Whether I am in the stands at Fenway Park or home in my office in Virginia, I always have time for a great baseball story. As a baseball experience fan and writer, I enthusiastically seek out baseball stories wherever I may be traveling to. Or simply driving around my area of the country on a random Sunday afternoon. When I visit ballparks and baseball stadiums, I search for those cool and unique baseball treasures that make that particular field so important to its community and fans. I talk to fans, I talk to ushers, I talk to random baseball folks with Boston Red Sox hats. I write articles about my baseball experiences as a fan because I am a fan like few I know. And I read and (try to) respond to every person that contacts me about an article I have published that hits home somewhere. I am thankful that my words, my photos, my experience meant enough to them that they connected with me on a baseball level.
On those rare occasions, I meet a baseball personality or player that absolutely floors me with their baseball knowledge and experiences. A few that come to mind are the late, great Rhode Island baseball legend Dave Stenhouse and the incomparable Linda Ruth Tosetti, the granddaughter of the legendary Babe Ruth. And more recently, I met and have communicated with a baseball personality whose baseball stories are just the stuff of legends and documentaries and perhaps a book or two(more on that later). Her time in baseball, the highs and lows of the game at the highest level, the championships, the players, the mascots, what she witnessed, what her family witnessed – it is just so incredible to hear from someone who was so intimately involved in the baseball operation of a Major League Baseball organization. Her stories are incredible, her book due out this year is going to be incredible, and it has been so much fun getting to hear stories from this incredible baseball personality, Nancy Finley. Join me as I share a few of my conversations with Nancy and marvel at her amazing stories and photos, including her family’s time with the Oakland A’s organization.
It all started with a comment about an article I published about a documentary I had seen recently on the Montreal Expos. Nancy emailed me that her father (I presumed) was a baseball fan and that she “found a ton of Expo Baseball Cards in my father’s boxes.” I love baseball cards and the stories behind them so I thanked Nancy with a reply and asked “Did you get to watch the documentary? It was pretty good and very informative. Thanks for the note.” From there, I would say, I was pretty much blown away by what Nancy wrote back to me because her reply went something like this, “Thank you. I have not watched the documentary. I look forward to viewing it. My father, Carl A. Finley, ran the Oakland A’s, 1968-1982, formerly the Kansas City Athletics, 1960-1967, on-site. Charlie Finley stayed in Chicago to run his Insurance company. My father passed away in 2002. I go through his things when possible. This is where I found many Expo cards. I wondered whatever happened to the team? I wrote a book about my experience from inside a front office.”
Your family, the Finleys, ran the Kansas City then Oakland A’s and you are writing to me to chat about baseball cards, and potentially so much more? I responded with a “Wow, what an incredible honor to make your acquaintance. Your family name is such an important one in baseball history. Personally, I never had the opportunity to get to the Oakland Coliseum for a game. The closest I got was San Francisco and Fisherman’s Wharf. My nanny (Irish grandmother) raved about it for years and I had a chance to go there about 10 years ago. As for the Oakland A’s team, wow so many amazing battles with my Boston Red Sox over the years. And the players who wore that uniform, again, wow, some of the best ever. I was born in 1972 and I believe the A’s won the WS that year, you would know. I would love to read your book and your story. It is a real baseball treat conversing with you. Let me know how I can get a copy of your book for review.”
Nancy responded fairly quickly and with a ton of appreciation for our mutual love of baseball. She sent me several Montreal Expos baseball cards, front and back, which I looked over. And a photo and some commentary about San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, the spot my Nanny used to frequent in her traveling days. “My first Bay Area interview for my book was with the S.F. Giants, and Marty Lurie. Marty used to work with my father in Oakland. I really like the Giants’ Stadium. I had hoped the A’s would do the same. I attended O’Doul’s Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant opening in 2018. I remember a King Kong World Series Trophy in one corner. This is what the A’s needed.”
And Nancy added, “I have tons of Oakland Coliseum photos I can share.” After reading through the Montreal Expos cards, I shared a few photos of my trip to Mesa, Arizona’s Hohokam Stadium, the Cactus League home of the Oakland A’s. And humbly admitted to Nancy, “My Oakland A’s photo collection most definitely pales in comparison to yours. However, I did spend a rain soaked afternoon last Spring in Mesa at Hohokam Stadium for 2 innings of A’s vs. Giants – Cactus League edition. A small contingent of frustrated A’s fans were not too nice to the A’s players and coaches as they departed for the team bus, escaping the driving rain. I was able to tour the entire stadium before a nice usher asked me to exit. Jackson, Eck, Rudy, Fingers, Henderson (s), and one of my favorite ballplayer names of all time – Vida Blue. Fun memories, and one of maybe 500 baseball fields I have toured in my lifetime.”
