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'''The Mustache Gang''', a term coined for the 1972 [[Oakland Athletics|Oakland Athletic]]'s baseball team, a team that broke the traditionally conservative baseball views by sporting mustaches. Prior to the 1970's there had only been two baseball players who had facial hair during the regular season: [[Frenchy Bordagaray|Stanley "Frenchy" Bordagaray]] of the [[History of the Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Dodgers]], who was then order to shave by his manager, and [[Wally Schang]] of the [[History of the Philadelphia Athletics|Philadelphia A's]]. <ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = The A's: A Baseball HIstory|last = Jordan|first = David M.|publisher = McFarland & Co.|year = 2014|isbn = 978-1-4766-1387-1|location = |pages = 128-134}}</ref> This changed when the A's outfielder, [[Reggie Jackson]], showed up to spring training with a fully grown mustache. |
'''The Mustache Gang''', a term coined for the 1972 [[Oakland Athletics|Oakland Athletic]]'s [[Baseball|baseball team]], a team that broke the traditionally conservative baseball views by sporting mustaches. Prior to the 1970's there had only been two baseball players who had facial hair during the regular season: [[Frenchy Bordagaray|Stanley "Frenchy" Bordagaray]] of the [[History of the Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Dodgers]], who was then order to shave by his manager, and [[Wally Schang]] of the [[History of the Philadelphia Athletics|Philadelphia A's]]. <ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = The A's: A Baseball HIstory|last = Jordan|first = David M.|publisher = McFarland & Co.|year = 2014|isbn = 978-1-4766-1387-1|location = |pages = 128-134}}</ref> This changed when the A's outfielder, [[Reggie Jackson]], showed up to spring training with a fully grown mustache which would later be thought of as the catalyst that sparked the move away from the conservative baseball era. This move lead to the World Series final to be dubbed "Hairs vs. Squares"<ref>{{Cite web|title = Hairs vs. Squares: the 1972 Mustache Gang {{!}} Oaklandish|url = http://oaklandish.com/oakblog/hairs-vs-squares/|website = oaklandish.com|accessdate = 2015-10-20}}</ref>, as the Oakland A's Mustache Gang faced off with the conservatively clean shaven Cincinnati Reds. |
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== '''The Origins''' == |
== '''The Origins''' == |
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Baseball, before 1972, was traditionally known as a conservative era where all players were clean |
[[Baseball]], before 1972, was traditionally known as a conservative era where all players were clean shaven. During this time there had even been an 'unwritten rule' that frowns upon players with facial hair. There have been some baseball players who have grown mustache's but all show up cleanly-shaven at the start of the regular season either by their own decision or ordered by their managers. |
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The Mustache Gang was started in 1972 when right |
The Mustache Gang was started in 1972 when right fielder, Reggie Jackson, showed up to spring training with a mustache claiming he would have a fully grown beard at the start of the regular season. Initially, this assertion did not taken well by the organization and according to [[Mike Hegan]], "[Charlie] told Dick to tell Reggie to shave it off. And Dick told Reggie to shave off, and Reggie told Dick where he could shove it." <ref>{{Cite web|title = The origins of the "Mustache Gang."|url = https://cococrispafro.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/the-origins-of-the-mustache-gang/|website = Coco Crisp's Afro|accessdate = 2015-10-20}}</ref> So, in a hopes to avoid a large conflict Finley decided to take a [[Reverse psychology|reverse-psychology]] approach, knowing Reggie Jackson liked to consider himself to be an individual, he hoped that if a couple other players decided to join him in sporting facial hair then he would give up and shave off his beard. In an attempt to do just that, Finely asked A's pitchers [[Catfish Hunter|Jim "Catfish" Hunter]], [[Rollie Fingers]](who is most notoriously known for his long handlebar mustache), [[Derold Knowles]], and [[Bob Locker]] to all grow a mustache<ref>{{Cite book|title = Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History|last = Sherrow|first = Victoria|publisher = Greenwood Press|year = 2006|isbn = 0-313-33145-6|location = London|pages = }}</ref>. An action that backfired but would ultimately lead to the birth of The Mustache Gang. |
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As the mustache spread in popularity among the team, Charlie O. Finley and the other management began to come around to the new look. Finely had come around so quickly, he not only grew one but encouraged the other members of the team to do the same. He even dubbed that years "Father's Day" as "Mustache Day" and offered a $300 bonus to anyone who could grow a mustache by then. Once "Mustache Day" rolled around, all 25 members of the Oakland Athletics was sporting a mustache, even Dick Williams decided to grow one<ref>{{Cite web|title = Throwback Thursday: The A’s Mustache Gang|url = http://fieldofteams.csnbayarea.com/2013/06/19/throwback-thursday-the-as-mustache-gang/|accessdate = 2015-10-20}}</ref>, and to even further promote his team's new look, every fan that showed up to the Oakland Stadium wearing a mustache gained admittance for free. As though to irritate the other owners even more, Finely took it one step further by changing even making his team's uniforms different from the rest of the league, the traditional baseball pants and jersey was replaced with a "two-tone uniform". Meaning, the players would wear a green |
As the mustache spread in popularity among the team, Charlie O. Finley and the other management began to come around to the new look. Finely had come around so quickly, he not only grew one but encouraged the other members of the team to do the same. He even dubbed that years "Father's Day" as "Mustache Day" and offered a $300 bonus to anyone who could grow a mustache by then. Once "Mustache Day" rolled around, all 25 members of the Oakland Athletics was sporting a mustache, even Dick Williams decided to grow one<ref>{{Cite web|title = Throwback Thursday: The A’s Mustache Gang|url = http://fieldofteams.csnbayarea.com/2013/06/19/throwback-thursday-the-as-mustache-gang/|accessdate = 2015-10-20}}</ref>, and to even further promote his team's new look, every fan that showed up to the Oakland Stadium wearing a mustache gained admittance for free. As though to irritate the other owners even more, Finely took it one step further by changing even making his team's uniforms different from the rest of the league, the traditional baseball pants and black and grey jersey was replaced with a "two-tone uniform". Meaning, the players would wear a green and gold pullover shirts on top, along with the traditional white pants and elastic belts<ref name=":0" />. This created a baseball team unlike any other in it's time. |
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== '''Members of the 1972 Oakland A's''' == |
== '''Members of the 1972 Oakland A's''' == |
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Revision as of 16:45, 20 October 2015
The Mustache Gang, a term coined for the 1972 Oakland Athletic's baseball team, a team that broke the traditionally conservative baseball views by sporting mustaches. Prior to the 1970's there had only been two baseball players who had facial hair during the regular season: Stanley "Frenchy" Bordagaray of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who was then order to shave by his manager, and Wally Schang of the Philadelphia A's. [1] This changed when the A's outfielder, Reggie Jackson, showed up to spring training with a fully grown mustache which would later be thought of as the catalyst that sparked the move away from the conservative baseball era. This move lead to the World Series final to be dubbed "Hairs vs. Squares"[2], as the Oakland A's Mustache Gang faced off with the conservatively clean shaven Cincinnati Reds.
