Charlie O’s unrefusable offer — Sept. 17, 1964
It took one of baseball’s biggest personalities – and a staggering amount of money — to convince the Beatles to abandon a rare day off during their ’64 U.S. tour. But when A’s owner Charlie O. Finley repeatedly increased his bid to $150,000 for a concert at Municipal Stadium — tripling his original offer that was already higher than the band’s regular rate — the Beatles couldn’t refuse. Finley took a loss as the Beatles first performance at a ballpark drew only 20,207 fans, far short of capacity.
Maybe Finley just wanted to consider the show an investment. After all, as he had imprinted on the back of the ticket, “Today’s Beatles fans are tomorrow’s baseball fans.”
Echoes of the visit reverberate after every Royals win at Kauffman Stadium, where the Beatles’ cover of “Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey” is played in celebration.