Believe it or not, 2005 is just on the doorstep. Fifty years ago while most people celebrated New Year's Day, l955, I was not among the joyful. In November of l954, the unthinkable had happened: the Philadelphia Athletics were no more.

When the news was finally confirmed that the A's had gone to Kansas City, I was disconsolate. Readers who know me are aware that when I am unhappy, I am seldom unhappy by myself. As 1954 came to a close, an air of melancholia had set in at our home .For my January birthday in an attempt to boost my devastated spirits, my father promised me a road trip to Baltimore or Washington to see the A's when the school year ended in June. True to his word we saw the A's play the Orioles and the Tigers play the Senators in the same weekend late in June.

When the A's took the field at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, the strangest thing happened. The Kansas City Athletics, most of whom were familiar, made me angry instead of happy! I didn't really understand how illogical it was to blame the players who had no part in the move. When we returned home from that weekend, the metamorphasis was complete. I was a (gasp) Phillies fan. Holding grudges has always been a weakness for me. The anger lasted even through l972, l973 and l974 when the Oakland A's were on top of the world. They had betrayed me and there was no room in my heart for forgiveness. One summer night in l977 while riding through Delaware, my friend and I stopped for doughnuts and coffee. To my amazement, the certificate on the wall stated the owner was Forrest V. Jacobs. Could that be Spook?

Sure enough, Spook appeared and a 25 year friendship began. He was so much fun to meet and talk baseball that all those years of bitterness melted away before the last crumb of the delicious doughnut was gone. I was suddenly nostalgic about the Philadelphia Athletics once again.

I am not the Oracle of Delphi so I don't know what the New Year holds but I hope that 2005 has a happier start than l955!

Editors Note: Max Silberman is a retired Philadelphia school teacher and long time sports memorabila hobbyist. He wrote for many years for the Phillies Report newspaper as well as for the hobby's most recgonizable publication, the Sports Collectors Digest. Max and his wife Rikki were a part of the sports hobby in its infancy in the early to mid 1970's. The highlight of the year were always the twice a year sports conventions sponsored by the Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Collectors Club (EPSCC) and held at the since demolished George Washington Motor Lodge in Willow Grove at the exit of the east/west Pennsylvania Turnpike. Max likes to reminisce about the times when old time Philadelphia Athletics fans would attend these conventions and how those meetings developed friendships that in later years led to the founding of the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society. Today Max serves as the Vice President of History and research for the Society and is available to answer your questions about Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics!!!

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