For Immediate Release: April 15, 2008

The A’s: Still in Oakland after 40 Years –
An Exhibition in the Oakland History Room
April 28, 2008 – August 29, 2008

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( Oakland, CA)—The Oakland Public Library recognizes the 40th anniversary of Major League Baseball in Oakland – and Jim “Catfish” Hunter’s perfect game of May 8, 1968 – with a retrospective of the spectacular success of the Oakland Athletics Baseball Team, and the repeated proposals to move the team elsewhere. The A’s: Still in Oakland after 40 Years, will be on display in the Oakland History Room on the second floor of the Main Library, 125 14th Street, from April 28 – August 29, 2008.

The exhibition includes materials collected over the years from the Oakland History Room, including photographs, monographs, and team-oriented publications, bolstered by items from the personal collections of library staff members. In addition, newspaper clippings and other documents tell the tale of the team’s hardship-pleading owners and their continuing hunt for a new locale to host A’s baseball.

In spite of the challenges faced by the Oakland A’s over the past four decades, the team has had some remarkable runs, including winning three straight World Series from 1972-74 and the four-game sweep of the Giants in the Earthquake Series of 1989. A steady stream of superstar personalities has donned the yellow-and-green. Vida Blue, Reggie Jackson, and Rollie Fingers joined Catfish Hunter on those early ’70s squads, while the imposing teams of the late 1980s and early ’90s included Ricky Henderson, Mark McGuire, Jose Canseco, Dave Stewart, and Dennis Eckersley. As the 2008 season gets rolling, fans are encouraged to come to the library for a review of the not-so-distant past, while hoping for the best from this year’s promising young team.

The Oakland History Room exhibit is available during the Main Library’s regular public hours. For more information, call (510) 238-3222, or visit the Oakland Public Library’s Website at www.oaklandlibrary.org. The Oakland Public Library is a department of the City of Oakland.

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