OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — In his tiny office at the Coliseum, longtime visiting clubhouse manager Mikey Thalblum pulls out a $5 check from Charles Finley dated March 20, 1980.
Thalblum was just a baseball-loving boy then, having begun with the Oakland Athletics at spring training in 1980 as a sixth-grader at Pueblo Elementary, just a few miles from Scottsdale Stadium. He earned $5 a day.
“I showed up after school to help fold the laundry, vacuum and clean the place,” the 57-year-old Thalblum said.
He has never left the franchise. He's about to complete his 44th year with the A’s and then will get right to work preparing for the team's big move north to Sacramento.
Some of his fondest memories are at the Coliseum. He met his wife Janine here.
Thalblum called AAA roadside assistance to sign up for insurance and she drove to the ballpark in 1991 by his best recollection, “that way she didn’t have to take a day off work by coming to sign me up here.”
“I didn’t read the fine print, ‘for the good rates you've got to marry me 10 years later,’” he cracked between trips to the clubhouse kitchen to feed the Colorado Rockies during their visit in mid-May.
He gave her a ticket to the game and the rest is history. They were married in the Coliseum's West Side Club in 2001, with Tony La Russa, Art Howe and Jason Giambi all in attendance — each needing their own custom ticket to get into the ballpark wedding.
“We wanted a party and that’s what we had, a party up there,” Thalblum said.
It's a bittersweet end for 93-year-old security guard Gus Dobbins
Gus Dobbins returned to his security duties midway through this season following a health challenge.
At 93, Dobbins is just happy to be at the ballpark for the stretch run — his own stretch run in life, too.
“After the season I don't know what will befall me, I might not be here, I might be gone to my maker, but I'm going to miss you guys,” he said. “It's hanging in the balance right now, 93, you figure it won't be long.”
He often ponders what has become of the A's and about the impact their departure will have on everybody who has called the Coliseum a work home, some of those for decades.
“It means sadness,” Dobbins said. “I'm sad to see the tradition upon this team, upon this city, upon individuals that need a job and I feel so bad because I feel that they will be out of a job. I don't know how long. I don't know if they will have replacements, but I'm hoping for the best for the employees and for the city of Oakland. I'm hoping things will be better for them.”
He also can reflect on the joy of being part of the day-to-day operation that allows each game to happen.
“I've enjoyed working here. I love the A's,” Dobbins said. “I wish the best for them and everybody that needs a job. I'm hoping for the best, I've met a lot of friends, a lot of people I'm proud to have met.”
Wilona Perry returned for a last hurrah with A's
Wilona Perry never necessarily meant to be back running the A's employee and media dining room for the final season at the Coliseum.
When David Rinetti, the club's vice president of stadium operations, reached out requesting her schedule, Perry realized she had to be here for the last hurrah — her 44th season handling a variety of roles including in the ticket office. Even at 83, and even coming from 80 miles away in Lodi with a suitcase to stay with a girlfriend during homestands. The suitcase has become heavier since a knee surgery last November.
“I was the 81-game receptionist,” Perry said, “for many, many years I worked all 81 games.”
She’s only about a half-hour from the club’s new home in West Sacramento.
“So who knows?” she said. “I'd figured at this time in my life, at my age, I should probably retire. Somebody asked me ... did I know the word retire? I said, ‘No.’"
Charles Riley is a familiar face in ballpark's lower level
Charles Riley is beloved by the fans in his 27th year at the Coliseum.
He still loves working at age 82.
“They’re really nice, I’ve known some of them so long, second generation come in,” he said. “I didn’t raise them but they’re raised in the Coliseum. I’ve known them since they were toddlers.”
From Huttig, Arkansas, he retired from the post office and lives in Livermore. Wife Patricia also works games taking tickets.
Along with so many others, Riley will be heartbroken when it’s finally over.
“When the Raiders left I was through with them. When the A’s leave I’m through with them. I’m an Oakland Raiders, Oakland A’s (fan)," he said.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press
