By Bill Turianski on the 3rd of July 2025; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-1972 MLB season (en.wikipedia.org).
-1972 MLB (baseball-reference.com).
-Year in Review: 1972 American League (baseball-almanac.com).
-Year in Review: 1972 National League (baseball-almanac.com).
-1972 MLB logos (sportslogos.net).
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1972 MLB Location-map with jersey-logos with 1972 attendances, featuring the 1972 World Series champions: the Oakland Athletics.
This is my sixth in a series. Here are links to the first five posts in this series:
•1967 MLB Location-map with Jersey-logos & Attendances, featuring the ’67 World Series champions: the St. Louis Cardinals;
•1968 MLB Location-map with Jersey-logos & Attendances, featuring the ’68 World Series champions: the Detroit Tigers.
•1969 MLB Location-map with Jersey-logos and Attendances, featuring the ’69 World Series champions: the New York Mets.
•1970 MLB Location-map with Jersey-logos & Attendances, featuring the 1970 World Series champions: the Baltimore Orioles.
•1971 MLB Location-map with Jersey-logos & Attendances, featuring the 1971 World Series champions: the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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The map.
The map shows the locations of the 24 MLB teams of 1972. On the map, next to each MLB team’s location-dot there are 3 things: their cap-logo, one of their 1972 jersey-logos (either home or away jersey), and a rectangular box (listing: ballpark, win total in 1972, and home average attendance in ’72). All the jersey-logos are from photos of the old jerseys (see 24 photo credits at the foot of this post).
The jersey-logo: sized to reflect that team’s 1972 average attendance. The larger the jersey-logo, the higher their attendance. Any other logos on the team’s uniforms in 1972 are also shown. Specifically, shoulder-patch-logos, of which there were 8 of such in 1972…The Braves [in two styles: feather-logo on blue jersey from 1972-79; feather-logo on white jersey from 1972-75]. The White Sox [Gothic 'Sox'-script-over-white-sock-in-red-circle, in Chicago's 1971 to '75 colors of red-white-powder blue]. The Angels [scarlet-state-of-California-with-halo-on-top logo, 1970-82]. The Astros [simplified Astrodome-with-orbiting-balls logo, 1972 only]. The Cubs [modified blue-bear-cub-with-tan-face logo, 1972-78]. The Royals [Royals'-shield-in-circle logo, 1971-92]. The Mets [Metro-NY-skyline-with-bridge logo, 1962-63; 1966-68; 1970-81; 1993-2011; 2014-25]. The Twins [Twin-smiling-heads-over-river-and-bridge logo, 1972 only].
1972 Team Average Attendance: shown at the right-hand side of the map-page. In 1972, for the fourth straight year, the best-drawing MLB team was the New York Mets, who drew 27.3-K per game at the then-9-year-old Shea Stadium in Queens, New York City, NY. This was during the peak years of the New York Mets outdrawing the then-moribund New York Yankees: 1972 was the third-straight year that the Mets were drawing double that of the Yankees (Mets at 27.3-K-per-game, the Yankees at a meager 12.5-K). From the mid-Sixties to the mid-Seventies, the Mets ended up outdrawing the Yankees for 12 seasons (1964 to ’75). Second-best drawing ball club in 1972 was the Los Angeles Dodgers again, at 24.8-K-per-game.
Two other teams drew above 20-K per game in 1972: the Detroit Tigers and the Cincinnati Reds. Drawing 19 K per game were the 11-year-old Houston Astros, who had their best season at that point, with 84 wins. There was an alarming amount of teams that had poor attendance in ’72…8 teams drew under 10-K per game: Atlanta, California, Kansas City, the brand new Texas Rangers (see further below), San Francisco, Cleveland, San Diego, and Milwaukee. With the exception of Cleveland, every one of those teams was either a relocated franchise, and/or a relatively new franchise.
1972 was the last season that MLB cumulatively drew below 15,000 per game. The peak of MLB attendance at that point had been in 1966 (15.5-K-per-game/LA Dodgers over Baltimore in WS). In 1971, MLB drew 15.0-K-per-game; then in 1972 the league’s attendance dipped almost 500 per game down to 14.5 K. Attendance rebounded in 1973, up almost one thousand per game, to 15.4 K. There were two more seasons of 15-K-per-game, and then Major League Baseball never looked back – crowds steadily increased through the next 4 seasons, from 1976 to 1979. In 1979, MLB finally broke the 20,000 per game attendance mark. {Data: Major League Miscellaneous Year-by-Year Averages and Totals (baseball-reference.com).}
Franchise re-location. The 13-year-old Washington Senators (II), who drew 8.0-K in 1971, departed the nation’s capital after the 1971 season, and moved to Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, as the Texas Rangers (est. 1972). On the map-page here, I have shown the 1972-franchise-shift of Washington Senators (II) to Texas Rangers, using a long pale-gray line-segment with arrows pointing to their new location in Arlington, Texas.
