Historical, Archival Photographs

[Bill Burgess]

-----------------------------------------Some Prominent Team Owners:

Jacob Ruppert, Jr.:

Owner: New York Yankees, 1915 - 1939.

Born: August 5, 1867, NYC
Died: January 13, 1939, NYC, age 71,---d. phlebitis inflamation of veins/cirrhosis

Yankee owner (1915-1939); Was originally a co-owner with Colonel Huston. Used mortgage on Fenway Park to coerce/leverage Red Sox' owner Harry Frazee to "give" his stars away & launch 1st NY dynasty using re-cycled Sox stars, including Everet Scott, Joe Dugan, Babe Ruth, Herb Pennock, Carl Mays, Joe Bush, Sam Jones, Wally Schang, Waite Hoyt, Ernie Shore, Duffy Lewis, Steve O'Neil, GM Ed Barrow.

Ruppert was best owner in baseball. Proves good people make terrible mistakes. "Rape of Red Sox" is worst scandal in baseball, after racism & the reserve clause. Where was Commisssioner Judge Landis? Rejecting pleas for reinstatement from Buck Weaver? Buried Kensico Cemetery, Westchester, CT.

Inherited brewery business from his father. Was 4 term US Congressman from 'Silk Stocking' district of Manhattan, 1898-1906. Hired Miller Huggins behind Colonel Huston's back. Huston despised Huggins, and clash led to Ruppert buying out Huston's interests in June, 1923, for $1,250,000. Colonel Huston was an engineer, and supervised the construction of most of Yankee Stadium, which cost around $3.m.

When Red Sox pitcher, Carl Mays walked off his team in 1919, Ruppert signed him. Precipitated first major clash with AL President Ban Johnson, leading to splitting the AL owners into pro/anti Johnson factions. Ruppert's former political connections aided him in dueling court injunctions over Carl Mays.

Died at his 5th Ave. apartment in Manhattan, NY. Becoming ill with phlebitis of both legs in April of 1938, he did not attend the World Series that year. Complications grew and he died at his Fifth Avenue home with family at his bedside. Jacob died of cirrhosis at the age of 72, an illness brought on by the years of testing the very brew he sold. Was a devout Roman Catholic, confirmed bachelor. At his death, his worth was estimated at between $40-50m, & he gave a third of it to his former actress friend Helen Winthrope Weyant.
----------------------------------------
Jake's Wikipedia page
Jacob Ruppert, Jr. (August 5, 1867 – January 13, 1939), sometimes referred to as Jake Ruppert, was a National Guard colonel; a U.S. Representative from New York; and brewery owner, who went on to own the New York Yankees. Parents Jacob Ruppert and Anna Gillig were of German ethnicity.

Ruppert's 24 years as a Yankee owner saw him build the team from near-moribund to a baseball powerhouse. His own strength as a baseball executive — including his willingness to wheel and deal — was aided by the business skills of general manager Ed Barrow and the forceful field managing of Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy. By the time of his death, the team was well on its way to becoming the most successful in the history of Major League Baseball, and eventually in North American professional sports.

Ruppert inherited the brewing company from his father, Jacob Ruppert, Sr. (1842–1915) and in 1915, upon his father's death and just before Prohibition, he became the company's president. Before that, he had been elected to Congress in 1898. He served in Congress four sequential terms. Other career highlights include serving as president of the Astoria Silk Works.

Ruppert served in the National Guard as colonel only for a short period of time. Despite this, people commonly called him Colonel Ruppert instead of Congressman Ruppert, which may have been a more appropriate title for people to call him.

Ruppert and Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston acquired the Yankees in 1915, from the team's first owners, Frank Farrell and William S. Devery. They hired pitcher Carl Mays from the Boston Red Sox in 1918, and purchased Babe Ruth in 1919. In 1922 Ruppert bought out Huston, and he became the sole owner.

The Yankees dominated baseball throughout a good portion of the 1920s and 1930s, including the Murderers' Row team of 1927. During 1923, the year the Colonel unveiled Yankee Stadium, Huston sold his share of the Yankees but remained a director of the club as vice president and treasurer.

Ruppert and Ruth had public disagreements about Ruth's contracts. Nevertheless, they were personal friends. According to Ruth, Ruppert called him Babe only once, and that was the night before he died. Ruth was one of the last persons to see Ruppert alive.

He died on January 13, 1939 and was interred in Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York.

Legacy
On April 16, 1940, the Yankees dedicated a plaque in Ruppert's memory, to hang on the center field wall of Yankee Stadium, near the flagpole and the monument that had been dedicated to former manager Miller Huggins. The plaque called Ruppert "Gentleman, American, sportsman, through whose vision and courage this imposing edifice, destined to become the home of champions, was erected and dedicated to the American game of baseball." The plaque now rests in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.

An apocryphal story says that Ruppert is responsible for the Yankees' famous pinstriped uniforms; according to this account, Ruppert chose pinstripes in order to make the often-portly Ruth appear less obese, but the uniform was introduced in 1912.

Timeline
1867 Born in New York City, Ruppert attended the Columbia Grammar School
1887 Engaged in the brewing business with his father in 1887
1886 Served as a private in the Seventh Regiment, National Guard of New York until 1889
1890 (circa) He was appointed a colonel on the staff of Gov. David B. Hill, serving as aide-de-camp
1892 He served as senior aide on the staff of Roswell P. Flower till 1895
Was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-sixth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1907). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1906.
He resumed his activities in the brewing business and became president of his father's company in 1915.
He served as president of the United States Brewers Association 1911–1914.
Purchased and became president of the New York Yankees on December 31, 1914, and served in that capacity until his death in New York City, January 13, 1939.
He was interred in Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York.

Jake's bio (left) as it appeared in 1933's Who's Who
in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson.[/B]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1930: Jake Ruppert confers with his new manager, Bob Shawkey.

Owner Jake Ruppert consults with his manager, Miller Huggins, 1918-21.-----------------------------------Jake Ruppert/Miller Huggins, 1927-29.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Colonel Tillinghast L' Hommedieu Huston:

New York Yankees' Co-Owner, with Jacob Ruppert, 1915-1923

Born: July 17, 1867, Buffalo, NY
Died: March 29, 1938, Brunswick, GA, age 71, He is buried at Frederica's Christ Episcopal church Cemetery, St. Simon Island, GA

Co-Owner the New York Yankees; w / Jacob Ruppert, bought team for $480,000. from Frank Farrell & William S. Devery in 1915; Was VP. A civil engineer, contractor & agriculturist, he supervised much of construction of Yankee Stadium, which cost about $3m. Sold his interest to Ruppert (June, 1923) for $1,250,000. Often at odds with Ban Johnson. Got 7 injunctions against him preventing Johnson from suspending Carl Mays. In 1937, offered $1.7m for Dodgers, as head of syndicate. Intended to install night lights. Offer refused. He married Lena Belle Gladstone.

-----------------------April 9, 1915

[Bill Burgess]

Charles Abraham Stoneham:

Owner: New Yorks Giants, 1919-1936

Born: July 5, 1876, Jersey City, NJ
Died: January 6, 1936, age 59, lived in NYC, but died at Hot Springs, Arkansas of Bright's disease.

