Inside Oakland Coliseum

This is the hardest intro I have had to write, and the reason why is painfully obvious – this sucks.  This whole thing just sucks.  In our jobs as announcers for a team, we, largely do not offer opinions.  We just bring you the game and tell you what happens on the field.  As reporters, our job is simply to tell a few stories each game and help enhance your understanding of the team you and I both root for!  People root for who they like, so it was my job to make you like them.  

When talking about baseball in Oakland, it’s hard to be objective, and here’s why – baseball in Oakland was AWESOME!  The fans were AWESOME!  Was the Coliseum a bit of dump?  Well, yes, but it was a lovable dump. 

It was the most uncomfortable place for a TV reporter to work a game, and there may not be a very close second.   You’re buried in a dirty corner at the end of the dugout.  The chairs for visiting reporters and photographers there would get you less than $5 at a garage sale, if you’re lucky!  You are freezing cold by the 6th inning of every night game.   You’re sweating your ass off every day game in the summer months.  You feel like you are a thousand feet from home plate (I’d actually love to get a measurement of how many feet it really was from our chair in the camera “pit” to home plate!).  The visiting clubhouse is one of the tightest in baseball.  The players and fans share a TINY tunnel leading to the field.  Yes, you read that right – check out the photo in this chapter.  I still can’t believe this happened!  Can you imagine some random A’s fan in a Reggie Jackson jersey walking next to Aaron Judge?  They are literally walking the same steps, just inches from one another’s shoulders, as one turns right and will shortly attempt to get closer to the single season home run record while the other turns left with popcorn in hand to watch it and admire!  I took a video there in 2024 while working as a reporter on Texas Rangers broadcasts because I wanted to remember this forever!  Security did a great job, no doubt, protecting players and staff, but there were always stragglers that would run in from/out to the field so quickly and without notice that they just plowed down amongst the fans!  It was WILD to see!  

The dugout bathroom was just about two or three steps from public view!  I once watched a player, of the team I worked with, strike out, walk into the dugout and slam his helmet, only for it to land right in the toilet!  I am dead serious!  I will never mention who it was, but it was something I’ll never forget.  I just pray that whoever peed in front of that at-bat remembered to flush!

The elevator from the clubhouse to the press box made a turtle look like Rickey Henderson! 

Then once you get to the visiting broadcast booth, you may hear a possum just hanging out inside the walls.  Then, maybe this creature will peek its head out from the ceiling and you SEE it!  I am not joking!  This actually happened!  Search it!   

You see where this is going.  Oakland was the most unique place for baseball! 

That was what the experience was like working as a visiting TV reporter in Oakland – unforgettable! 

The hardest part of writing this?  Using the word “was”! 

It reminds me of The Vet, the place where I grew up attending Phillies games my entire childhood. 

There was nothing glamourous about it…not even close!  

But you know what it was?  It was a GREAT baseball town with some of the most passionate fans baseball has to offer!  I LOVED doing games there! 

Seeing Right Field Will in section 149 along with the Oakland 68s was something to remember.  It was the stuff of legends! They are some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen in my entire life. 

Watching both the home and visiting broadcast over the final series against the Rangers from my couch in Pittsburgh, I was almost in tears as the game ended.  The players stood there, proudly wearing their visiting green jerseys, simply because it said “Oakland” across their chests as they thanked the fans for an extended period of time…..for the final time!  

The looks on the fans’ faces, as captured by both the home and visiting broadcasts, said it all.   You saw what baseball meant to the people in Oakland.  Both broadcasts, by the way, deserve instant Emmys!  Just my opinion.  So well-done by all involved, from the truck to the booth and studio! 

So, with that, please enjoy the pictures of what baseball was like in Oakland.  I loved going there, and I’ll never forget it!  The fans deserved better! 

View From The Parking Lot** – Just off highway 880, it’s easy to see the Coliseum as you drive by, and has a great vintage look from the parking lot.  The former home of the Oakland A’s shares a parking lot with the former home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors! 

