OOSL Philadelphia Athletics Logo Page

"A hot dog at the ballpark is better than steak at the Ritz."
-Humphrey Bogart-

The Elephant Logo

The Athletic Elephant was, and is still, one of the most popular and colorful logos in all of Major League Baseball. The same goes for OOSL Base Ball. In 1901 Connie Mack and his Philadelphia Athletics became one of the original founders of the American League. In 1902 New York Giants Manager John McGraw dismissed the A's with contempt, by calling them "The White Elephants." He meant to imply that Mack shouldn't be allowed to spend money without supervision. Well, Connie Mack took up the gauntlet and defiantly adopted the White Elephant as the team insignia. That year, 1902, the A's won the American League pennant -- much to the unvoiced chagrin of John McGraw.

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The White Elephant remained the team's mascot until it finally made its way to an A's uniform later that decade. Its first appearance was on the team's sweaters. But about 1918, the Elephant finally saw game action when Mack had the symbol (in blue with a white "A" inside) placed on the left sleeve of every player.

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By 1920, Mack had fully adopted the A's Elephant as the team's symbol. Gone was the traditional "A" on the front of the jersey. The official Team Logo became a blue pachyderm. Mack was never one to sit still long, and after a few poor seasons he decided a change was in order. 1924 saw the blue elephant replaced on the team's jersey by the white elephant. The A's played better ball for the next few years.

The A Logo

Better ball was not good enough for Mack, and in 1928 he decided it was time for another change. For the first time in 10 years the elephant was no longer on the game field. Mack replaced the pachyderm logo on the jersies with the old familiar "A." The A's then went on to win two World Championships and an AL crown in the next three years. Of course, the acquisitions of Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, Lefty Grove, Mickey Cochrane, and others, probably had more to do with the new success than the elephant's banishment.

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That seemed to be the end for the elephant. But seventeen years later in 1955, and halfway across the continent, the old elephant was added to the left sleeves of the then Kansas City A's. The pachyderm enjoyed a brief sojourn in K.C. until the incomparable Charlie Finley purchased the team in the early sixties. Besides moving the team the rest of the way across the continent to Oakland, Finley fired the elephant as mascot, and replaced it with a mule. Once again, it seemed like the end for the old pachyderm.

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But in 1988 the A's welcomed back their old mascot, and the powerful pachyderm remains on the job today. So which logo is on the front of the OOSL Athletics jersey? Why, the original pachyderm, of course!
[ A's Elephant Logo ]

"What difference does the uniform make? You don't hit with it."
-Yogi Berra-

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