Charles's bio (below)/photo (side, left) as they appeared in 1933's
Who's Who in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson


1930-32: unidentified, James J. Tierney (Secretary), Charles Stoneham, John McGraw, Eddie Brannick (Assistant Secretary).----1930-32: Stoneham/McGraw.


1926-27: McGraw, Charles Stoneham, unidentified Giants' player, 1926-27------------------------1926-27: McGraw/Stoneham.


1926-27: Stoneham, McGraw, unidentified, James J. Tierney (Secretary).

[Bill Burgess]

Samuel Wilson Breadon---AKA Sam Breadon

Owner: St. Louis Cardinals, January, 1920 - November, 1947

Born: July 26, 1876, NYC
Died: May 10, 1949, St. Louis, MO, age 72,---d. liver cancer for 6 months.

Father: William; Mother: Jane Wilson; Wife: Rachael Wilson, born Kansas, around 1889, died August 23, 1964, St. Louis, MO.

Sam Breadon: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia;
Sam Breadon (July 26, 1876, New York, New York – May 8, 1949, St. Louis, Missouri) was an American executive who served as the president and majority owner of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball from 1920 through 1947. During that time, the Cardinals rose from languishing as one of the National League’s doormats to a premier power in baseball, winning nine NL pennants and six World Series championships.

Breadon moved from Manhattan to St. Louis at the turn of the 20th century. He prospered as the owner of auto dealerships and became a self-made millionaire. In 1917, he also became a minority investor – for $2,000 – in the Cardinals, then a struggling, second-division team chronically strapped for resources. But the club’s enterprising young president, Branch Rickey, discovered that the team could compete successfully against richer opponents by developing its playing talent on an assembly line of minor league teams, from Class D to Class AA, that it owned and controlled. This was the creation of the farm system, perfected by the Cardinals and - when the Redbirds came to dominate the NL - copied by the 15 other major league teams.

Rickey would manage the Cardinals from 1918-25, and Breadon, who had bought out most of his partners to become majority owner, succeeded him as club president in 1920. In the middle of 1925, Breadon moved Rickey into the front office as business manager – general manager in contemporary terms – and promoted star second baseman Rogers Hornsby to playing manager. (Rickey, who worked for Breadon until the end of 1942, enjoyed wide-ranging authority – but Breadon would always reserve the right to choose the team’s field manager.)

In 1926, the Redbirds won their first pennant and first world championship. Under Breadon, they again would rule the baseball world in 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944 and 1946, with NL pennants also earned in 1928, 1930 and 1943. They would feature such all-time great players as Jim Bottomley, Chick Hafey, Dizzy Dean, Pepper Martin, Frankie Frisch, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize, Enos Slaughter, Marty Marion and Stan Musial. And, with their on-field success and the advent of radio, they would develop a fanatical regional following, their appeal extending beyond Missouri and throughout the lower Midwest, Arkansas, Louisiana, the Great Plains states and much of the Southwest.

In November 1947, Breadon sold the Cardinals to prominent St. Louisans Robert Hannegan and Fred Saigh for $3 million. He died 18 months later, from cancer.

Sam's bio (below)/photo (right) as they
appeared in 1933's Who's Who
in Major League Baseball, edited by
Harold (Speed) Johnson.-----------------------------------------------------------------1930-----------------1933---------------------------------1930.


--------------------------------Missouri Death Certificate.

[Bill Burgess]

Bernhard (Barney) Dreyfuss

Owner: Pittsburgh Pirates, 1900 - 1932

Born: February 23, 1865, Freiburg, Baden, Germany
Died: February 5, 1932, Pittsburgh, PA, age 66

Born Germany, Jewish, Arrived US (1881), prior to buying Pirates in 1900, He owned the Louisville Colonels in NL 1899.
d. after contracting pneumonia following prostate surgery, while in NYC, buried in West View Cemetery, Pittsburgh, PA

Barney Dreyfuss: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss (February 23, 1865 – February 5, 1932) was a German-Jewish-American executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to 1932. He is often credited with the creation of the modern baseball World Series. He also built in 1909 baseball's first modern steel and concrete baseball park, Forbes Field.

Dreyfuss was born in Freiburg, Germany as the son of Samuel Dreyfuss, who was a U.S. citizen since about 1861. After training in a bank in Karlsruhe he emigrated in 1881 to the U.S. to escape conscription. In the U.S. he lived and worked with the Bernheim family in Paducah, Kentucky. The Bernheims were relatives over his grandfather Leon Bernheim. In 1888 he moved with the Bernheim family to Louisville, Kentucky. Dreyfuss became president of the Louisville Colonels team in 1899, and moved to the Pirates one year later when the league contracted from 12 teams to 8. Under his ownership, the Pirates won 6 pennants and two World Series championships (1909, 1925), finishing below fourth place only four times.

Dreyfuss died at age 66 in New York City. He is buried in West View Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

--Barney's bio/photo (right) as they appeared in 1933's Who's Who
in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson.-------------------------------------------1931


--------------------------------------------------------------------
Florence (Wolf) Dreyfuss

owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, February 5, 1932 - August 8, 1946

Born: March 31, 1872, Louisville, KY
Died: May 12, 1950, Pittsburgh, PA, age 78

Florence married Barney October 16, 1894. She inherited the Pittsburgh Pirates' team upon his death, February 5, 1932, and sold the team August 8, 1946, to group headed by Frank McKinney of Indianapolis, which included famed entertainer, Bing Crosby, who was made VP, for an estimated $2.75 million dollars.


August 24, 1946: Frank McKinney, Tom P. Johnson, Mrs. Dreyfuss, Sam E. Watters, Bill Benswanger, unidentified.
Ownership change from the Dreyfuss family to the Galbreath group led by McKinney.

[Bill Burgess]

William K. Wrigley, Jr.

Owner: Chicago Cubs, 1921 - 1932

Born: September 30, 1862, Philadelphia, PA
Died: January 26, 1932, age 70, Phoenix, AZ, heart ailment, buried Catalina Is.

minority stockholder in Cubs (1916). By 1921, sole owner. Made his fortune selling his Wrigley gum.
Turned over gum business to son Phillip in 1923, who also inherited Cubs upon his Dad's death in 1932.

William Wrigley Jr.: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
He was a U.S. chewing gum industrialist. He was founder and eponym of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Wrigley played an instrumental role in the history of Catalina Island, off the shore of Los Angeles, California. He bought the island in 1919 and improved the island with public utilities, new steamships, a hotel, the Casino building, and extensive plantings of trees, shrubs and flowers. However, William Wrigley Jr.'s greatest legacy was his plan for the future of Catalina Island — that it remain protected for all generations to enjoy. He established the Catalina Island Conservancy for this, and he is honored with the Wrigley Memorial in the Wrigley Botanical Gardens on the island.