1972 MLB champions, the Oakland Athletics: at the top of the map-page are photos of the 12 players on the ’72 A’s with the highest WAR [Wins Above Replacement], plus the their manager, Dick Williams (HoF). Photo credits are at the foot of this post. The players are: Joe Rudi (LF), Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter (RHP & HoF), Reggie Jackson (CF/RF & HoF), Sal Bando (3B), Bert Campaneris (SS), Mike Epstein (1B), Ken Holtzman (LHP), Darold Knowles (LHP), John ‘Blue Moon’ Odom (RHP), Rollie Fingers (RHP & HoF), Ángel Mangual (OF/PH).
1972 MLB Statistical Leaders: Shown at the foot of the map. (In both the American League and the National League.) Leaders in the following categories: ERA, Wins, WAR for Pitchers; Batting Average, Home Runs, RBIs, WAR for Position Players. A photo of each player is shown, with stats; photo credits are at the foot of this post. Members of the Hall of Fame that were statistical leaders in 1972: Steve Carlton (Phillies LHP & ’72 NL Cy Young). Gaylord Perry (Indians RHP). Rod Carew (Twins 2B). Billy Williams (Cubs LF/1B). Dick Allen (White Sox 1B/3B &’72 AL MVP). Johnny Bench (Reds C & ’72 NL MVP). Joe Morgan (Reds 2B).
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1972 World Series: the Oakland A’s defeat the Cincinnati Reds in 7 games
The Reds had been in the World Series two years previous (in 1970, when they lost to the Orioles in 5 games). At this point in their history, the Cincinnati Reds had won 2 World Series titles (1919, 1940), and 4 National League pennants (last in 1970). Like several MLB teams at the time, the Cincinnati Reds had recently moved into a dual-purpose concrete stadium (Riverfront Stadium, opened June 1970, capacity 51,500 for baseball, which the Reds shared with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals). The Reds of 1972 had the nucleus of their championship teams of 1975 and ’76, including C Johnny Bench, 2B Joe Morgan, LF Pete Rose, and LHP Don Gullett…a lineup that came to be known as “the Big Red Machine”. In 1972, the Reds went 95-59 and won the NL West with ease. In the playoffs, the Reds beat the reigning champions and the team with the best record in ’72, the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 2.
The Oakland Athletics, est. 1968, and better known as the A’s, were making their first World Series appearance. But as a franchise, the ball club, originally located on the East Coast in Philadelphia, was making its first World Series appearance since 1930. The Philadelphia Athletics existed from 1901 to 1954, and had won 5 World Series titles (last in 1930), and had won 11 American League pennants (last in 1931). All the Athletics’ titles in Philadelphia were won when owner/manager Connie Mack was at the helm. Connie Mack assembled such powerful teams that, for a while in the late 1920′s and early 1930′s, the Philadelphia Athletics challenged the dominance of the New York Yankees, and kept the Murderer’s Row-era Yankees out of the postseason for 3 years (1929-31). The Philadelphia Athletics from that era wore white-and-royal-blue, with a Gothic-A on their caps. After 50 years of managing the Athletics, Mack retired in 1950. And five years later, the franchise was sold and moved to the Midwest, as the Kansas City Athletics (1955-67, no titles).
The Kansas City Athletics were hapless basement-dwellers. They were bought by Charles O. Finley in December 1960. In 1963, the Kansas City Athletics changed their colors from navy-blue-and-red, to a garish kelly-green-and-gold. In 1968, the franchise moved to the West Coast, to the Bay Area across from San Francisco, as the Oakland Athletics, where they shared a venue with the American Football League’s Oakland Raiders. That venue was the recently-built, utilitarian dual-purpose Oakland-Alameda County Stadium (cap. ~50,000). The Oakland A’s wore the same type of Gothic-A logo on their bright kelly-green caps that their predecessors, the Philadelphia Athletics, did. The Oakland A’s were a young team that improved each season, and they featured the young slugger Reggie Jackson, and a solid pitching staff which included starters Vida Blue (1971 Cy Young/MVP winner), Jim “Catfish” Hunter, and John “Blue Moon” Odom, and reliever Rollie Fingers. By 1969, the A’s were postseason contenders. In 1970, the Gothic lettering on Oakland’s kelly-green cap changed from “A” to “A’s”. In 1972, the A’s were coming off a 101-win season the year before, and they repeated as AL West winners again, though there was serious pursuit from the Chicago White Sox. Oakland then beat the Detroit Tigers in a tight playoff series, 3 games to 2.
