baseball, including rookie Mark McGwire slamming 49 home runs for the A’s. In 1989, the team’s World Series championship was delayed mid-series by a huge earthquake that brought San Francisco to its knees. Once the games resumed, the Athletics swept the series against the Giants.

Outfielder Rickey Henderson lit up the 1990s, stealing bases and setting a record for total bases stolen in a career. Third baseman Eric Chavez took Gold Glove honors every year from 2001 to 2004. The A’s continue to be a powerful force in Major League baseball, playing in the World Series as recently as 2001. Fans continue to buy Athletics tickets and pack the McAfee Coliseum to cheer on their team.