Wrigley was also owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which held its annual spring training on Catalina Island. Wrigley Field, the Cubs' ballpark in Chicago, is named for the owner. The now-demolished former home of the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League, at that time the Cubs' top farm team, was also called Wrigley Field. He purchased the Chicago Cubs from Albert Lasker in 1925.[1] Note that this conflicts with List of managers and owners of the Chicago Cubs.

The Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona was partially financed, then wholly owned, by Wrigley, who finished the nearby Wrigley Mansion as a winter cottage in 1931. At 16,000 square feet it was the smallest of his five residences.

Wrigley left his fortune to daughter Dorothy Wrigley Offield, and son, P.K. Wrigley, who continued to run the company businesses for the next 45 years until his death.

His great-grandson William Wrigley, Jr. II is the executive-chairman and ex CEO of the Wrigley Company.

William's bio/photo (below left) as they appeared in 1933's
Who's Who in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson

----------------------------------------------------------------April 24, 1930, watching his team practice.

[Bill Burgess]

Philip De Catesby Ball:

Owner: St. Louis Browns, January, 1917 - 1932

Born: October 22, 1864, Keokuk, IA
Died: October 22, 1933, St. Louis, MO, age 69,---d. Buried Bellefontaine cemetery, St. Louis, MO

Father: Charles J.; Mother: Caroline Parkison; Wife: Harriet R., born Indiana, February, 1866. Married Philip around 1886. Daughter: Margaret Ball Cady, born Texas, May, 1890 , died, June 12, 1951, St. Louis, MO, of cancer, age 62, wife of William R. Cady.

In 1916, Robert Lee Hedges sold the Browns to Philip DeCatesby Ball, who owned the St. Louis Terriers in the by-then-defunct Federal League. Philip de Catesby Ball, ice-manufacturing tycoon and principal stockholder of the Feds' St. Louis Terriers, pays a reported $525,000 for the Browns and replaces manager Branch Rickey with his own Fielder Jones.

Four years later, Ball allowed the Cardinals to move out of dilapidated Robison Field and share Sportsman's Park with the Browns. This move was one of many that eventually doomed the Browns; Cardinals owner Sam Breadon and general manager Branch Rickey (a former Browns manager) used the proceeds from the Robison Field sale to build baseball's first modern farm system--which eventually produced several star players that brought the Browns more drawing power than the Cardinals.

The 1922 Browns excited their owner by almost beating the Yankees to a pennant. The club was boasting the best players in franchise history, including future Hall of Famer George Sisler, and an outfield trio - Ken Williams, Baby Doll Jacobson, and Jack Tobin - that batted .300 or better in 1919-23 and in 1925. In 1922, Williams became the first player in Major League history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season, something that would not be done again in the Majors until 1956.

Ball confidently predicted that there would be a World Series in Sportsman's Park by 1926. In anticipation, he increased the capacity of his ballpark from 18,000 to 30,000. There was a World Series in Sportsman's Park in 1926 - the Cardinals upset the Yankees. St. Louis had been considered a "Browns' town" until then; after 1926 the Cardinals dominated St. Louis baseball, while still technically tenants of the Browns. Meanwhile, the Browns rapidly fell into the cellar. As well as winning the World Series, St. Louis evolved to a "Cardinals'" town.

Phil's bio/photo (right) as they appeared in 1933's
Who's Who in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson


--------------Missouri Death Certificate.

[Bill Burgess]

Emil Edwin Fuchs: AKA Judge Fuchs

Owner: Boston Braves, February, 1923 - 1936

Born: April 17, 1878, NYC
Died: December 5, 1961, Boston, MA, age 83---d. after 10 week illness

President (1927-35), Managed his own team in 1929. Lost over $1m during his tenure. Formerly a wealthy NYC attorney, he paid $550,000. for his team, and was $300,000. in debt when he sold the team. Although not required to legally, he later paid off the debts. Had been a NYC magistrate (1915-1918). Graduated NYU law school.

Signing Babe Ruth for his Boston Braves, February 26, 1935. Colonel Jake Ruppert on the right.


------------------------------------------------Conferring with his team manager, Bill McKechnie, 1930-36

[Bill Burgess]

Philip Knight Wrigley:

Owner: Chicago Cubs, 1932 - 1977

Born: December 5, 1894, Elkhorn, WI
Died: April 12, 1977, Elkhorn, WI, age 82

Father: William Wrigley, born September 30, 1862, Philadelphia, PA, died: January 26, 1932, Phoenix, AZ; Mother: Ada E., born New York, around 1864, died December 16, 1959, Pasadena, CA.

Inherited Wrigley gum business (1923) & Cubs team (1932) from father; refused to install lights at his ballpark, only park without nightgames. Avoided limelight. Incredibly honest, generous. Loved baseball with all his heart.

Took over the reigns from his father as president of the Cubs in 1932 and remained in that role until his death in 1977…His teams won four NL pennants (1932, '35, '38 and '45)…Known for being generous to his players…Given credit for keeping Wrigley Field free of lights during his lifetime…Instituted the Chicago experimental laboratory program, the first such baseball school…Initiated use of loudspeakers so that fans could hear the lineup changes and other announcements…Insisted that some tickets be made available every day for walk-up purchases by fans…Installed scoreboard that showed ball-strike count, as well as hit/error decisions…Instituted the AAGPBL (All-American Girl's Professional Baseball League), the immensely successful women's hardball league, which played during and after WWII.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philip K. Wrigley: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Knight Wrigley sometimes also called P.K. or Phil. Born in Chicago, he was an American chewing gum manufacturer and executive in Major League Baseball, inheriting both those roles as the quiet son of his much more flamboyant father, William Wrigley Jr. After his father died in 1932, Philip presided over the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, and also the family hobby, the Chicago Cubs, as owner until his death. He passed the title of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company President to his son William Wrigley III in 1961.

While the gum industry prospered, the Cubs grew less competitive over the decades, with a brief flurry of success (although no championship) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although resisting installing lights at Wrigley Field, he was innovative in other ways. In 1961 he abolished the traditional field management/coaching structure and instead hired a "college of coaches". This anticipated the specialization of coaches that is taken for granted nowadays. His one mistake was in rotating the various coaches as a "head coach", an approach that confused the team and invited constant media ridicule, largely due to the lack of apparent improvement in the team's won-lost ratio. However, many young players came through that system, and they were ready to play at a notably improved level soon after Wrigley made one of his best decisions, when he dropped the head coach idea and hired Leo Durocher as the manager in 1966.

During World War II, Wrigley founded the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League as a promotional sideline to maintain interest in baseball as the World War II military draft was depleting major-league rosters of first-line players. The AAGPBL was immortalized in the 1992 film A League of Their Own.

Like his father, P.K. was a strong believer in maximizing media coverage. Starting in the 1920s, the Cubs' games were covered extensively on the radio, sometimes by competing stations at the same time, for minimal fees. In the post-World War II era, when baseball was booming, Wrigley continued this practice, allowing WGN-TV to carry all the home games as well as a significant number of road games. Some owners were aghast at Wrigley's "giving away the product", but it paid manifold dividends in the long run, as the evolution of WGN-TV into a superstation developed a truly nationwide fan base for the Cubs, which has resulted in nearly constant sellout crowds at "Beautiful Wrigley Field", regardless of the fortunes of the team at a given time.

