time." The Giants were contenders for the pennant most of the season, and they ended the year just three games out of first place; however, in 1964, that was fourth place in a close three-way race. Stoneham fired Dark during the sixth inning of the last game of the season, after the Giants had been eliminated from playoff contention. After his dismissal from the Giants, Dark became a third base coach for the Cubs in 1965. He made it clear to the general manager John Holland that he was not interested in becoming the Cubs' manager, as he found the notion of coaching under a current manager while being readied to replace him "offensive." With a month to go in the season, Dark was hired as an assistant to Kansas City Athletics owner Charlie Finley. After the season, he was named manager of the last-place Athletics, who had lost 103 games in 1965. The ballclub lost 14 of its first 17 games in 1966 but was one game under .500 for the rest of the year, resulting in a 15-game improvement and a seventh-place finish in the ten-team American League. As the season progressed, Dark made sure he utilized the young starting pitchers to get them experience; entering the 1967 season, the Athletics had five starters with an average age of 21.8. Their seventh-place finish in 1966 was Kansas City's finest since Finley had purchased the team, and the grateful owner rewarded Dark with a Cadillac after the season. Their record was not quite as good in 1967, as Dark piloted them to a 52–69 record in their first 131 games. His second season with the Athletics ended in August, due to a disagreement over player discipline after Finley fined and suspended pitcher Lew Krausse Jr. for his behavior on a team flight. Dark believed, after talking to several of the other players, that Krausse had been playing little pranks on Athletics broadcaster Monte Moore, who then falsely reported to Finley that Krausse used "deplorable language" when talking to a pregnant woman on the flight. Because Dark refused to carry out the suspension, Finley asked to see him at his hotel room in Washington, D.C., where the Athletics had gone for a road trip against the Washington Senators. In a seven-hour meeting, Finley fired his manager, decided to rehire him, then fired him again when he was presented with a