Carl A. Finley

Who was Carl A. Finley?

Carl A. Finley, Jr. was a minority owner of the Kansas City A's. Following three years of military service during World War II, Finley attended Southern Methodist University in his native Dallas, earning bachelor's degrees in History and Journalism. This background prepared him for 13 years as a high school teacher and principal at Thomas Jefferson High School, while he started his family in his home town.

A career change in 1962 landed Carl with the Oakland A's when he accepted a position as minority owner of the Kansas City Athletics team after being 'romanced' into this capacity by his cousin Charlie O. Finley who bought into the team in 1960.

Carl is best known as "...A's owner Charlie O. Finley's 'right-hand man' during the A’s stay in Kansas City all the way through to Finley’s sale of the team in 1980. This architect of the Oakland powerhouse teams of the 1970s was recruited by his cousin, Charlie, a real estate tycoon, from his position as a high school principal to run a professional sports franchise for a mostly-absentee owner."

Charlie O.