P.K. was a fairly visible presence with the Cubs in his younger years, but was seldom witnessed attending games during his final few decades of ownership, making his presence known mostly through memos and sometimes full-page newspaper ads. Early 70s utility player Pete LaCock was best known for being the son of TV personality Peter Marshall and for his unique sense of humor. The Sporting News once reported that he had made a trip to the Wrigley Building and asked for an audience with Mr. Wrigley. P.K. asked him what he wanted, and LaCock answered, "Nothing. I just wanted to see if you really exist!"

After the deaths of himself and his wife, his son William III took over both enterprises. The Cubs were sold to the Chicago Tribune company in 1981, ending over 60 years of Wrigley association with the team, save the name of the ballpark itself, which remains Wrigley Field.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------October 17, 1951

Phil's bio as it appeared in 1933's Who's Who in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson, pp. 50.

[Bill Burgess]

William Louis Veeck, Sr. (rhymes with wreck)

Owner: Chicago Cubs, 1918 - 1933

Born: January 20, 1878, Boonvelle, IN
Died: October 5, 1933, Chicago, IL, age 55---d. influenza/leukemia

Louisville sports writer, Chicago President (1918-33)

Bill's bio/photo (below) 1933's Who's Who in Major League Baseball,
edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson, pp. 50.----------------------------L-R: Tom Shibe, Judge Landis, William L. Veeck, September 10, 1929


Saturday, February 25, 1933 Catalina Island, CA: William Veeck, Chicago Cubs president,
talks things over with Cubs Manager Jolly Cholly Grimm as spring training begins.

[Bill Burgess]

Clark Calvin Griffith:

Owner: Washington Senators, 1920 - 1955

Born: November 20, 1869, Clear Creek, MO
Died: October 27, 1955, Wash. DC, age 85

ML pitcher (1891-1914)
New York Highlanders' manager, (1903 - 1908)
Cincinnati Reds' manager, (1909 - 1911)
Washington Senators' manager (1912-20)

Wife: Ann Robertson Griffith, born Scotland in November, 1876, died October 13, 1957 in Washington, DC. Her family immigrated to US in 1880.

Clark Griffith: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clark Calvin Griffith nicknamed "the Old Fox", was a Major League Baseball pitcher (1891 - 1914), manager (1901 - 1920) and team owner (1920 - 1955).

Griffith entered the American Association in 1891, pitching 226 ⅓ innings and winning 14 games for the St. Louis Browns and Boston Reds. He began the following season with the Chicago Colts, and in 1894 began a string of six consecutive seasons with 20 or more victories, compiling a 21-14 record and 4.92 ERA. Griffith lowered his ERA over the following years to a low of 1.88 in 1898, the lowest mark in the league.

Griffith won 20 games for his 7th and final time in 1901 as a member of the Chicago White Stockings in the nascent American League; it was also the first year he assumed managerial duties. His success extended beyond his own play as the White Stockings won the AL title with an 83-53 record.

Griffith phased out of playing in the following years while taking the managerial helm of the New York Highlanders (1903 - 1908), Cincinnati Reds (1909 - 1911) and Washington Senators (1912 - 1920). He finished his managerial career with a 1491-1367 record. His 1491 wins ranked 19th all-time as of 2005.

Griffith owned the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955, during which time he became known for his dislike of night games and also for his faith in young players. He twice entrusted 27-year-old players to manage his teams (Bucky Harris in 1924 and Joe Cronin in 1933). Griffith's wagers appeared to pay off, as the Senators won the pennant in both years under their new youthful managers.

One of Griffith's most trusted friends and respected scouts was Joe Engel, who he placed in charge of the Chattanooga Lookouts at Engel Stadium. Engel was the first to scout Cronin for the club and said, "I knew I was watching a great player. I bought Cronin at a time he was hitting .221. When I told Clark Griffith what I had done, he screamed, "You paid $7,500 for that bum? Well, you didn't buy him for me. You bought him for yourself. He's not my ballplayer - he's yours. You keep him and don't either you or Cronin show up at the ballpark." Cronin became the best player on the World Series winning Senators club in the early 1930s and even married Griffith's niece.

When Griffith died, ownership of the club passed into the hands of his adopted son, Calvin Griffith, who led the charge to have the club moved to Minnesota and become the Twins.

Clark Griffith was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.

Some of his player photos

Clark's bio from 1933's Who's Who in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson, pp. 44.-------------------------------------------1933


------------------------------------------------1911-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1906


around 1908-------------------------------------------------------Clark Griffith family, November 24, 1925, Washington, DC

[Bill Burgess]

Frank Joseph Navin:

Owner: Detroit Tigers, 1904 - 1935

Born: April 18, 1871, Adrian, MI,
Died: November 13, 1935, Detroit, MI, age 64.---d. Suffered heart attack while horse-riding.

Wife: Grace Shaw, born around 1879, died October 27, 1960, Detroit, MI.

Detroit Tigers' owner (1908-35); Became half-owner (1907), Started as a bookkeeper/cashier in Detroit state insurance agency. Later, entered law office of his brother, Thomas J. Navin, and took law classes. Admitted to Michigan state bar. In 1903, asked to help run Detroit club for owner, S. F. Angus. He purchased $5,000. worth of stock in club, when Bill Yawkey bought team. Navin became almost half-owner in 1907.

Bill Yawkey was the owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1903 to 1919. Hew inherited the team from his father, William Yawkey Sr., who had bought it earlier that year. Yawkey only had a limited interest in running the club, and let President Frank Navin handle most matters. He sold Navin almost half of the club in 1908, and receded completely into the background after that, although he remained the Tigers' principal owner.

He was the uncle and adoptive father of Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey. He died at age 43, a victim of the influenza epidemic of 1919. After his death, Frank Navin bought out from Yawkey's estate the small amounts of share required for him to become the controlling owner, while the remainder of the shares were sold to Walter Briggs and John Kelsey, two businessmen who had made their fortune in the automobile industry.
------------------------
Frank Navin: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank Joseph Navin was an American accountant, lawyer, and professional sports owner. He was the principal owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1908 to 1935. He also served as vice president and acting president of the American League.

Born in Adrian, Michigan, Navin was one of nine children of Irish immigrants. He attended the Detroit College of Law and worked as both a lawyer and accountant. Navin became president of the Detroit Tigers in 1903 and rose to principal club owner on January 9, 1908. Some of his key acquisitions included Ty Cobb, Hughie Jennings, and Mickey Cochrane, which helped the Tigers win five American League pennants (1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, and 1935) and a World Series championship in 1935. In 1912, he established Navin Field, named it after himself. He partially sold the club to Walter Briggs.

Navin died at age 64 in Detroit, Michigan, one month after the Tigers won their first championship title. He had been riding one of his horses at the Detroit Riding and Hunt Club when he suffered a heart attack. Navin was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan where the family mausoleum was decorated by Corrado Parducci and is guarded by two tigers by American animalier Frederick Roth.

