Sportswriter chronicled the A’s ‘ Mustache Gang’
Writing with great verve and a keen wit, Ron Bergman was the quintessential reporter to cover the colorful Oakland A’s dynasty of the 1970s.
The longtime Bay Area sportswriter, who also covered the Warriors, Raiders and college sports for the Oakland Tribune and the San Jose Mercury News, died Thursday. He was 80.
“Bergy told it like it was,” A’s Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers said. “He was always fair, he did a great job — and if we ever needed a fourth for bridge, he was there. He always had great copy, because there was plenty to write about with those teams.”
Mr. Bergman developed a close friendship with Warriors head coach Don Nelson in the 1990s and the two remained in touch after retirement. Nelson, speaking by phone from Hawaii on Thursday, said, “I’m lighting a candle for him now.
“He was never too serious and he always enjoyed himself. That’s just the way he lived his life.”
Nelson described Mr. Bergman as “a dear friend and an adviser, a confidant and terribly honest; he didn’t sugarcoat anything.” When Nelson had frustrations with the media, he said Mr. Bergman would remind him, “The birds s— on the paper the second day. Don’t make too much of it.”
Mr. Bergman was born in Philadelphia on Jan. 1, 1935, and attended Washington High School in San Francisco before serving in the Navy from 1955 through ’ 57. He went to college at Cal, where he was sports editor of the Daily Californian from 1959 through ’ 60, and then worked at the Oroville Mercury- Register and the Associated Press. Among his assignments for AP was the Beatles’ final concert at Candlestick Park in 1966.
He was hired by the Tribune in 1968 to cover the A’s in their first season in Oakland, and he quickly befriended former A’s coach Joe DiMaggio, the Yankees’ Hall of Fame outfielder.
Former Tribune columnist Dave Newhouse recalled Mr. Bergman as a skilled writer who crafted many memorable stories, including one about Catfish Hunter’s perfect game in 1968 that began: “Catfish is king. He is perfect.”
Sal Bando, the third baseman and captain of the A’s three World Serieswinning teams ( 1972- 74), said that Mr. Bergman was well- liked by everyone in the clubhouse.
“We didn’t always agree with him, but we respected him,” Bando said. “Bergy fit right in — we considered him like a part of the team, like a teammate. He’ll be missed.”
“We’ve lost a good person,” said Vida Blue, the 1971 American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner.
A’s pitcher Ken Holtzman was such a frequent bridge partner of Mr. Bergman’s, they played in regional events around the country when the team was on the road. “A huge loss,” Holtzman said. ‘ The memories are flooding back — he was a hell of a guy and a great sportswriter, as good as it gets, thorough and fair. Bergy would tell the truth.”
Mr. Bergman’s book “Mustache Gang,” chronicling Oakland’s first World Series, remains the definitive work about that 1972 team.
“I still have a copy of that,” Fingers said. “I might have to pick it up again today.”
The A’s held a moment of silence in honor of Mr. Bergman before Thursday night’s game with the Yankees.
Mr. Bergman died at Sunrise of Oakland Hills of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his children, Anne and Adam; his former wife, Sally; brother, Jim, and two grandchildren.