1972 World Series…
The A’s Reggie Jackson was on the disabled list for the Series (he was injured stealing home base, versus Detroit in the playoffs,). The Reds were the bookies’ favorite to win. Six of the seven games in the 1972 World Series were to be decided by one run.
In game 1, Oakland’s back-up catcher Gene Tenace homered in his first two at bats (WS record), and Ken Holtzman, Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue combined for the win. In game 2, Oakland’s LF Joe Rudi made a spectacular catch {which can be seen in a photo below}. And Joe Rudi also homered, and Catfish Hunter pitched 8 scoreless innings, and so the A’s were up 2 games to none.
But when the series resumed in Oakland, the visiting Reds won 2 of the 3 games. In game 3, Jack Billingham held the A’s to 3 hits in 8 scoreless innings. The only run came in the 7th inning, when César Gerónimo singled home Tony
Pérez. Clay Carroll (Saves leader in the NL) got the save. Games 4 and 5 there were tightly contested. The A’s won game 4 in the 9th inning, on four consecutive singles. Three of those four-straight-base-hits were by pinch hitters: PH Gonzalo Márquez, Gene Tenace, PH Don Mincher, PH Ángel Mangual (3-straight PH hits was a WS record). {In a screenshot below, you can see A’s players congratulating Mangual, and also below, at the lower left, there is a photo of 1972 WS MVP Gene Tenace’s emphatic plate-stomping winning run.} Then in game 5, the Cincinnati Reds, facing elimination, staged a comeback. Pete Rose’s single off Rollie Fingers won it for the Reds in the 9th {Rose’s GW RBI can be seen below}. And so the series went back to Cincinnati, with the A’s leading 3 games to 2.
Then the Reds blew out the A’s 8-1 in game 6. It was the only game in the series that was not a one-run-game. And so the series went to a seventh game.
Game 7: A’s win 3-2. Blue Moon Odom vs Jack Billingham. In the 1st, Gene Tenace drove in a run. In the 5th, Blue Moon Odom departed for Catfish Hunter, and the Reds tied it up, on a SF by PH Hal McRae. But using that pinch hitter forced Billingham out of the game. And in the 6th, the new pitcher for the Reds, Pedro Borbón, gave up 2 runs, on a pair of doubles by Gene Tenace and Sal Bando (and so the A’s were up 3-1). Then in the 8th, the Reds pulled to within 1 run, on a SF by Tony Pérez. But Rollie Fingers then stopped the Reds, with a base runner on 3rd, to end the inning. Fingers then shut down the Reds in the ninth, for the World Series title. Catfish Hunter (2.2 IP, 1 ER) got the win. Rollie Fingers pitched in 6 of the 7 games of the series (1.74 ERA, 1-1, 1 H, 2 SV, 10.1 IP, 11 SO/4 BB). Gene Tenace was voted MVP (8-for-23 (.348) 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1.313 OPS). He also threw out a baserunner.
The 1972 World Series was the last time anyone ever referred to Gene Tenace as a backup catcher. Gene Tenace went on the have five 20+ HR seasons, four with the A’s (1973-76), and one with the Padres (1979). The Oakland A’s would repeat as WS champions the next year (1973, over the Mets), and the following year as well (1974, over the Dodgers). The Oakland A’s were the last MLB team to win 3 straight World Series titles, and were the only ball club to have done so apart from the New York Yankees.
-Here is a 40-minute video of the 1972 World Series, MLB 1972 World Series Highlights (video uploaded by Luigi Aguilera at youtube.com).
Photo and Image credits above – 2 screenshots from video of NBC broadcast: 1) view outside Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium prior to Game 1; 2) managers Sparky Anderson (Reds) and Dick Williams (A’s) prior to Game 1: screenshots of video uploaded by Luigi Aguilera at youtube.com. Oakland Alameda County Coliseum [photo circa 1968-71], from Photoscream at flikr.com via newballpark.org. -Gene Tenace, photo by Walter Iooss Jr./SI via si.com/[world-series-heroes-of-the-1970s]. -Joe Rudi, photo unattributed at twitter.com/[@sportsdayspast]. -Jack Billingham, photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images via gettyimages.co.uk. -Ángel Mangual, screenshot from video uploaded by MLB at youtube.com. -Pete Rose, photo by Neil Leifer at si.com. -Johnny Bench, photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images via gettyimages.com. -Rollie Fingers, screenshot of video uploaded by Luigi Aguilera at youtube.com. -Gene Tenace (4th game, winning run), photo by Herb Scharfman /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images via gettyimages.com. -Celebrating after final out in game 7, photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images via yardbarker.com/the_best_world_series_matchups_of_all_time. – A’s 1972 WS champions stadium flag, screenshot from video uploaded by Luigi Aguilera at youtube.com.