Bibliography: Burton, Clarence. "Frank J. Navin," The City of Detroit, Michigan: 1701-1922, vol. III. Detroit: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1922. pp. 772-75

Frank's bio/photo (below left) as they appeared in 1933's Who's Who in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson, pp. 36.


-------Owner Frank Navin, 1933


Conferring with his manager, Ty Cobb, 1921-22, Navin Field, Detroit.


Frank Navin, Judge Landis, Mickey Cochrane: September 5, 1934.------------------------------------------------------------September 21, 1935: Frank Navin, Judge Landis.


With Ty Cobb, signing his 1911 contract.

[Bill Burgess]

Thomas Austin Yawkey:

Owner: Boston Red Sox, February, 1933 - 1976

Born: February 21, 1903, Detroit, MI
Died: July 9, 1976, Boston, MA, age 73, d. leukemia, cremated, ashes scattered over Winyah Bay, SC
------------------------
Tom Yawkey: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas Austin Yawkey, born Thomas Austin (February 21, 1903 - July 9, 1976), was an American industrialist and Major League Baseball executive. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Yawkey became president of the Boston Red Sox in 1933, and was the sole owner of the team for 44 seasons, longer than anyone in baseball history.

He purchased a struggling team after the infamous Babe Ruth transaction, dedicating his time and finances for the rest of his life to building winning teams. His teams' best seasons occurred in 1946, 1967 and 1975 when the Red Sox captured the American League pennant, and then went on to lose each World Series in seven games against the St. Louis Cardinals (1946, 1967) and Cincinnati Reds (1975). He would never achieve his ultimate goal of winning a World Series championship.

Charges of racism
Yawkey has been accused of being a racist for his apparent reluctance to employ African American players with the Red Sox, including passing on signing Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson. It was not until 1959 that the Red Sox became the last Major League team to field an African American player (Pumpsie Green), 12 years after Robinson's rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers (and almost three years after Robinson's retirement in 1956).

Legacy
Yawkey was a generous and popular man and proved a strong voice in major league councils. He also served as American League vice president between 1956 and 1973. He died in Boston at 73 years of age; his wife, Jean R. Yawkey, became president of the club following his death. The street in Boston that Fenway Park is on, Yawkey Way, is named after him.

A chain of islands off the coast of Georgetown, South Carolina make up the Yawkey Heritage Preserve, a nature preserve formed from land willed to the DNR by Tom Yawkey. It consists of North and South Islands and a majority of Cat Island. [4]

Tom Yawkey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.

References
Bryant, Howard. Shut Out: Race and Baseball in Boston, New York: Routledge, 2002
Halberstam, David. Summer of '49, New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989
Shaughnessy, Dan. The Curse of the Bambino, New York: Penguin Books, 1991

Tom's bio/photo, 1933's Who's Who in Major League Baseball,
edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson, pp. 30. -----------------------------1933


Ted Williams signing contract, February 3, 1956: $110,000.


October 3, 1946: Tom Yawkey and Joe Cronin Watching Ball Game

Tom Yawkey (l) and Joe Cronin (c), respective owner and club manager of the
Boston Red Sox, watch the Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals at Ebbets
Field during Game 2 of the 1946 National League Championships. The two men are
scouting for the Sox, for the winner of the NL Championships will meet the Red Sox
in the World Series.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1940: Tom Yawkey / Eddie Collins (Red Sox GM)

[Bill Burgess]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------The Shibe Family

Benjamin Franklin Shibe:

Co-Owner: Philadelphia Athletics, 1901 - 1922

Born: January 28, 1838, Philadelphia, PA
Died: January 14, 1922, Philadelphia, PA, age 83

Sporting News' Obituary, by James C. Isaminger, January 19, 1922, pp. 2.
GetImage.pdf

Benjamin F. Shibe (January 23, 1838 - January 14, 1922) was an American executive in Major League Baseball who was half-owner of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 until his death. Frank Leonardo Hough was a 25% owner until he died September 15, 1913. He then sold his shares to Connie Mack.

He is credited with the invention of the machinery to make standard baseballs. Shibe Park was named in his honor from 1909 to 1954, at which time it was re-named Connie Mack Stadium.

Partner of Al Reach in sporting goods, bought into the Philadelphia baseball franchise, when AL first formed in 1901.

Ben Shibe: December 16, 1910

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Stevenson Shibe: (son of Ben)

Owner: Philadelphia Athletics, January 14, 1922 - February 16, 1936

Born: January 13, 1866, New Jersey
Died: February 16, 1936, Philadelphia, PA, age 70
Buried: West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Montgomery County, PA[/B]

Tom inherited both the club/Reach company upon the death of his father, Ben in 1922.

Tom came into the AL in 1901 when he bought stock in the Athletics their first year in the AL.

However, the Shibes controlled the Reach company, makers of sporting goods and athletic equipment, and Tom turned over to his brother John the general management of the ball club.

He played amateur ball until 1891, and until 1918, put on a uniform and worked out with the Athletics on their training trips.

Since his concern made the baseballs used in the AL, he contended that the over-abundance of home runs was due to a decline in pitching, shorter fences and freer swingers.

Tom was a member of the Penn Athletic club, the Merchants' and Manufacturers' and other clubs in Philadelphia.

2 shots of Tom Shibe.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Virginia Shibe: (wife of Thomas)

Owner: Philadelphia Athletics, July 11, 1937 - August 30, 1950

Born: June 17, 1871, Pennsylvania
Died: May 13, 1952, Philadelphia, PA (Germantown), age 71[/B]

Ida inherited the club upon the death of her brother-in-law, John, in 1937. She sold the Athletics club to the Mack brothers, Roy/Earle, August 30, 1950, thus finally ending the Shibe family's interests in the Athletics. She had bequeathed some of her stock to her children, and those interests were also included in the Mack buyout of the Shibes.

Roy/Earle Mack paid a total of $1,750,000. to acquire full ownership rights to the Athletics. Included in the buyout were Mrs. Connie Mack, Sr., Connie Jr., the heirs of the Shibes; Ida Shibe, Mrs. Mary Reach, Mrs. Elfrida Macfarland, and her 2 sons; Benjamin S., and Frank S. Macfarland.

-------------------Tom Shibe------------------------------Tom Shibe------------------------Ida Shibe---------------------Ida Shibe

------------------------------------------------------
John D. Shibe: (son of Ben)

Owner: Philadelphia Athletics, February 16, 1936 - July 11, 1937

Born: November 20, 1873, Philadelphia, PA
Died: July 11, 1937, Philadelphia, PA, age 71---d. pneumonia[/B]

John inherited the club upon the death of his brother Tom in 1936.

The younger son of Ben, who died in 1922, John was vice-president and secretary of the Athletics. He was in charge as GM of the business end of the club.

He spent a small fortune on speed boat racing. For years he tried to win the American cup, but never succeeded. His friends called him the Thomas Lipton of speed boating.

