Haas was the owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball club , acquiring the team from Charles O. Finley in August 1980 for less than $ 13 million . The acquisition was to prevent the team from moving , as Finley had wanted to sell to industrialist Marvin Davis , who planned to move the team to Denver . Under Haas ' ownership , the Athletics won five American League West Division titles ( the first in 1981 and the last in 1992 , advancing to three consecutive World Series between 1988 and 1990 , defeating the cross-bay rival San Francisco Giants in 1989 in a sweep marred only by the infamous Loma Prieta earthquake )
Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Walter A. Haas Jr.