When thinking about Oakland A’s history, it’s easy to forget the early-1980s.
The A’s arrived in the Bay Area in 1968, and within their first decade in Oakland they’d established themselves with three straight World Series championships in 1972-74. Fast forward to the late-80s, and a new generation rose to the top of the sport, winning three straight AL pennants from 1988-90. The 21st century has been dominated by Billy Beane and the Moneyball era, but in terms of the 20th century, those two title-winning periods demand the elephant’s share of the attention.
But what about the decade in between?