He devoted his time to the business management and left the league affairs to his brother, Tom and Connie Mack. At the close of seasons, he turned his attention to hunting. He was associated with the Athletics since 1901.

--------------------------John Shibe--------------------------------------John Shibe

[Bill Burgess]

John Tomlinson Brush:

Owner: New York Giants, 1903 - 1912

Born: June 15, 1845, Clintonville, NY
Died: November 26, 1912, St. Charles, MO, age 67

Originally owned Cincinnati baseball franchise & was a stock holder of the New York Giants baseball franchise. He also owned Indianapolis of the minor American League.
----------------------------------------------------------
John T. Brush: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Tomlinson Brush was an American sports executive who was the owner of the New York Giants franchise in Major League Baseball from 1890 until his death. He also owned the Indianapolis Hoosiers in the late 1880s, and the Cincinnati Reds from 1891 to 1902. Under his leadership, the Giants were revived as a franchise after a decline during the 1890s. Brush was also a leader in the formation of the rules that govern the modern World Series. He was one of 11 executives who were honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame on a Roll of Honor in 1946.

Born in Clintonville, New York, Brush was orphaned at age 4 and was raised by his grandfather until he left to enter business college at age 17. During the Civil War he enlisted in the First New York Artillery in 1863, and after the war's end he went into business running clothing stores in Albany, Troy and Lockport, New York. He moved to Indianapolis in 1875, eventually opening a department store, and became involved in local baseball as a means of promoting his store. He built a ballpark in 1882, and it became home to the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the American Association for their only major league season in 1884; they played in the Western League before that circuit folded after the 1885 campaign.

When the National League put the St. Louis Maroons franchise up for sale after the 1886 season, Brush bought it and relocated the team to Indianapolis. He renovated his ballpark, adding a special celebrity box which attracted such figures as President Benjamin Harrison, poet James Whitcomb Riley, and future novelist Booth Tarkington. In 1888 he offered a tryout to Bud Fowler, but ultimately decided not to challenge the sport's color line. Brush also devised a salary scale system which was designed to curtail player salaries, a move which helped contribute to the breakaway Players League in 1890.

When the Indianapolis team folded after the 1889 season, Brush was compensated with $67,000 and a share of the Giants franchise, along with a promise of the next available team; he quickly acquired the Reds club after its financial collapse during the three-league competition of 1890. Instead of relocating, he kept the team in Cincinnati, and survived a challenge from a short-lived American Association competitor, the Cincinnati Porkers. Brush frequently was at odds with sportswriter Ban Johnson of the city's Commercial Gazette, and in an attempt to reduce the writer's local influence he helped Johnson become president of the new Western League – a move which eventually backfired when the league achieved major status as the American League in 1901, with Johnson remaining as president.

As chairman of the NL's executive committee, Brush took a lead role in combating the AL, joining with Giants majority owner Andrew Freedman to sabotage the AL's Baltimore club by offering the managing jobs of the New York and Cincinnati teams to John McGraw and Joe Kelley respectively; Baltimore was forced to relocate to New York after 1902, eventually becoming the New York Yankees. The acrimony also contributed to controversy in the selection of a new NL president in 1902, as the Giants supported incumbent president Nicholas Young against Albert Spalding, who favored better relations with the AL; in the deadlock, both candidates were forced to withdraw, with Harry Pulliam being selected as a compromise choice. Freedman left baseball shortly thereafter, with Brush taking over as majority owner and team president, selling his interest in the Reds for $180,000 to a group headed by Garry Herrmann. When the Giants won the 1904 NL pennant, Brush refused to allow the team to meet Boston's defending champions in the World Series due to his animosity toward Johnson; a permanent agreement between the leagues was eventually made after meeting some of Brush's conditions, and the Giants won the 1905 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics.

However, Brush's health deteriorated quickly after becoming majority owner in 1902, as he suffered from locomotor ataxia, a nervous system affliction, as well as rheumatism. The Giants won another pennant in 1911, the same year in which he oversaw the reconstruction of the Polo Grounds. Brush attended World Series games as the team again advanced in 1912, but his failing health was apparent, particularly in the aftermath of an auto accident that September 11 in which his car was struck by a truck and overturned, causing two broken ribs. After the Series he left by train to recuperate in California, but died in his private car near Louisiana, Missouri; his car was detached and rerouted to St. Louis, and his body was returned to Indianapolis. His funeral was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, with accompanying Masonic rites. He was succeeded as Giants president by his son-in-law, Harry Hempstead.

References
Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia (2000). Kingston, NY: Total/Sports Illustrated. ISBN 1-892129-34-5.
Reach Official American League Base Ball Guide (1913). Philadelphia, PA: A.J. Reach Co.
Allen, Lee. The National League Story (1961). New York, NY: Hill & Wang.
Allen, Lee. The American League Story (1962). New York, NY: Hill & Wang.

BaseballLibrary
SABR biography
New York Times obituary
Indiana Historical Society: John T. Brush Collection
John T. Brush - A Power in BaseballPDF (34.3 KiB) - by John B. Foster
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T._Brush"

article: John Brush by John Saccoman

A sufferer from locomotor ataxia, a painful disease of the nervous system that caused him to walk with two canes, John T. Brush was a successful retail magnate who owned the New York Giants from 1903 until his death in 1912. Though the Giants became the most valuable franchise in professional sports during his tenure, and he was generally regarded as the most influential magnate in the National League's executive sessions, Brush was not well-liked by players or the press. "Chicanery is the ozone which keeps his old frame from snapping," wrote one critic, "and dark-lantern methods the food which vitalizes his bodily tissues."

John Tomlinson Brush (some suggested the T stood for "Tooth") was born in Clintonville, New York, on June 15, 1845. Orphaned at age four, John lived with his grandfather until going to Boston at age 17 to seek his fortune in the clothing business. After serving with the First New York Artillery during the Civil War, he opened a department store in Indianapolis when he was only 30 years old. Brush's first contact with baseball came in 1887 when he bought into the upstart Indianapolis Hoosiers of the National League as a means of advertising his store. In 1889 he formulated the "Brush Classification Plan," under which players were placed into one of five groupings based on both on- and off-field performance. Each class had a corresponding salary cap—Class A players could earn $2,500 annually, and the salaries decreased $250 in each lower class so that Class E players could earn $1,500. The plan, which was approved by Brush's fellow owners, caused a backlash among the players, leading directly to the formation of John Montgomery Ward's Players League.

The NL dropped Indianapolis in 1890 so Brush bought stock in the New York Giants and became owner of the Cincinnati Reds the following year. In Cincinnati he came under fire from Ban Johnson, then a local sportswriter. When the newly formed Western League was searching for a president in 1894, Brush interceded to make sure Johnson got the job, thus ending criticism from the young reporter's pen. The two continued to lock horns, however. Brush still owned stock in the Indianapolis franchise of the American Association, and Johnson criticized his shady dealings involving the rosters of the AA Hoosiers and the NL Reds. The upshot was that the Cincinnati owner was forced to divest himself of his stock in the Indy club. Prior to the 1898 season Brush floated another "Brush Rule" past his fellow owners, this one stating that any player who addressed an umpire or fellow player in a "villainously filthy" manner would be brought before a three-man disciplinary board and banished for life if found guilty. The players received the rule about as well as Brush's 1889 edict limiting their salaries, and it had about the same lasting impact.

