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La Russa, Blue, Campaneris, McGwire, and Haas, Jr. to be Inducted into Athletics Hall of Fame

Published

5 years ago

August 21, 2019

OAKLAND, Calif. – Baseball Hall of Famer Tony La Russa; Cy Young and MVP award winner Vida Blue; six-time All-Star Bert “Campy” Campaneris; Athletics all-time home run leader Mark McGwire; and former A’s owner Walter A. Haas, Jr. will be enshrined in franchise history forever as members of the 2019 class of the Athletics Hall of Fame, the Club announced today. The class will be honored during a pregame ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 21 when the A’s host the Texas Rangers.

Tony La Russa managed the A’s for 10 seasons from 1986 to 1995 and, under his guidance, won four American League West titles, three consecutive AL Pennants from 1988 to 1990, and the World Championship in 1989. La Russa won 798 games during his tenure with the A’s, which are the most in Oakland history and second only in Athletics history to Connie Mack’s 3,582. When he was hired to manage the A’s on July 7, 1986, his first action was to name Dave Stewart as his starting pitcher that day at Boston. The A’s acquired Dennis Eckersley the following season and, under La Russa’s watch, the modern-day closer was born. The A’s won an Oakland-record 104 games in 1988 and La Russa was named AL Manager of the Year, an honor he would garner again in 1992. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

No pitcher in Oakland history has struck out more batters (1,315) or started more games (262) than Vida Blue. Drafted by the Kansas City A’s in 1967, Blue made his Major League debut in 1969 just eight days before his 20^th birthday. He tossed a no-hitter in 1970 and then burst onto the national scene in 1971 when he won both the American League Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award as a 21-year-old. Blue set Oakland records with 301 strikeouts and a league-leading 1.82 ERA while compiling a 24-8 record. He was the starting pitcher for the AL in the All-Star Game that year and again in 1975. Vida won 20 games in 1973 and 22 in 1975 and pitched nine seasons with the A’s from 1969-77. He also holds Oakland career records for complete games (105), shutouts (28) and innings pitched (1945.2).

The Athletics all-time leader in games played (1,795) and hits (1,882), Bert “Campy” Campaneris played 13 seasons for the A’s, including four in Kansas City (1964 to 1967) and nine in Oakland (1968 to 1976). When you trace the roots of the A’s three straight World Championships from 1972 to 1974, it all began on April 25, 1961, when the Kansas City A’s signed a 19-year-old Cuban named Dagoberto Campaneris. Campy made his Major League debut on July 23, 1964 and homered twice in his first game. He famously played all nine positions in a nine-inning game on Sept. 8, 1965. Campaneris hit .353 in the 1974 World Series and was a six-time All-Star. He stole 649 bases in his career and led the American League in steals six times, including four straight years from 1965 to 1968.

The A’s all-time home run king with 363, Mark McGwire played 12 seasons with Oakland from 1986-97. He broke the Major League record for home runs by a rookie with a league leading 49 in 1987 and was named American League Rookie of the Year. McGwire was tabbed to his first of an Athletics-record nine All-Star Games that year, including six straight from 1987 to 1992. The A’s reached the Postseason four times with McGwire, highlighted by a World Championship in 1989. He earned the American League Gold Glove for first basemen in 1990 and set Oakland records with 52 home runs and a .730 slugging percentage in 1996. In addition to home runs, McGwire holds Oakland career records for RBI (941), extra base hits (563), and slugging percentage (.551).

The A’s may never have been Rooted in Oakland had Walter A. Haas, Jr. not purchased the team following the 1980 season. Haas owned the club for 15 years from 1981 to 1995 and during that time the A’s won five American League West titles, three AL Pennants, and the 1989 World Championship. The A’s set a franchise record for attendance in Haas’ first season by drawing 1.3 million fans, a record that would be broken four more times, topping out at 2.9 million in 1990. But Haas will be remembered just as much for what went on off the field, beginning with a commitment to the community. Haas stayed in the background while bright young innovators such as Walter J. Haas, Roy Eisenhardt, Sandy Alderson, and Andy Dolich grew the A’s reputation to one of the best in baseball.

The group joins Baseball Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, and Reggie Jackson; 1989 World Series MVP Dave Stewart; and former A’s owner Charlie Finley in the Athletics Hall of Fame. The A’s annually induct a class that is voted on by a committee.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

Published

23 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Oakland Post

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

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Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

admin

By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”