The Resume

(February 22, 1918-February 19, 1996)
Owned Kansas City/Oakland Athletics/A's (1960-1980)
Won 3 straight World Series titles as owner (1972-1974)

Why he might be annoying:

He gave the then-unknown MC Hammer a job selling programs and later gave him a tryout to play baseball.
He said that the O in his middle name stood for Owner.
By refusing to honor a $50,000 commitment to Catfish Hunter, arbitors made Hunter one of the first free egents. Thus he pioneered in establishing free agency.
He wanted to play with orange baseballs.
He forced the A's to wear gaudy green/gold uniforms to keep fan interest.
He threatened to move the A's to places like Louisville, Denver, Dallas, New Orleans and Atlanta, even during their World Series years.
When the A's were in the 1974 World Series, he complained that Oakland could not support a major league team.
He made a public attempt to get rid of Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.
He frequently tried to sell players so he could pocket the money.
He was also owner of the California Golden Seals, which sported some of the worst uniforms of all time and is one of the last professional sports teams to fold.
He lost most of his fortune to bad business deals after selling the A's.

Why he might not be annoying:

He originated bat day.
He was voted down unanimously when he proposed making all baseball players free agents at the end of each season. Had the owners gone along with this, the salary contracts would never have gotten out of hand.
He is responsible for creating the designated hitter position, which has given many power hitters a chance to keep playing, even with poor fielding skills.
When he was told Reggie Jackson refused to shave his mustache, he thought it was cool. He offered a $300 bonus to his ball players who would grow mustaches and most took advantage of the bonus.
Despite his concepts, the Athletics won 5 straight division titles (1971-1975) and 3 straight World Series (1972-1974).
He got tuberculosis, which ended his baseball playing career in the 40s.
When he sold the A's in 1980, he made $10 million.

Credit: Eric Hartman

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Baseball Players
• Bob Dylan References
• Bushy Eyebrows
• CBC's Top 10 Newsmaking Sports Team Owners [June 1, 2005] (Ranked: 6)
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [February] (Ranked: 2221918)
• Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts - Guests [A-K]
• Diseased Initials
• I Died in 1996 (Ranked: 77)
• I Have Tuberculosis
• I Own a Sports Team
• Look at Me, I'm Wearing a Baseball Cap
• McFly's Profiles [Series 1]
• Oakland Athletics
• People Magazine's 25 Most Intriguing People [1974]
• Profiles 7001-7250 (Ranked: 7226)
• Shares Washington's Birthday [February 22nd] (Ranked: 1918)
• Sporting News Sportsman of the Year (Ranked: 1972)
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 19960219)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 18 Votes: 5.56% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 21 Votes: 47.62% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 23 Votes: 56.52% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 1303 Votes: 35.30% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 31 Votes: 61.29% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 95 Votes: 68.42% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 90 Votes: 61.11% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 179 Votes: 63.13% Annoying
In 2004, Out of 231 Votes: 65.37% Annoying
In 2003, Out of 419 Votes: 66.11% Annoying