A’s great Rollie Fingers named alumni ambassador

Athletics Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers has been named Special Assistant to team president Dave Kaval, the organization announced Wednesday.

Fingers, who spent nine seasons in Oakland, was named to four All-Star teams and was part of three World Series Championships (1972-74) as a member of the A’s. He now joins fellow Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson and Dennis Eckersley as an alumni ambassador.

Kaval said, in a press release:

“As we celebrate our 50th anniversary season, it is only fitting Rollie joins us as an A’s ambassador. He is one of the greatest players to ever wear an Oakland jersey and an essential part of our history and tradition.”

Fingers, a member of the A’s 50th anniversary team which will be honored on Opening Night, added:

“I am excited to be part of the 50th Anniversary Team. I can’t believe that it’s been that long since I put on an A’s uniform as a player in 1968. I look forward to working with the club and connecting with our fans.”

With its new direction of honoring its own history, the A’s have not only welcomed former players back into the organization but paid respects to the contributions of those players. In the past 12 months, the organization has renamed its playing field at the Oakland Coliseum in honor of Henderson, and dedicated the “C” and “D” Gates in honor of “Catfish” Hunter and Eckersley respectively.

In his new role with the club, Fingers will represent the A’s at community events along with serving as an adviser to Kaval.

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Kalama Hines is SFBay’s sports director and Oakland Athletics beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @HineSight_2020 on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of A’s baseball.