World Series champ Sal Bando played college baseball at Arizona State University, winning the 1965 College World Series with the Sun Devils; he was named Most Outstanding Player of the game.

Later that year, he was drafted by the team that was then known as the Kansas City Athletics, prior to their 1968 move to Oakland. With the A's, Bando was a four-time All-Star, named team captain in 1969. He helped lead the team to three consecutive World Series victories in 1972, '73, and '74, and he set an A's record with 192 career home runs that stood until Jose Canseco surpassed it in 1991.

Bando on the '70s success of the A's "When you play 162 games, you don't win by the default or you had a good streak going, you win because you were good for a long period of time. I think the reason we were successful beside having good players, we had a nucleus of guys who were very good and were the heart of the ballclub." -from a 2021 interview with Bob Fox

In 1976, Bando signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent. He played for the Brewers until 1981, then immediately became a special assistant to the team's general manager. He was promoted to general manager in 1991 and remained with the team until 1999.