In 1901 Brush attended a meeting with fellow NL owners Andrew Freedman of New York, Frank Robison of St. Louis, and Arthur Soden of Boston at Freedman's estate in Red Bank, New Jersey. Earlier this quartette had decried syndicate baseball, but now they were formulating a plan for an even larger syndicate, the National League Base Ball Trust, which would hire all managers and assign players to teams that would no longer be individually owned. The four robber barons proposed that the former owners would hold shares in the trust, with Freedman receiving a 30% share, his three compatriots receiving 12% each, and the others not present receiving less (the Brooklyn ownership would receive only 6%). The syndicate plan died on the vine because, not surprisingly, it didn't gain the fifth vote necessary for approval.

On August 12, 1902, Giants owner Freedman announced, "I will turn the inside affairs of the business over to Mr. Brush, as I have little or no time to give to baseball, while Mr. Brush will be able to devote practically all his time to the game." In retrospect it seems clear that Brush had favored New York all along. In 1900 the Giants purchased Christy Mathewson from Norfolk of the Virginia League. When the rookie did nothing to distinguish himself in three games, Freedman sent him back to Norfolk where he went 21-2. After the season Brush drafted him for the Reds, then "traded" him to the Giants for sore-armed Amos Rusie, who hadn't pitched since 1898. Mathewson, of course, went on to win 372 games for New York, while Rusie didn't win a single game for Cincinnati.

Brush purchased the Giants outright from Freedman in 1903. At the time the department-store mogul still owned the Reds and also owned the American League's Baltimore Orioles, and the rash of personnel transactions that preceded the sale of his Cincinnati and Baltimore shares positioned New York to be a juggernaut for the first third of the twentieth century. The most important of those moves was the signing of John McGraw away from his own Orioles to manage the Giants, but he also released from their Baltimore contracts future Hall-of-Famers Roger Bresnahan and Joe McGinnity, both of whom signed with New York. When the loaded Giants ran away with the NL pennant the following year, Brush (with prodding from McGraw) became responsible for the cancellation of the 1904 World's Series. "There is nothing in the constitution or playing rules of the National League which requires its victorious club to submit its championship honors to a contest with a victorious club in a minor league," he announced.

Brush lived to see his Giants play in three World's Series (1905, 1911, and 1912). Shortly after the last of those fall classics, he was thrown from an automobile in Harlem and sustained a serious hip injury. On November 26, 1912, while en route to a sanatorium in Southern California for recuperation, Brush died aboard a train as it was passing through Missouri. He was survived by his second wife, stage actress Elsie Lombard, who was 25 years his junior. Brush's obituary in The New York Times described him as "one of the wisest and ablest counselors in the National League."

Note: A slightly different version of this biography appeared in Tom Simon, ed., Deadball Stars of the National League (Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, Inc., 2004).

Sources
Nemec, David. The Great Encyclopedia of 19th Century Major League Baseball. Donald Fine, 1997.
Solomon, Burt. Where They Ain't. pp. 217-218. The Free Press, 1999.
Sowell, Mike. July 2, 1903. Macmillan, 1992.
Total Baseball. Total Sports, 1989
Ward, Geoffrey C. and Ken Burns. Baseball: An Illustrated History. Knopf, 1994.
---------------------


-------------------------------------------------1911


------------------------------------------------------------------1910

[Bill Burgess]

William Frazer Baker:

Owner: Philadelphia Phillies, 1913 - 1930

Born: April, 1866, Pittsburgh, PA
Died: December 4, 1930, Montreal, Canada, age 64,---d. heart attack

Secretary to NYC Controller Bird S. Coler (January 1, 1898 - 1902),
Worked on Wall St. (1902-05), Appointed Municipal Civil Service
Commissioner (1905 - December 31, 1908), Brooklyn, Queens Police
Commissioner (January 1, 1908 - December 20, 1910).

William F. Baker, after whom the ballpark, Baker's Bowl, was named unofficially, was a penurious owner who believed he should not have to invest any of his own money in the ball club when he ran it from 1913-30.

Haughty and imperious, the former New York City police commissioner became the Phillies’ president in 1913. During his seventeen years at the helm, the Phillies dropped from their position as a consistently competitive club to become a doormat of the National League. Never a baseball man, Baker believed the team should pay for itself. To accomplish this, he traded stars for lesser players and large sums of cash, incurring the wrath of Phillies' fans. Baker also allowed the ballpark to deteriorate badly. And at the same time, he renamed the park in his honor and called it the "Baker Bowl."

----------------------------------------------------------October 8, 1915: Mrs. Baker throws out 1st. ball of 1915 World Series. Mr. Baker is sitting to her left.

----------------------------October 8, 1915:

[Bill Burgess]

Powel Crosley, Jr.

Owner: Cincinnati Reds, June, 1936 - 1961; President (1934 - 1946)

Born: September 18, 1886, Cincinnati, OH
Died: March 28, 1961, Cincinnati, OH, age, 74,---d. heart attack

Wife: Mrs. Powel Crosley, died July 3, 1955 in Cinncinnati, OH. She was 43. They were married in October, 1952.

GetImage.pdf---Sporting News' Obituary, April 5, 1961, pp. 26, by Pat Harmon. ---Wikipedia: Powell Crosley

Industrialist, manufacturer of radio sets & appliances, former auto maker, head of Crosley Broadcasting Corp., developer of radio station SLS.

Crosley is a name unfamiliar to younger generations. He is probably the most unheralded of all the Famous Phis and today his name is largely forgotten by American society but if one were to step back and look at what he accomplished, one will see how truly remarkable his contributions were. Simply put, he did it all in multiple fields. Crosley is by far, Phi Delta Theta’s greatest inventor. Among his many innovations included the push button radio, the first cars to have disc brakes, the first refrigerator with shelves in the door, and the most powerful radio broadcast system in the world. In World War II his company manufactured the proximity fuse which was designed to detonate an explosive automatically when close enough to a target. It was credited by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and General George Patton among others in helping to contribute to allied victory. So great was the importance of the fuse that it was regarded as the third greatest innovation brought on by the war behind the atomic bomb and the radar. Also during the war years, it was his company which built the high-power shortwave transmitters that became the “Voice of America” the official broadcasting service of the US government. In business he was the founder of Crosley Automobiles and Radios turning the corporation into one of the most profitable of the first half of the 20th Century. For the sports fan, he was the owner of the Cincinnati Reds. In fact the home of the Reds for several decades was known as Crosley Field. It was his knowledge of electronics and desire to bring people to the ball park that made him put the first lights on a major league baseball field thereby introducing night games.

Sporting News' obituary, April 5, 1961, pp. 26.


