The Athletics franchise dates back to 1901, when owner/manager Connie Mack founded the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Baseball League. That leaves over a century’s worth of history, with no shortage of big games and legendary performances from some of the game’s best players to ever take the field.
It’s impossible to come up with a definitive list of the top moments in Athletics history. Instead, I’ve personalized my own selection of the most iconic moments in A’s history. Without further ado, here’s a subjective ranking of the franchise’s top 10 moments. (Note: For the purposes of this exercise, we’re only taking into account in-game moments, meaning Hall of Fame inductions are off the table, as are All-Star and Home Run Derby performances.)
1. Rickey stands alone
Rickey Henderson, universally regarded as the greatest player in franchise history, can easily have his own Top 10 list. When I think of The Man of Steal, Henderson surpassing Lou Brock on May 1, 1991, as baseball’s most prolific basestealer with his 939th stolen base in a game against the Yankees at the Coliseum is what first comes to mind. To celebrate the accomplishment, the game was halted for a few moments to honor Henderson, who was soon joined on the field by his mother, Bobbie.
Henderson was given a microphone and thanked the numerous figures in the A’s organization who helped him in his career. The speech ended with his famous words: “Today, I am the greatest of all time. Thank you.” The lasting image from this day is Henderson grabbing the third-base bag he stole for the record-breaking feat from the ground and lifting it over his head in elation as he acknowledged a raucous Oakland crowd.
2. A’s knock off rival Giants in 1989
It was the ultimate Battle of the Bay as the A’s and Giants matched up in the World Series as rivals separated by the Bay Bridge. In a series halted for 10 days due to the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake that occurred during Game 3, the A’s eventually prevailed for a four-game sweep, with Dennis Eckersley’s signature celebration of going down on one knee while throwing his fist in the air like an uppercut after closing out Game 4 at Candlestick Park one of the lasting images from the A’s most recent World Series title.
3. Fingers closes out ‘74 World Series
Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers delivered a legendary performance throughout the 1974 Fall Classic. In a series the A’s won over the Dodgers in five games, Fingers appeared in four of those games and allowed just two runs in 9 1/3 innings pitched. Picking up a win and notching two saves -- including two shutout innings to close out Game 5 -- Fingers was named MVP of a World Series that capped a three-peat for the A’s.
4. Mother’s Day perfection
There might not be a more emotional moment in A’s history than Dallas Braden’s perfect game. Pitching at the Coliseum on Mother's Day 2010 in front of his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey -- who raised Braden after his mother passed away from skin cancer when he was a high schooler -- the left-hander retired all 27 batters he faced on 109 pitches with six strikeouts. As he made his way back to the A’s dugout, there was Lindsey, standing atop it. Braden spotted her and signaled to the security guard to allow her onto the field. The two ran to each other and embraced with a tear-filled hug.
5. Rickey’s single-season record
Almost a decade before surpassing Lou Brock as MLB’s all-time stolen-base leader, he surpassed the legendary speedster for the most stolen bases in a single season by swiping his 119th base of the year on Aug. 27, 1982. Henderson finished with 130 steals that season, establishing a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon.
6. Kurtz’s four-homer night
Nick Kurtz crafted one of the best debut seasons in quite some time en route to unanimously winning the 2025 American League Rookie of the Year Award, and his signature moment of that season came on July 25, when he tormented Astros pitching by going a perfect 6-for-6 with four home runs and eight RBIs at Daikin Park, becoming not only the first player in franchise history with a four-homer game, but also the first rookie in MLB history with a four-homer game and just the 20th player overall. With 19 total bases, he also tied Shawn Green in 2002 for the most in a game all time. Three of Kurtz’s blasts went the opposite way to left, while the other was a mammoth 414-foot shot into the second deck in right. His double in the fourth was just a few feet shy of a home run, which would have made him the first player in MLB history with a five-homer game.
7. Hatteberg makes it 20 in a row
It’s the climactic scene we’ve all watched go Hollywood in the "Moneyball" movie. After blowing an 11-0 lead to put their 19-game win streak in serious jeopardy, Scott Hatteberg came off the bench in the ninth to face Royals closer Jason Grimsley in a tie game.
After watching the first pitch go by for a ball, Hatteberg blasted the next one into the right-center-field bleachers for a walk-off homer that capped one of the wildest baseball games ever and capped the A’s 20th win in a row in 2002, tying the 1906 White Sox and 1947 Yankees for what was the longest streak in AL history at the time.
8. An unlikely AL West crown
What looked to be a routine fly ball off the bat of Yoenis Cespedes for what would have been the final out of the bottom of the fourth inning was dropped by Josh Hamilton out in center field and instead broke a tie game as two runs scored as a result of the error. The ball clanking off Hamilton’s glove sent the Coliseum into a frenzy, expanding the momentum of what turned out to be a six-run fourth inning. The A’s went on to defeat the Rangers as they overcame what was at one point a 13-game deficit in June to clinch the American League West that day on Oct. 3, 2012 -- the final day of the regular season -- in front of a packed house.
9. Coco’s ALDS walk-off keeps the A’s alive
Facing elimination from the postseason, Coco Crisp saved the A’s with a walk-off single on Oct. 10, 2012, that produced arguably the loudest moment in Coliseum playoff history against the Tigers in Game 4 of the AL Division Series. Crisp’s two-out single off Jose Valverde scored Seth Smith, who had just tied the game up with a two-run double earlier in the inning.
10. Canseco creates the 40-40 club
Jose Canseco swiped his 40th bag of the year on Sept. 23, 1988, against the Brewers to become the first player in MLB history with 40 homers and 40 steals in a season. He became the youngest unanimous MVP Award winner at age 23, with a .307/.391/.569 slash line to go with 40 stolen bases while leading the Majors in homers (42) and RBIs (124).