Regional Oral History Office The Bancroft Library Walter A. Haas, Jr. University of California ...

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Regional Oral History Office University of California
The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California
Walter A. Haas, Jr.
LEV1 STRAUSS & CO. EXECUTIVE, BAY AREA PHILANTHROPIST,
AND OWNER OF THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS
With an Introduction by
Roger W. Heyns
Interviews Conducted by
Ann Lage
in 1994
Copyright @ 1995 by The Regents of the University of California
Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has. been interviewing leading
participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of
Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a modern research
technique involving an interviewee and an informed interviewer in spontaneous
conversation. The taped record is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and
clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The resulting manuscript is typed in
final form, indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and
placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and
other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material,
oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete
narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in
response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved,
and irreplaceable.
All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement
between The Regents of the University of California and Walter A.
Haas, Jr. dated December 8, 1994. The manuscript is thereby made
available for research purposes. All literary rights in the
manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The
Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part
of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written
permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University
of California, Berkeley.
Requests for permission to quote for publication should be
addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library,
University of California, Berkeley 94720, and should include
identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated
use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal
agreement with Walter A. Haas, Jr. requires that he be notified of
the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond.
It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows:
Walter A. Haas, Jr., "Levi Strauss & Co.
Executive, Bay Area Philanthropist, and
Owner of the Oakland Athletics," an oral
history conducted in 1994 by Ann Lage,
Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft
Library, University of California,
Berkeley, 1995.
Copy no.
Cataloging information
HAAS, Walter A,, Jr. (b. 1916) Corporate executive
Levi Strauss L Co. Executive, Bay Area Philanthropist, and Owner of the
Oakland Athletics, 1995, viii, 299 pp.
Haas family background; youth, education, friendships in San Francisco;
student experiences at University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard
Business School, 1930s, fellow student Robert McNamara; executive with Levi
Strauss L Co., 1939-1976, chairman of the board, 1971-1986: discusses
critical decisions on personnel and management practices, expanding
marketing and manufacturing, international division, public offering of
stock, diversification, other major executives, including brother Peter
Haas and son Robert D. Haas; fostering corporate social responsibility at
Levi Strauss L Co. and as regional chairman, National Alliance of
Businessmen, 1960s; service on corporate, foundation, and government boards
and commissions, including Trilateral Commission (1980-1988), Ford
Foundation (1970-1982); San Francisco Bay Area philanthropy and community
service: Season of Sharing Fund, Hunters Point Boys' Club, the Guardsmen;
Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund; support for University of California,
Berkeley, athletic programs, Haas School of Business; pleasures of family
life and outdoor recreation; San Francisco clubs: Bohemian, Pacific Union,
the Family, and reflections on club functions and restrictive membership;
ownership of Oakland Athletics baseball team, 1980-1995: management team of
Walter J. Haas, Roy Eisenhardt, Sandy Alderson, Tony La Russa, players,
economics of baseball.
Appended interview with executive assistant Rita Guiney.
Introduction by Roger Heyns, Chancellor, University of California,
Berkeley, 1965-1971; President, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 1977-
1992.
Interviewed 1994 by Ann Lage. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft
Library, University of California, Berkeley.

TABLE OF CONTENTS--Walter A. Haas, Jr.
