The A's return to Philly tonight, and Connie Mack's daughter will be there to root them on. From the Oakland Tribune:

MACK'S DAUGHTER RECALLS A'S FIRST HOME
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER

THE STRAW HAT, the high collar, the angular frame, the studious expression. Connie Mack represented baseball's infancy, with train travel and trolley cars, and the Athletics based in Philadelphia.

That era passed into history after the 1954 season, when the A's moved to Kansas City until 1968, when they arrived in Oakland to create the franchise's last dynasty.

Tonight the A's return to their roots after a 49-year absence for a three-game interleague series with the Philadelphia Phillies. And a big lovefest in the City of Brotherly Love will welcome the A's back home.

"It's going to be wishin' we could keep them," said Ruth Mack Clark, 89, the last living member of Connie Mack's eight children.

Clark said 50 relatives of the man known as Mr. Mack will be at Veterans Stadium this evening along with former Philadelphia A's, including Eddie Joost, the San Francisco native who was their last manager in 1954.

"The last time I went to a game in Philadelphia," Clark said, "was the last game the A's played there. We shouldn't talk about (the Phillies). I never became a fan."

Mr. Mack, born Cornelius McGillicuddy, launched the A's in Philadelphia in 1901. He was their manager for an unprecedented 50 years.

"You know why he did that?" Clark asked. "He said it was because he owned the team and nobody could fire him."

Mr. Mack's half-century at the helm produced a dozen Hall of Famers, nine American League pennants, five World Series championships and two dynasties.

"There's so much to remember," Clark said.

And she was there to live it all. A's catcher Cy Perkins used to chase Mr. Mack's children up the stairs. Pitcher Howard Ehmke, the surprise hero of the 1929 World Series, gave them a ride in his Packard convertible. Ruth Mack went to the movies one night with pitcher Hank McDonald.

Ruth drove her father to Shibe Park in Philly, then picked him up after games. She still recalls the team's Hall of Famers.

On Mickey Cochrane: "He worked harder than anybody I ever saw,"

On Jimmie Foxx: "He was tremendous. He seemed like such a young boy. After a game in New York, he had on a white suit. It made him look even bigger."

On Al Simmons: "A great hitter. They were all wonderful to watch."

On Lefty Grove: "I didn't know it at the time that he acted up when things weren't going his way. He went away for a few days, and when he got back, my dad said, 'You feel better, Lefty?'"

On Connie Mack, who was baseball's Abraham Lincoln. Tall, rail-thin and quiet. Only Mr. Mack, unlike Lincoln, was beardless and wore his trademark straw hat instead of a top hat. But there was an honesty about both men.

"It's hard to use one adjective to describe him," Clark said of her father. "We had a great relationship. He had a twinkle in his eye. He was rather reserved, but he was fun. He'd pick up the throw rugs in our living room and tap dance on the wooden floor."

The A's franchise has been marked by highs and lows, both in Philadelphia and Oakland, although in Kansas City it was strictly lows.

The Philadelphia A's won World Series in 1910, 1911, 1912, 1929 and 1930. But Mr. Mack sold off two dynasties. His daughter said he had no choice.

"People don't understand," she explained, "that my father really needed the money to pay the bank to hold onto the team."

After the last dynasty was broken up, the Philadelphia A's finished between fourth and eighth (or last) in the AL from 1934 to 1954, ranging from 121/2 games off the pace to 60 games.

Clark walked a dying Babe Ruth down to the field at Shibe Park.

"He came to Philadelphia to say goodbye to the fans," she said. "You could barely hear his voice. When he finished, there wasn't a dry eye in the place."

Mack's sons, Earle and Roy, succeeded him as owners after the 1950 season. Jimmy Dykes became manager in'51, stayed three years, then gave way to Joost in'54.

The A's relocating to Kansas City broke Mr. Mack's heart.

"It was his whole life," his daughter said. "I almost cry thinking about it."

Mr. Mack's final years were spent in poor health. He lived with Clark at the end and enjoyed her children.

"He'd put the children between his legs and wouldn't let go," she said. "Or he'd sit with them and watch 'American Bandstand' with **** Clark. Dad liked the music."

Connie Mack's enjoying rock'n' roll -- Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, The Platters -- didn't fit with his straw-hat image. But as his daughter noted, he was a man of surprises behind that professorial mien.

Mr. Mack was too sick to attend the A's last game in Philadelphia. He was 93 when he died in 1956. The A's achieved their third dynasty in the early 1970s, then hoisted their fourth World Series flag in Oakland in 1989.

In 2000, the A's organization invited Clark to come to Oakland for the announcement of the A's all-century team. She had her picture taken with Jason Giambi, who would move on to the New York Yankees in two years.

"It's exactly the same," she said, comparing the A's current budget restraints with that of her father. "I wish they had more money."

While she was in Oakland, Art Howe wore a business suit and a straw hat to manage the A's for one game.

"He reminded me of dad," she said, "with his stature and how nice he was."

During a home-plate ceremony that weekend, Clark looked up at the sky and squinted but not from the sun.

"I saw my dad from the waist up," she said. "He had on a dark blue suit, and there was a twinkle in his eye."

The twinkle is what affected her vision. Tonight, that twinkle will bring a special smile and possibly a few tears for Mr. Mack's daughter.

San Francisco Giants - 2002 National League Champions!