A's last game at Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland A's final game at the Oakland Coliseum will now go down in history.

The A's played their first game at the Coliseum in 1968, losing 4-1 to the Baltimore Orioles. The A's have now made up for that with a win in their last game at the Oakland Coliseum.

Even before the game began, it was clear that this would be no ordinary baseball game as the A's took on Texas. The first pitch was rejected by A's Dave Stewart and Ricky Henderson.

Matt Irish brought his young son Andrew to watch his first A game.

“First and last, unfortunately,” Irish said. “We flew up this morning to show him the last game and it’s heartbreaking. But it is what it is.”

Throughout the game, the Coliseum was filled with chants of “Let’s go to Oakland.” Alternating with “Sell the team”.

It was a memorable game for everyone, but 18-year-old Ari Fendel proved he was there: A foul ball was plucked out of the air early in the game.

“I can’t believe I’m so lucky that this happened to me,” Fendel said. “Look at the fans, look at how many people came. We love baseball in Oakland. There’s nothing like it, it’s beautiful.”

While all eyes were on the field, there were the usual sights and sounds for A's fans between innings. The musician John Souls has been playing here repeatedly for 20 years.

“Very sad,” Soulis said. “I don’t want it to be a wake, I want it to be happy. But not good. Not good at all.”

After the game, the pitcher's mound is dismantled as A's head groundsman Clay Wood looks on.

Wood has been with the A's for more than 30 years.

“It’s that green-gold blood that you develop over the years; That’s definitely the hard part,” he said.

Wood said home plate was removed so she could be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Wood told KTVU that he started working for the A's when he was 19 years old.

His future is uncertain as he and many others lose their jobs.

“It was definitely a tough day. Just everything about it. Almost like a death in the family… a rollercoaster ride all day, but great game, great crowd. It's been a great run for 30 years. “There’s so much to be grateful for,” Wood said.

Fans stayed long after the game, enjoying the finality of this moment in history.

As every baseball fan knows, music is a part of the game, and in the 7th inning, fans in this ballpark stood to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” one last time.

Fans say this Colosseum is more than just a stadium.

“I had to be here because this is my second home,” Holly Magno said. “I met friends here. I have friends that I only know here. It’s heartbreaking.”

Finally, the game ended in the bottom of the 9th with the A's down by one. A few fans stormed onto the pitch but were attacked by security personnel.

Then a few items were thrown away, delaying the end of the game by a few minutes until the final pitch.

The A's rewarded the fans with a 3-2 win.

Manager Mark Kotsay thanked the fans in an emotional farewell.

“Thank you to everyone who loves the sport of baseball,” Kotsay said. “Thank you everyone for your lifelong support of the Oakland A’s.”

KTVU's Amber Lee contributed to this report.