baseball trivia -- does anybody know why there is a white elephant on the sleeve of the Oakland A's Jerseys?

Answer 1

Why the A's mascot is the White Elephant

Here is an official explanation from the Oakland A's media guide as to why the A's mascot is the White Elephant:

Prior to the 1988 season the A's brought back one of the team's most familiar and successful characters from past years - the Athletics' Elephant. After two seasons featuring a more aggressive elephant holding two crossed bats in it's trunk, the old A's Elephant, which brought the A's three straight American League titles from 1988-90 and a World Championship in 1989, returned in 1995. The A's Elephant has been featured in many of the club's promotions and publications. Also, each player wears a special A's Elephant patch on the left sleeve of their uniform.

For 60 years the Athletic Elephant was one of the most popular and colorful logos in all of major league baseball. In 1901 Connie Mack and his Philadelphia Athletics helped form the American League. The following year, New York Giants Manager John McGraw dismissed the A's with contempt, calling them "The White Elephants," implying Mack shouldn't be allowed to spend money without supervision. Mack defiantly adopted the White Elephant as the team insignia, and in 1902, the A's won the American League pennant.

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

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. In was a blue elephant logo. But after a few poor seasons, Mack decided a change was in order. So, in 1924, the blue elephant was replaced by the white elephant on the team's jersey. The new-look pachyderm seemed to do the trick, as the A's played better ball for the next few years.

In 1928, Mack decided the elephant had worn out its brief welcome on the A's jersey fronts. He replaced it with the familiar "A" on the uniforms, and the A's went on to win two World Championships and an AL crown in the next three years. This resurgence was probably due more to the additions of Foxx, Simmons, Grove, Cochrane, et al., than to the elephant's absence.

That was the last year for the elephant on the A's uniform until 1955, when the A's, now in Kansas City, added an elephant patch to their left sleeves. But when Charlie Finley purchased the team in the early sixties, the elephant mascot was once again sent packing, replaced by, of all animals, a mule named Charlie-O. This was the last we saw of this loveable A's mascot until 1988.

The elephant has once again proven to be a "good luck" charm for the A's, as since its return the Athletics have won four American League pennants and one World Championship.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Ive seen some pitchers get thrown out of a game cause the batter couldn't see the ball cause of the white sleeves so i wouldn't try

Answer 4

Rival manager John Mcgraw referred to Manager Connie Mack and his team as a bunch of "white elephants." They decided to take the logo and win some pennants.

They took the logo - pennants were a little harder to come by.

Answer 5

because the philadelphia a's logo used to be the white elephant and it moved along with the franchise

Answer 6

http://www.mlbjerseyoutlet.com

Answer 7

It goes all the way back when they were in Philadelphia under Connie Mack

Answer 8

Because everything about Oakland sucks. It should drop into the Bay during the next earthquake.

Answer 9

THE TEAM WAS ONCE KNOWN AS THE PHILADELPHIA WHITE ELEPHANTS.

Answer 10

I think you got your answer. It originally was a slur against the team when in Philly.