INTRODUCTION--by Roger Heyns i
INTERVIEW HISTORY--by Ann Lage iv
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION viii
FAMILY BACKGROUND 1
Overview: "A Most Wonderful Life" 1
Parents and Grandparents 6
Homes and Schools and Tennis 8
The Chicken Business and Other Stories 13
Religion and Responsibility 15
Meeting President Herbert Hoover 18
Campfire Stories: Three Generations of Fishing and Packing Trips 19
The Culture Side: Music and Menuhin, and Art and Rivera 2 1
Ansel Adams, and Other Family Friends 2 4
Family Traditions 26
An Appreciative Aside on Evelyn Haas 28
Ira Hirschfield 28
COLLEGE YEARS: UC BERKELEY AND HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL, 1933-1939 30
Cal Friendships and Loyalties, Bowles Hall and Alpha Delta Phi 30
College Tennis, and Academics 32
Levi'sB Jeans, the Uniform of the College Sophomore 3 4
Retrospection on Alumni Support, and on Sports 35
Jewish Identity 3 7
Robert McNamara 3 8
Surviving Harvard Business School 40
Meeting and Marrying Evelyn Danzig 42
Thoughts on Being a Parent 46
Levi Strauss & Co. Seen Through Harvard Eyes 47
The Army: Second Lieutenancy 50
I11 JOINING THE FAMILY BUSINESS, WAR STORIES, AND THE POST-WAR YEARS
Levils@, the Brand Name
Entering the Family Business, Valencia Street, 1939
Milton Grunbaum, and a Lesson
Empathy for the Employees
98 Battery Street, Sales and Shipping
Costs and Competition
People Lessons from the Army
And PX Responsibilities
Entering Management, and Critical Early Hiring Decisions
Discontinuing Wholesaling, and Anticipating Baby Boomers
Differences between Dad and Dan
Expanding, Advertising
Developing Some Early Key Relationships
Integrating Office Staff
Good Coaches Made Good Salesmen
Psychological Testing for Applicants
The Key to the Executive John
IV LEVI STRAUSS & CO. MANAGEMENT, GROWTH, AND PEOPLE, 1950s-1960s
Three Generations in the Family Business
Employee Stock Purchase, and Family Shareholders
Memorable Early Names and Events in Manufacturing and Marketing
A Negotiating Lesson from Walter Haas, Sr.
Expansion to the Eastern Market and Sales Force Rivalries
The Levi's Image, and the Hollywood Factor
Thoughts on Transitions, Growth, and Relationships
Integrating the Work Force in the South, 1950s
Introducing Sta-PrestB
Product Integrity
Evie and the Back-to-School Levits@ Jeans
"Levi's is People": The First International Convention, 1968
"Levi's is People": Remarkable Executives, Remarkable Growth
An Illustration of Personal Management Style
Keys to Success
Art Roth
Me1 Bacharach
Other Key Executives
Howard Friedman
Ed Combs and Frank Brann
The Policy of Controlled Growth
Rita Guiney and the Levi Strauss & Co. Art Collection
Visiting Levi Strauss & Co. Plants and People
An Aside on Advertising
V LEVI STRAUSS & CO.: FOCUS ON THE 1970s
Where the Buck Stopped
Going Public in 1971: Social Responsibility, Pricing, Embracing
Growth
Unanticipated Implications of Going Public
Stories about Levi Strauss & Co. Shares: Nest Eggs and Campus
Radicals
Contributions of Outside Directors
Two Women as Outside Directors
Chairing the Board, 1971-1986
Lawsuit against Company Pricing Policies
Two Headquarters Moves: Embarcadero Center and Levi's Plaza
A Key Decision: Hiring Bob Haas, 1973
"The Kinds of Things We Do": Illustrations of Corporate Culture
and Personal Philosophy
Bonuses in a Billion-Dollar Year, 1975
Valencia Street Factory, Link to the Past
Maverick Philosophy--Corporate Jets and Price Controls
Keeping in Touch with Activist Lawyers
A Lesson in Beard Bias at Cal Business School
"The Fun We Had": Levi's Jeans and Football in Tennessee
VI LEVI STRAUSS INTERNATIONAL
Going International: The Role of Coincidence, Canada and Europe
Management Problems in Europe: Growth Outstrips Controls
Tom Tusher
Robert Grohman
A Tremendous Trademark and Problems with Imitations
Cheetahs in Belgium
Lessons and Company Values in the International Setting
VII REFLECTIONS ON MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND LEVI STRAUSS & CO.
