Bob Addie...: Living Legend Bob Addie...
BAL HARBOUR, Fla., Dec. 5ÛÓCharles 0. Finley, owner of the Oakland Athletics, has done more for employment</br></br>New York Yankees, whence came. But the latest word on thl ÛÏYankee Clipper,Û voted baseball] greatest living player, is that will join the office of commissiorj er Bowie Kuhn.</br></br>of the St. Louis Cardinals and Ted Williams is here as the manager of the Washington Senators. Musial, Williams and DiMaggio are the greatest retired names in baseball.</br></br>ÛÏITÛªS GOOD TO have all these people still associated with baseball.Û said Finley, ÛÏand IÛªm glad I did my part in bringing DiMaggio back. Do you know, I never even met the man before I hired him.Û ÛÏHe was worth every penny I paid for him,Û said Finley. ÛÏHe exerted an enormous influence on my players. IÛªve never met a finer man. Joe was supposed to be an introvert and withdrawn, according to what I had been told about him. But lie's poised and meets people well. We got to be very good friends and I donÛªt know where all those stories popped up that we weren't getting along.Û Commissioner Kuhn probably wants DiMaggio as a goodwill ambassador for baseball. Kuhn accompanied DiMaggio to Vietnam after the World Series and was impressed by the eagerness of the troops to meet the legendary baseball figure. Nobody had the impact of DiMaggio on the troops and Kuhn took careful note that this would be a good man to represent the game.</br></br>IF DiMAGGIO was an influence for good on the Oakland players, a stronger influence for bad must have been exerted on the Athletics, who were supposed to run away and hide in the American LeagueÛªs West Division. Finley was so upset that his team didnÛªt gain the championship playoff that he fired manager Hank Bauer, who still has another year on his contract. Bauer was fired once before and then rehired. Why?