KANSAS CITY, Nov. 18--Bob Elliott, 42, manager of Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League and former major league outfield-third baseman, was signed today to manage the Kansas City Athletics.

Elliott succeeds Harry Craft, who piloted the A's to seventh-place finishes in 1958 and 1959. Craft was fired at the end of the 1959 season, but has taken a job in the club's player development program.