IN THE 1980s
Handling Management Mistakes or Poor Decisions
Recovering from the Debacle in Europe, 1970s
Misjudgments in Women's Wear and Casuals
Sticking with 5018 Jeans
Too Rapid Diversification
Relationship with The Gap
Ramifications of Selling to Sears and Penneys
Painful Plant Closures
"Seat of the Pants" Economics
A CEO with a Marketing Orientation
The Decision to Take Levi Strauss & Co. Private, 1985
The Family Buy Back, a Huge Risk
The Cancelled Olympics of 1980
Request from President Jimmy Carter
Ceremony at the Rose Garden
A Political Maverick, with Minimal Political Involvement
Haas Speeches: Humanizing the Work Force, Computerizing the
Process
VIII CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
A Tradition at Levi Strauss & Co.
Working towards Year-round Employment at Levi Strauss & Co.
Factories: An Early Decision
The National Alliance of Businessmen, 1960s: A Crossroads
Community Involvement Teams
Other Efforts to Contribute to the Community
Corporate Support for Corporate Responsibility
Profit and Loss Statement on Social Responsibility
Women in Management
The Haas Competition at UC Berkeley
A Corporation with a Conscience
IX PUBLIC SERVICE: ON CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION BOARDS, GOVERNMENT
ASSIGNMENTS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
A Limited Role for Outside Directors on Corporate Boards
The Board of Directors1 Role in Managerial Changes: Bank of
America and United Airlines
Evaluating Foreign Aid Projects in Brazil and Mexico 174
The Trilateral Commission, 1980-1988 175
Presidential Task Force on International Development, 1969-1970 176
The Ford Foundation Board: Choosing a New President for the
Foundation 177
Launching the Season of Sharing, 1986 179
Genesis of the Guardsmen, and Their Christmas Tree Sale 182
Helping to Found the Hunters Point Boys' Club, 1960 184
National Park Foundation Board Member, 1990-1994 185
The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund 188
X THE UC BERKELEY CONNECTION: ONGOING SUPPORT FOR THE UNIVERSITY 189
Supporting the Athletic Program 189
A Hands-Off Attitude 19 1
Friendship with Roger Heyns 191
The Berkeley Medal, 1991 193
The Haas School of Business 194
Foundation and Golf: All in Good Fun 196
RECREATION AND RELAXATION 198
Fishing and the Outdoors 198
San Francisco Clubs: Relaxing, Subtle Networking, and Thoughts
on Restrictive Membership 202
The Family 203
The Bohemian Club 204
The Pacific Union Club 205
The Bohemian Club Encampment 207
XI1 OWNING AND ENJOYING THE OAKLAND A'S, 1980-1995
Buying a Sports Team, for Family and Community
Rebuilding the Franchise
Hiring Andy Dolich
Role of Wells Fargo Bank
Haas's Initial Lack of Involvement
Recalling Charlie Finley
Billy Ball
Hiring Tony La Russa, the Final Piece in the Jigsaw Puzzle
In the Locker Room and Meeting Room: Transmitting a Tradition
of Excellence
The A's Management Team: Wally Haas, Roy Eisenhardt, Sandy
Alderson
The Thrills and Satisfactions of Owning the A's
A Sense of Community Service
Reggie Jackson and His Personal Jet
The World Series, 1989
Two Errant Foul Balls
The All-Star Game, 1987
The Economics of Baseball
The Farm System
Implications of Rising Player Salaries
Relations with the City of Oakland; Efforts to Keep the Team
in Oakland
The Giants and the A's: Natural Competitors 228
Some Final Thoughts on Life and Family 228
TAPE GUIDE
APPENDICES
A. Biographical Data
B. Interview with Rita Guiney, November 9, 1994
C. There was Light autobiographical essay by Walter A. Haas, Jr. 265
D. Letter from Me1 Bacharach to Walter A. Haas, Jr., August 2,
1994 on growth of Levi Strauss & Co. 273
E. Haas Competition, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley:
list of topics, 1980-1985; announcement to students
F. San Francisco Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund Report, 1994 279
G. Background on the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and Program
Guidelines, 1995 283
INDEX 293