Charles O. Finley

Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 - February 19, 1997), Major League Baseball owner, was the flamboyant owner of the Oakland Athletics.

Indiana Legend

Finley maintained his homes in Chicago and LaPorte, Indiana, a small town 60 miles east of Chicago, even as he owned the Oakland A's. Even though he would make frequent trips to Oakland, he would run the team from the Midwest, earning more derision as an absentee owner. Still, Finley was popular in his hometown of LaPorte, where he remained involved in the community late into his life.

Related Topics:
Chicago - LaPorte, Indiana - Midwest

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While Finley was building a championship team in Oakland, the LaPorte High School baseball team was becoming a powerhouse. Finley would send the team equipment every season, including the white shoes the Oakland A's made famous and that the LaPorte High School team would use until the late 1990s.

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Finley would occassionally throw a party whenever the A's would be in Chicago to play the White Sox. He bused the players to LaPorte ("God, we hated that," Bando told Sports Illustrated in 1999) and his local friends would mingle with the likes of Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter.

Related Topics:
White Sox - God - Sports Illustrated - 1999

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