First MLB player to play all nine positions in a single game

As six-time All-Star Bert Campaneris turns 80 years old on Wednesday, it's the perfect time to take a look back at his historic performance for the A's in a Sept. 8, 1965, game against the Angels.

It was on that night that Campaneris -- then just a 23-year-old in his first full big league season -- became the first player in AL/NL history to play all nine positions in the same game. Only four other players have accomplished the feat since: Cesar Tovar (Sept. 22, 1968), Scott Sheldon (Sept. 6, 2000), Shane Halter (Oct. 1, 2000) and Andrew Romine (Sept. 30, 2017).

But it wasn't all fun and games for Campy and Co. that evening at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium.

Far from it, in fact.

Though the visiting California Angels had long ago bid farewell to any postseason hopes, they took exception to what they felt was a gimmick -- and they weren't exactly wrong. Charles Finley, owner of the last-place Kansas City Athletics, had orchestrated the entire idea, even taking out a $1 million insurance policy on Campaneris ahead of the big event.

The motive was simple: sell a lot of tickets. And it worked.

More than 21,000 fans showed up to watch an otherwise insignificant Wednesday night game in early September between clubs with sub-.500 records. To put that in perspective, only 1,271 fans came out the following night to watch the same two teams.

"Well, Finley got what he wanted -- a big crowd," Halos manager Bill Rigney told the Press-Telegram at the time. "Big deal. It was bush."

As for the game itself, the A's couldn't have scripted a better start. Campaneris played his natural shortstop position during a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, then worked a leadoff walk, stole second and later scored the game's first run on Ed Charles' double in the bottom half.….

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