My turn for this, I suppose.
The last A’s game I went to was September 2, 1996. It was the Yankees vs. The A’s, and David Cone was coming off a stint on the DL/IL. he pitched 7 innings of no-hit ball against the A’s but he was on a pitch count so he was taken out of the game.
The last time I was in the Arena was for a preseason exhibition game with the newly-formed San Francisco Spiders hockey team. I can’t recall who they played, or the exact date, but it must have been in September of 1995.
The last time I visited the area was April 4th, 2021, for my first COVID-19 vaccination.
I recall other baseball and one basketball game I’d attended.
We were there the weekend in 1981 when the A’s opened the season with 11 straight wins. I don’t recall if we were there for the 10th win on Saturday, or the 11th win of the first game of a Sunday double header.
My gaming group surprised our DM on his birthday by getting tickets to a A’s-Tigers game, as he was a big Detroit Tigers fan.
As for basketball, the one Warriors game that I attended at the Arena (the other was at the Shark Tank, of all places) was a Lakers-Warriors matchup where the only thing I really remember was that we had seats above and behind a backboard, and Magic Johnson scored on a breakaway right at us. It might have been a slam dunk, too, but my memory fails me. It probably was, though.
So those are my few stories about the Oakland-Alameda County Stadium.
And even though I’m not an A’s fan, I will miss them and the Bay Area rivalry with the Giants.
I’ve felt that feeling of loss, when we almost lost the Giants after the 1992 season.
Unfortunately, I don’t see a last minute save by local investors to keep this team where I feel they belong.
My heart goes out to A’s fans everywhere, but especially to the ones who live around the area and/or have been loyally attending games for years.