Oakland A's Nicknames and Characters Quiz

Answer: Campy

Bert Campaneris, a Cuban-American, was known as "Campy" by his teammates and the fans. In 1965, as part of a special marketing campaign, Campy was the first MLB player ever to play every position during a single game. He could even pitch as a righty and a lefty.

Answer: Catfish

Hunter became "Catfish" when the owner of the A's, who was always looking for ways to market his team, wanted his new pitcher to have an attention-getting nickname. When he left the A's as one of the first big-money free-agents, he was courted by almost all of the teams in the league, but settled on the Yankees.

Answer: Charles O. Finley

Charlie O. Finley grew up in the Midwest in a middle-class family, and built his fortune by creating the practice of group medical coverage. His tenure with the A's was one of the team's best. They won the World Series in 1972, 1973, and 1974.

Answer: His prowess in late-season and play-off games

Reggie Jackson was a clutch hitter who changed the course of many important games. After his tenure with the A's, where he earned three World Series rings and an MVP, perhaps the most notable was his performance in the sixth and final game of the 1977 World Series.

This game saw Jackson hit three home runs in a Championship win for the Yankees. Eventually, he had a candy bar, The Reggie, named after him.

Answer: Kong

Kingman was known as "Kong," probably because of his King-Kong-like height at 6'6" and the power of his hits. In fact, in 1984 one of his pop-ups was so high and strong, it became stuck in the roof of the Minnesota Metrodome.

Answer: Failed to slide into home

Jeremy Giambi was running toward home and must have thought he had plenty of time because he didn't slide into the plate. But Yankees' short stop Derek Jeter scooped up the ball and nailed it to the catcher, and Jeremy was out.

Answer: La Guagua / The Bus

In some Spanish dialects "la guagua" means "the bus," and Tejada acquired this nickname because he drove in so many runs. Tejada, who was born in the Dominican Republic, was popular with his teammates and reportedly kept morale up.

Answer: Chavy

"Chavy" was an all-around popular and dedicated player who gave one of his Golden Glove awards to an A's coach in gratitude for the encouragement and training. He officially resigned in July, 2014 and was quoted as saying, "It's been a fun ride."

"Chaddy" is the nickname for Chad Bradford, a relief pitcher with an extreme "submarine" pitch who played for the A's 2001-2004.

Answer: Balfour Rage

Balfour admitted he got into his zone by getting pumped up with lots of yelling, fist-pumping, and four-letter-word tirades. It's come to be known as "Balfour rage" and you can see fans using a boxing-like motion when he's on the mound. Balfour was a closing pitcher for the A's 2011-2013.

Born in Sydney, Australia, he was one of the first Australian-born players to play in the MLB All-Star games.

Answer: Wash

"Wash" left the A's after 10 years in 2006 to manage the Texas Rangers (he returned in 2015). His impact on the A's was huge, having trained some of the team's most notable players. He was portrayed as such in Michael Lewis's book, "Moneyball," and the movie of the same name.