Our Bay Area Teams Have Been Very Good to Us

Ok, I’m about to date myself.  The recent successes of several local teams, the Giants winning their second World Series in three years, the A’s making the playoffs out of nowhere, the 49ers playing well again and challenging for another Super Bowl, and the Sharks regularly making the playoffs, reminded me of three other “eras” during my lifetime where the local teams excelled and the bay area was the envy of the sporting world.

1971-1976

In case you don’t remember, our east bay teams dominated the sports world during these five years, as the Oakland A’s won five straight Western Division titles and three World Series in a row from 1971-1975; the Golden State Warriors surprised basketball fans by winning the NBA Championship in 1975, followed just a few months later by the Oakland Raiders who captured their first Super Bowl.  Exciting times indeed!  I was in my early to mid teens during that time and remember all of it well. My dad even took me to Game 4 of the 1974 World Series vs. the Dodgers (A’s won 5-2 thanks to Ken Holtzman’s pitching and home run).  In fact, I still have the ticket stub for the game!

We went to a lot of baseball games during that time, actually. My first was in 1971 when the Giants hosted the Cincinnati Reds.  I actually still have the program.  During that season,  I was fortunate to see Giant legends and Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry . In fact, 1971 almost became the first “Battle of the Bay” World Series, as both the Giants and A’s won their respective divisions, but lost in their league finals.  The Giants, incidentally, wouldn’t win their division again until 1987.

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned the 49ers.  Although they fielded playoff teams in 1971 and 1972 (knocked out by Dallas both years), they only managed to win an average of 5 games a year from 1973-79….i.e., they weren’t very good.

1980-1984

The bay area ruled the NFL during these four years, as the 49ers and Raiders won four of the five Super Bowls during that time.  The Raiders took home the trophy in 1980 and 1983, while the 49ers came out of nowhere to win in 1981 and then again in 1984.  We were definitely spoiled!  The only thing that was disappointing was that they didn’t meet in the Super Bowl, which should have happened in 1983.  The 49ers were minutes away from upsetting the Washington Redskins before a horrible (I still cringe when I think of it) pass interference penalty against the 49ers which put the Redskins in scoring position for their winning points.  Fortunately the Marcus Allen-led Raiders spanked the Redskins in the Super Bowl.

Due to connections my dad had, I was fortunate to be able to attend several 49er games during this time (and throughout the 80’s). In 1981, I was sitting 12 rows from the field on the 45 yard line behind the Dallas Cowboys bench when the 49ers nipped the Cowboys in the exciting “The Catch” game.  I’ll never forget it.  We were sitting among long time season ticket holders who went bonkers after the Niners won. Tears were flowing everywhere as they celebrated their teams first ever Super Bowl appearance. 

Baseball and Basketball was another story, as the Giants, A’s, and Warriors were pretty much non-factors during the first half of the 1980’s, except for 1981 when “Billy Ball” mania hit the city of Oakland.  The A’s actually won the Western Division that year, only to lose to the mighty Yankees in the League finals.

1987-1990

Teams from both sides of the bay got into the act during this four year period. The Giants won two Western Division titles and appeared with the A’s in the infamous 1989 “Battle of the Bay” World Series, which of course was ruined by the Loma Prieta earthquake.  For the second time in less than twenty years, the A’s played in three straight World Series, but this time only managed to win one. The 49ers were red hot as well, winning back-to-back Super Bowls in 1988 and 1989. For a while 1990 looked like there might be a rematch of the San Francisco and Oakland teams, but this time in football. Just like in 1983, both the 49ers and Raiders made it to their respective championship games, but the NY Giants and Buffalo Bills ended that dream this time around.

Again, I was fortunate enough to attend a couple of 49er games each season during this time, including several playoff games.  I also went to game 3 of the 1988 World Series between the A’s and Dodgers. The A’s won 2-1 for their only win in the series. One of the runs came on a  Mark McGuire rocket.

The Warriors were the only exception during this time period, although they had pretty good teams in 1988 and 1990.  Unfortunately for them, there was a team down in L.A. during that time that featured guys named Jabbar, Magic and Worthy.

Yep, us bay area fans (at least the ones over 50 years old) have been pretty luck when it comes to our sporting teams.  Since 1972, we’ve been able to witness each team (except the Sharks) win a championship, with many winning multiple ones.  Fourteen in 40 years, or one every three years!  In fact, in championship games (World Series, Super Bowls, NBA Championships), the bay area teams are 14-3!   Pretty amazing, if you ask me….