The Origins
Baseball, before 1972, was traditionally known as a conservative era where all players were clean shaven. During this time there had even been an 'unwritten rule' that frowns upon players with facial hair. There have been some baseball players who have grown mustache's but all show up cleanly-shaven at the start of the regular season either by their own decision or ordered by their managers.
The Mustache Gang was started in 1972 when right fielder, Reggie Jackson, showed up to spring training with a mustache claiming he would have a fully grown beard at the start of the regular season. Initially, this assertion did not taken well by the organization and according to Mike Hegan, "[Charlie] told Dick to tell Reggie to shave it off. And Dick told Reggie to shave off, and Reggie told Dick where he could shove it." [3] So, in a hopes to avoid a large conflict Finley decided to take a reverse-psychology approach, knowing Reggie Jackson liked to consider himself to be an individual, he hoped that if a couple other players decided to join him in sporting facial hair then he would give up and shave off his beard. In an attempt to do just that, Finely asked A's pitchers Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Rollie Fingers(who is most notoriously known for his long handlebar mustache), Derold Knowles, and Bob Locker to all grow a mustache[4]. An action that backfired but would ultimately lead to the birth of The Mustache Gang.
As the mustache spread in popularity among the team, Charlie O. Finley and the other management began to come around to the new look. Finely had come around so quickly, he not only grew one but encouraged the other members of the team to do the same. He even dubbed that years "Father's Day" as "Mustache Day" and offered a $300 bonus to anyone who could grow a mustache by then. Once "Mustache Day" rolled around, all 25 members of the Oakland Athletics was sporting a mustache, even Dick Williams decided to grow one[5], and to even further promote his team's new look, every fan that showed up to the Oakland Stadium wearing a mustache gained admittance for free. As though to irritate the other owners even more, Finely took it one step further by changing even making his team's uniforms different from the rest of the league, the traditional baseball pants and black and grey jersey was replaced with a "two-tone uniform". Meaning, the players would wear a green and gold pullover shirts on top, along with the traditional white pants and elastic belts[1]. This created a baseball team unlike any other in it's time.
Members of the 1972 Oakland A's
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Charlie O. Finley | Owner |
| Dick Williams | Manager |
| Dave Duncan | Catcher |
| Gene Tenace | Catcher-First Baseman |
| Mike Epstein | First Baseman |
| Tim Cullen | Second Baseman |
| Dick Green | Second Baseman |
| Bert Campaneris | Shortstop |
| Sal Bando | Third Baseman |
| Mike Hegan | First Baseman |
| Don Mincher | First Baseman |
| Ted Kubiak | Utility Infielder |
| Dal Maxvill | Utility Infielder |
| Joe Rudi | Left Fielder |
| Reggie Jackson | Center Fielder-Right Fielder |
| Matty Alou | Right Fielder |
| Jim "Catfish" Hunter | Starting Pitcher |
| Ken Holtzman | Starting Pitcher |
| John "Blue Moon" Odom | Starting Pitcher |
| Vida Blue | Starting Pitcher |
| Dave Hamilton | Relief Pitcher-Starting Pitcher |
| Darold Knowles | Relief Pitcher |
| Joel Horlen | Relief Pitcher |
| Bob Locker | Relief Pitcher |
| Rollie Fingers | Relief Pitcher |
Reference(s)
- ^ a b Jordan, David M. (2014). The A's: A Baseball HIstory. McFarland & Co. pp. 128–134. ISBN 978-1-4766-1387-1.
- ^ "Hairs vs. Squares: the 1972 Mustache Gang | Oaklandish". oaklandish.com. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
- ^ "The origins of the "Mustache Gang."". Coco Crisp's Afro. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
- ^ Sherrow, Victoria (2006). Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History. London: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-33145-6.
- ^ "Throwback Thursday: The A's Mustache Gang". Retrieved 2015-10-20.