Perhaps “a hairy situation” best described the start of the 1972 Major League Baseball season as players went on strike for the first time in league history.
Depending on how the schedule fell, some teams missed up to eight contests — with no makeup games.
For Oakland Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley, the situation became even hairier when star outfielder Reggie Jackson turned up in spring training with a mustache. At the time, facial hair on big leaguers during the season was a long-standing no-no. Finley wanted Jackson to trash the stache. The slugger refused.
Surprisingly, the colorful owner quickly came around and offered $300 to any A’s player to grow a mustache. The players cashed in. Long hair flowing from beneath the caps of A’s players soon followed.
Breaking baseball tradition even more, the A’s owner strayed from the regular uniform design and went with an eye-popping “two-tone” green and gold