Equally humble in her response, Nancy enlightened me on a few things from her experience with the A’s, “I’m sorry to hear about you being asked to leave. Dad used to tell Security to let fans stay where they were, unless the Coliseum was about to close and be locked. Also, Dad let fans bring home made signs, even if the signs were against Finley. As long as no profanity was used. We were big on free speech this way. I remember reading some signs that said “Finley-leave”. This was still allowed.” And sent me some really great photos from her collection including:
With Rickey Henderson at the Oakland Coliseum, 2017
With Reggie Jackson in Oakland, 2017
With Campy and Evelyn in Oakland,2017
With Rollie in 2019, Oakland Coliseum
After receiving this round of photos from Nancy, I was curious as to where some of her most valuable photographs and memorabilia ended up. I messaged her, “Good morning, Nancy. I just loved looking through all the photos. And the fact that you are so personally involved in them, is just icing on the cake. Thank you so much for sharing these incredible images with me.
Because the ticket stubs and photos are so historic, do you have them in a local museum somewhere or on display? They are just tremendous.” And regarding her upcoming book release I added, “I spoke to Barnes and Noble yesterday and they mentioned your book is due in their stores around April of 2026. I will be down there, if I am in town, to “catch” myself a copy.”
Our Beatles performance in KC 1964
Nancy replied with a detailed response. “Great question about the ticket images and other items being somewhere. I used to think the Oakland Museum would be a great place to show these. They never showed an interest. Some of my tickets were never used. I was brought in by dad to help sell Playoff and World Series tickets. I did this in 1973, 1974 and 1975 (Playoffs only). We didn’t process the championship tickets on site at the Coliseum. Charlie and Dad were concerned about security. In 1973, after a Bank (UCB) moved to another location, we were allowed to use this space for two months. The building was perfect. We had our own bank safe. The building was in a Strip Mall location on Davis in San Leandro, CA. People in the adjoining businesses wondered who we were. One time someone walked in, and went straight to where dad was seated. Dad sat where the Bank President formerly sat. This person demanded his Deposit returned. All of us were quiet. No one expected this. When dad quietly told him the Bank moved down the street, he looked embarrassed and walked out right away.
With our championship ticket sales, I was able to start school a little later. Since Dad was a High School Principal before joining the team, dad knew education rules. This was good for me-LOL! Dad knew this could be considered ‘Homeschooling’. We never advertised for employees. We would ask our front office ticket manager if she would send someone to our location if we felt things needed to move faster. At times, I asked a friend at school to help. I could tell the friend’s parents weren’t aware of exactly what we were doing. When we were working on our Playoff tickets in 1975, I remember hearing the news about President Ford having an assassination attempt in Sacramento. When the team was in first place by the beginning of September every year, every team in the same place had to be ready for the Playoff tickets to arrive. The World Series tix followed. It was very last minute, as you can imagine. Everything was paper.
A 1964 ticket at Rickwood Field
I would hear Monte Moore let fans know where to send payment to order Playoff or World Series tix. This was a special P.O. Box at the Oakland Post Office. Every morning, Dad and I would be at this Post Office to pick up the payments. I remember seeing large bags filled with envelopes. We had to have help taking these to the car. Many purchasers requested Section 121. Section 121 was behind home plate. This is where players’ relatives and employees were seated. Section 121 was first come, first serve for this. I could look down at the sign for Section 121 from the front office conference room. I had some tickets and ticket stubs made into large poster-cardboard images for my room. You make a wonderful point about some place having historic Baseball photos.”
Somehow the topic of Texas and baseball fields entered the conversation and I mentioned to Nancy that I was in South Texas and seeking Nolan Ryan baseball spots to experience. “FYI, I was just in South Texas for work,” I wrote, “ I worked a week in Harlingen, then traveled about 600 miles north, east, northeast, then north through Edinberg (UT-RGV), then Kingsville (Nolan Ryan Field), over to Corpus Christi (Whataburger Field), over to Refugio (Nolan Ryan’s birthplace), then north to San Antonio for another week of work. It was an awesome, eye-opening trip through the heart of Texas and I loved every mile of it. And I was in Austin about a month ago, made it over to UT-Austin, Dell Diamond, and a few other fields. I am sort of baseball field obsessed!” And true to form, Nancy had a Nolan Ryan story of her own. “I’m near Austin, TX now.. I found a ‘Reggie Jackson’ Drive in Round Rock, TX, which is the city next to me,” she wrote. “I was invited to throw a first pitch by the Ryan family at Dell Diamond July 2023. Dad knew Nolan Ryan from the many times he played at the Coliseum.” Foolish of me to think I could one up Nancy on my Nolan Ryan stories. Ha Ha.
Baseball, like few sports and even fewer social topics, unites people of both like and different minds in a safe space. My best friend growing up is a Yankee fan. It never got between us in terms of friendship. How many conversational situations can anyone say the same about? Nancy’s Oakland A’s and my Boston Red Sox have been fierce American League rivals for decades. Yet to date, Nancy and I have gone back and forth rather cordially via email about topics like competitive balance in baseball, Charlie O the mascot, landmark MLB legal cases, the beauty and ugliness of baseball fans, and the Finley legacy in baseball. And given the kind of stories I am reading through just a few email conversations, Nancy Finley’s upcoming book is going to be tremendous.
Huge thanks to Nancy Finley for engaging and enlightening me on her incredible baseball experiences. Her stories and honesty and firsthand knowledge of the game of baseball are all so interesting to be a part of. Thanks for the stories and photos, keep them coming!!!
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