WALTER HAAS, JR., DIES AS HIS TEAM IS SET TO CHANGE HANDS

     Walter Haas, Jr., the patriarch of the family that owned
Levi Strauss & Co. and the Managing Partner of the A's since
buying the team from Charlie Finley in '80, died yesterday of
cancer at the age of 79.  Haas, whose family has the sold the
team as of November 1, was honored at the Oakland Coliseum Sunday
even though he couldn't attend.  His family was given a standing
ovation and his name was installed on the outfield fence.  A's
star Mark McGwire called Haas the "nicest man who has ever been
put on this earth."  In San Francisco, columnist C.W. Nevius
writes, "The death of Walter A. Haas yesterday leaves the world
of sports one gentleman short, and there are no good prospects in
the farm system. ... My guess is that [Hass] was the last of a
breed, the beloved owner" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/21).