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Jersey-logo photo credits -
-Atlanta Braves 1972 road (blue) jersey, photo from goldinauctions.com.
-Baltimore Orioles 1972 home jersey [Dave McNally], photo from goldinauctions.com.
-Boston Red Sox circa 1969-72 road jersey, photo from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-California Angels 1972 home jersey, photo from dhgate.com.
-Chicago Cubs 1970 road jersey, from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-Chicago White Sox 1970 road jersey, photo from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-Cincinnati Reds circa 1972-75 home jersey [Johnny Bench], photo unattributed at pinterest.com.
-Cleveland Indians 1970 home jersey, photo from worthpoint.com.
-Detroit Tigers 1972 road jersey, photo from lelands.com.
-Houston Astros 1972 road jersey, photo from ebay.com.
-Kansas City Royals 1972 road jersey, photo from nasljerseys.com.
-Los Angeles Dodgers 1972 road jersey, photo from goldinauctions.com.
-Milwaukee Brewers 1970 road jersey, photo from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-Minnesota Twins 1972 road jersey, photo from retro2heritage.com.
-Montreal Expos 1970 road jersey, photo from goldinauctions.com.
-New York Mets 1970 jersey, photo from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-New York Yankees 1972 road jersey, photo from worthpoint.com.
-Oakland A’s 1972 green jersey-logo, photo from greyflannelauctions.com.
-Philadelphia Phillies 1972 road jersey, photos unattributed at baseballessential.com.
-Pittsburgh Pirates 1971 home jersey, photo from robertedwardauctions.com.
-San Diego Padres 1972 gold jersey, from worthpoint.com.
-San Francisco Giants 1970 home jersey, photo from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-St. Louis Cardinals 1971 road jersey, photo from Heritage Auctions at sports.ha.com.
-Texas Rangers 1972 home jersey, photo unattributed at pinterest.com.
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1972 Oakland A’s players: photo and image credits…
-1972 Oakland A’s gold jersey [#19 Bert Campaneris], photo from greyflannelauctions.com. -1972 Oakland A’s away (green) jersey [#38 Gene Tenace], photo from greyflannelauctions.com. -Joe Rudi, photo by Focus On Sports/Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
-Joe Rudi (catch in 9th inning of Game 2), photo unattributed at twitter.com/[@baseballinpix].
-Catfish Hunter, Oct. 23 1972 Sports Illustrated cover, from sicovers.com.
-Reggie Jackson, photo by Focus On Sports/Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
-Sal Bando, photo by Focus On Sports/Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
-Bert Campaneris, photo by Focus On Sports/Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
-Mike Epstein, photo unattributed at pinterest.com.
-Ken Holtzman, photo unattributed at alchetron.com.
-Dave Duncan, photo unattributed at pinterest.com.
-Darold Knowles, 1973 Topps card, via tcdb.com/[Gallery, Darold-Knowles].
-Blue Moon Odom, photo by Focus On Sports/Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
-Rollie Fingers, photo by Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated at si.com.
-Ángel Mangual, screenshot from video uploaded by MLB at youtube.com.
-Dick Williams (manager), photo by Focus On Sports/Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
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Photos of 1972 MLB leaders on map page…
-Luis Tiant, The Sporting News cover [Oct 14 1972], via sabrbaseballcards.blog.
-Steve Carlton, photo unattributed at twitter.com/[@jdaniel2033].
-Gaylord Perry, photo by SPX/Diamond Images via Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
-Wilbur Wood, photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images via ballnine.com.
-Steve Carlton, photo unattributed at mlb.com.
-Gaylord Perry, photo by Louis Requena/MLB via Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
-Steve Carlton, 1972 Topps card, via psacard.com.
-Rod Carew, photo by SPX/Diamond Images via Getty Images via gettyimages.dk.
-Billy Williams, photo unattributed at pinterest.com.
-Dick Allen, photo by John Iacona – Sports Illustrated cover [June 12 1972], via si.com.
-Johnny Bench, photo by Getty Images/SPX via elextrabase.com.
-Dick Allen, photo unattributed at twitter.com/[@espnstatsinfo].
-Johnny Bench, photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
-Dick Allen, photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images via ballysports.com.
-Joe Morgan, photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images via gettyimages.com.
![exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/[1968 Detroit]](http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/detail_page.asp?fileName=al_1968_detroit.gif&Entryid=1115){kind=link}