Vida Blue was a one time QB recruit for Bill Yeoman out of Louisiana. He excelled in football and baseball. Blue chose baseball and signed with the Oakland Athletics. Blue was a 6X All Star and 3X World Champion.
Blue died today at age 73. RIP Mr. Blue
Sorry to hear that. He burst on the scene in 1971, winning the Cy Young and MVP with 24 wins, 1.82 ERA and 301 strikeouts. I remember watching the As in the early 1970s and my Dad telling me we recruited him.
The Swinging A’s
Vida Blue
Catfish Hunter
Rollie Fingers
Joe Rudi
Reggie
Sal Bando
Campy
What a team. Life was simple back then.
My hometown Baltimore O’s won the American league and swept the Minnesota twins in the American League playoffs. Remember the league playoffs didn’t start till 1969. East Campion v West Camp. In 69, 70, 71 the O’s swept the twins 9-0. Pitching was big at that time. The O’s had 4 twenty game winners in Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, and Pat Dobson
Oakland started its run in 72.
Sal Bando was second in mvp voting to blue. Frank and Brooks Robinson of Baltimore were 3, 4.
Crazy thing is that he apparently was a better football player than baseball player and preferred football, but went the latter route because he had to provide for his family after his dad passed.
That A’s squad was so dominant, that it ended 1 dynasty (Orioles), held off another (Big Red Machine), held back the Dodgers and even the Mets. Insane.
If the owner, Charlie O Finley, had not been such a cheapskate, that team would have dominated the whole 70’s. Instead, he was okay with winning just three titles, and did not want to pay the money for a fourth (literally said that!).
Oakland A’s fans cheered when he sold the team to the Levi Straus family.
In the early 70’s I was attending UH but returned to Moraga during the breaks. The A’s, Warriors, Raiders and Giants all had good teams during that period. Vida definitely was popular and an integral part of multi-talented team.
Yep. There was a really good documentary on the Oakland sports teams of that period (mainly A’s and Raiders) that was on HBO. It was called, “The Rebels of Oakland: The A’s, The Raiders, the 1970’s”. Fun fact: Tom Hanks was a narrator of the movie. He lived in Oakland during that period and was a huge A’s and Raiders fan.
Willie Alexander of the oilers said blue enrolled at Alcorn State and was at camp but didn’t feel like dealing with the coach and left for baseball 
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