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The Oakland Athletics (often abbreviated to Oakland A′s) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member club of the West division of the American League (AL) in Major League Baseball (MLB). The club plays its home games at O.co Coliseum. The club has won nine World Series championships, the third most of all current Major League Baseball teams.
One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. They won three World Series championships from 1910 to 1913 and two in a row in 1929 and 1930. The team's owner and manager for its first 50 years was Connie Mack and Hall of Fame players included Chief Bender, Frank "Home Run" Baker, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. The team left Philadelphia for Kansas City in 1955 and became the Kansas City Athletics before moving to Oakland in 1968 and changing their name to the Oakland Athletics. They won three World Championships in a row from 1972 to 1974, led by players including Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, ace reliever Rollie Fingers, and colorful owner Charlie O. Finley. After being sold by Finley to Walter A. Haas, Jr., the team won three consecutive pennants and the 1989 World Series behind the "Bash Brothers", Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, as well as Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley and Rickey Henderson.
The film Moneyball, and the book on which it is based, show how the A's have been able to compete despite their financial limitations.