Of
course if I was creating a 1970’s “coach-card” set, you know eventually
I’d come around to “Joltin Joe” DiMaggio and his time spent as a coach
for the Oakland A’s at the end of the 1960’s, allowing me to create this
1970 card for him:
Almost 20 years after his retirement as a player, DiMaggio found himself
a couple of years short of the highest level of pension from the Major
Leagues, and owner of the Oakland A's franchise, Charlie Finley, was
happy to oblige the “Yankee Clipper” with a title of Vice President
while he suited up in the Oakland green for
the 1968 and 1969 seasons, which was near his hometown.
Convenient all-around, no?
Needless to say, the stunt got DiMaggio what he wanted, and Finley was
able to leverage the legend of DiMaggio with the fans of the
organization’s new home out west, where they moved from Kansas City
after the 1967 season.