The Family Area** – While most family lounges provide a great deal of comfort while they wait for their loved ones to finish work, the Oakland A’s families had a few chairs, a tent sign and a few trash cans to check out while they wait.

Oaktown Grill – Basic, yet cool in the A’s colors, the Oaktown Grill sat along the 1st base line at the Coliseum, where fans can grab a burger and a beer for the game.  

The Troughs – You won’t see many troughs in the men’s room around baseball, but Oakland was one of the last ones standing, providing yet another unique quirk of the Coliseum.

Walking To Your Seat – Old school spray paint greets fans as they look for their seats on the 200-level.   In the distance, you can see part of Mount Davis, which shows three of the A’s retired numbers, including number 34 twice in honor of pitchers Rollie Fingers and Dave “Smoke” Stewart.   Jim “Catfish” Hunter wore #27.  The vintage scoreboards have been updated in recent years, but still had a broken top in the final season of baseball.

Holy Toledo!  Honoring Bill King – On the facing of the second deck of the Coliseum, legendary A’s play-by-play announcer Bill King is memorialized.  King, known for his “Holy Toledo” call, passed away in 2005 at age 78. 

The A’s Bat/Helmet Rack (and propane tank) – A’s players used this bat and helmet rack at the far end of the dugout each home game.  Hopefully they didn’t kick the portable propane tank at the bottom! 

A VERY Tight Tunnel – In perhaps the wildest entrance to the “fancy” seats in baseball, players and fans alike walked shoulder-to-shoulder to/from field level.  Security did the best they could to prevent fans and players from crossing paths, but you’d often see a straggling player make his way down alongside a fan wearing an A’s jersey.  

Walk This Way! – Fans were greeted with this sign as they made their way to the, assumedly, most expensive seats in the house, reminding them to behave, despite being just inches away from the visiting clubhouse! 

Keep Walking This Way  – Here was the longest part of the walk for both players and fans as they made their way to/from the “fancy” seats at field level.

Walking UP the Tunnel – Players and fans are greeted with a LOT of cable and a skinny hallway when going up towards the visitor’s clubhouse as well as the exits for fans. 

Foul Territory and Mount Davis – Far and away the most foul territory in the history of baseball (I have not confirmed this but I’d be stunned to see more foul territory anywhere, ever!), the Coliseum made for the most thrilling foul popups you’d ever see.  In the distance is Mount Davis, which was constructed in the mid-1990’s by former Oakland Raiders owner, Al Davis, to add about 20,000 more seats for football games! 

A’s Turf – Simple, yet cool!  The A’s grounds crew had a small bench they shared with piles of diamond dust. 

The Grounds Crew Room – Skinny and unaccommodating, the A’s grounds crew room was just big enough to hold MOST of their supplies.  It sat the end of the A’s dugout, separated by a small wall.  

Rickey Henderson Field – Playing 14 of his 25 years with the A’s, Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson had the field at the Coliseum named after him on Opening Day in 2017.  Henderson is MLB’s stolen base king with 1,406 steals, a record that will never be broken.  He passed away on December 20th, 2024 at the age of 65.  Rickey was the AL MVP in 1990, a 10-time All-Star and two-time World Series winner, one with the A's in 1989.

The Grounds Crew Gets The Field Ready – From the top of the Coliseum, you could see Mount Davis, which showed off the six retired numbers of the A’s.  In this photo, the grounds crew gets the field ready for a day between the A’s and Texas Rangers in  May, 2024. 

The Concourse*– Vintage concourse, signaling where you can buy game-used memorabilia as well as get to the terrace seats.

The View FROM My Seat – I snagged this picture of four others taking professional photos while being crammed into the corner, seemingly miles from home plate, as the A’s and Rangers play a game in May, 2024.  It was the least comfortable spot for a visiting TV reporter in all of baseball.  

The View OF My Seat – The visiting TV reporter’s seat at the Oakland Coliseum is at the very back of this area, tucked into the corner of the triangle and behind that big white box!  Sitting on an uncomfortable folding chair, it was a unique experience, to say the least! 

The Press Conference Room – In what was the smallest home press conference room, the A’s managers took questions from the media each day in this area each day.