After the excitement of Billy Ball, and before the Bash Brothers made their name in Oakland, the Oakland Athletics were a cellar-dwelling team with no more than 77 wins in any season. Yet, they were still able to draw 1.7 million fans each year – their best figures in their first 20 years in Oakland.
One of the main reason for the draw of fans to a team that no longer had superstar Rickey Henderson and had no notable pitchers or other All-Star players (until Jose Canseco’s rookie season in 1986) was the play and hitting of designated hitter Dave ‘Kong’ Kingman from 1984 to 1986.