April 27, 1934-Cincinnati, OH - Powel Crosley, Jr., young radio magnate, is shown here at the control console of his new 500,000-watt transmitter, WLW, the largest broadcasting station ever built, which was dedicated recently. This operator's control is in itself a brilliant achievement in radio engineering. Through it is provided complete control and supervision, not only for the WLW transmitter, but also for the Crosley WSAL and short wave W8XAL transmitters.


April 17, 1944 - Automobile Industry Post-War Plans Discussed. Washington, D.C.: Various executives of the automobile industry met in Washington to discuss the resumption of automobile manufacture after the war with the WPB. Chairman Donald M. Nelson notified the motor heads that renewed passenger car production is not yet in sight. Discussing plans at the meeting are: left to right, Henry Ford II, who put himself on record as pledging that war veterans will get job preferences in the Ford plant after the war; C.E. Wilson, president, General Motors; and Powel Crosley, Jr., president of Crosley.

[Bill Burgess]

Walter Owen Briggs, Sr.

Owner: Detroit Tigers, 1935-1952

Born: February 27, 1877, Ypsilanti, MI
Died: Januray 17, 1952, Miami Beach, FL, age 74

Bought 25% of Tigers (1920), bought another 25% (1927), bought rest of team, when Frank Navin died (1935). Made his fortune in Detroit's auto industry. Took no money out of his team, ploughing all profits back, plus own money.

Wikipedia article below
Walter Owen Briggs, Sr. (February 27, 1877 – January 17, 1952) was an American entrepreneur and professional sports owner. He was owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1952.

Briggs was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan and grew up a Detroit Tigers fan. In his early youth he worked at the Michigan Central Railroad and later opened Briggs Manufacturing Company in 1908, which specialized in the manufacturing of automobile bodies for the auto industry.

In 1919, Briggs bought a minority share in the Tigers from longtime owner Frank Navin. He later bought enough stock to become a full partner with Navin. After Navin died in 1935, Briggs became the sole owner of the franchise.

As owner, among Briggs' first actions was completing major renovation and expansion plans to Navin Field. He double-decked the grandstand and converted the park into a bowl. It reopened in 1938 as Briggs Stadium, and had a seating capacity of over 50,000. The stadium is now Tiger Stadium.

Briggs was noted for fielding a well-paid team that won two American League pennants (1940, 1945) and a World Series championship in 1945 under his ownership. He had a reputation for being somewhat prejudiced against African-Americans, in part because he refused to sign black players (though he allowed blacks to work at his factory) and would not allow black fans to sit in the boxes at Briggs Stadium. The Tigers did not sign their first black player until 1958, six years after his death.

Briggs died at age 74 in Miami Beach, Florida in 1952. His son, Walter Briggs, Jr., briefly inherited the Tigers before being forced to sell them in 1956.

Right: Ty Cobb at a baseball game, chatting with Detroit owner, Walter O. Briggs, at Briggs Stadium, 1930's.[/B]


Babe Ruth and Walter Briggs take in a game at Briggs Stadium in the 1930's.

[Bill Burgess]

James E. Gaffney:

Owner: Boston Braves, December, 13, 1912 - January 8, 1916

Born: March 7, 1868, NYC
Died: August 17, 1932, NYC, age 64,---d. cerebral hemorrhage

Started out a cop, started his own contracting & trucking co. Had bought team in 1913 for $187,000. Sold team on January 8,1916 to Percy Haughton & his associate for $500,000.

-------------------------------------------------September 30, 1914, Polo Grounds,
------------------------------------------------conferring with Johnny Evers, his 2B/Mgr.


----------------------1914

[Bill Burgess]

Charles W. Somers:

Owner: Boston Red Sox, 1901 - 1902
Cleveland Indians, 1905 - 1916

Born: October 13, 1868, Newark, OH
Died: June 29, 1934, Fort Cimton, OH, age 65

Wikipedia Article
Charles Somers aka Charles W. Somers, (October 13, 1868 - June 29, 1934) was an American executive in Cleveland, Ohio's coal industry who also achieved prominence in Major League Baseball. The financial resources from his business interests allowed Somers to become one of the principal founders of baseball's American League in 1901.

At the insistence of league president Ban Johnson, Somers and Jack Kilfoyl, who owned a popular Cleveland mens furnishings store, became the first owners of the of the Cleveland franchise.

Kilfoyl was Cleveland's first team president and treasurer, while Somers was its vice president and main financier.

Somers was also the principal owner of the Boston Americans, a team which had no official nickname until 1908 (when they became the "Red Sox"), but was initially sometimes called the "Somersets" in his honor. Residing in Cleveland and traveling to Boston, Somers was also the American League's vice-president during the trade war for independence of and equality with the National League which was won in 1903 with the playing of the first World Series.

Somers' money helped keep some American League teams, including the St. Louis Browns, Charles Comiskey's Chicago White Sox and Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, afloat in their first years.

Somers sold his interest in the Boston club in 1903 to Henry Killilea. In 1910 Kilfoyl took ill and sold his interest in Cleveland to Somers.

Somers invested in one of the first baseball minor league farm systems, ultimately controlling teams in Ironton OH, Waterbury CT, Portland OR, and the New Orleans Pelicans.

In 1915 the team was renamed the Cleveland Indians.

In 1916, Somers went broke with debts of $1.75 million, due to declining attendance, competition from the Federal League and bad investments, and at the insistence of his bank creditors sold the Indians for $500,000 to a syndicate headed by Jim Dunn. The creditors did allow him to retain ownership of the Pelicans for sentimental reasons.

After selling the Indians he successfully rebuilt his business investments. At his death in 1934 (at the height of the Great Depression) his estate was worth approximately $3 million.

Somers was married twice. He had a daughter, Dorothy (Mrs. W.W. Clark) from his first marriage. His second wife, Mary Alice Gilbert, survived him. Somers died at Put-in-Bay, OH.

Built Cleveland Park.



-----------------------------------------------------
John F. Kilfoyl:

Co-Owner Cleveland Indians, 1900 - 1910

Born: September 5, 1863, Ohio
Died: February 17, 1913, Cleveland, OH, age 49

He made his fortune as a clothing/men's furnishings store magnate, and a real estate dealer. He was invited to join in the team ownership by his good friend, Charles Somers, which he accepted. Mr. Kilfoyle was associated with the Cleveland Indians, 1900-1910, along with Charles W. Somers. He sold his interests in the team to Charles Somers in 1910, for what was speculated at $400,000, due to his ill health.

His reasons for divesting himself of the team stock was its deleterious effect on his nervous system. It made too great strains on his emotional system.

He married Abby G. in 1894.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alva Bradley:

Cleveland Indians' owner, 1927 - 1946

Born: February 29, 1884, Cleveland, OH
Died: March 29, 1953, Delray Beach, FL, age 69,---d. heart attack---Buried in Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, OH

Wife: Marguerite A. Andrews, born Cleveland, OH, January, 1886, died September 12, 1969, Cleveland, OH.


Wikipedia Article
Alva Bradley (born 1884, died March 30, 1953), aka Alva Bradley II, was a businessman and baseball team executive.

Bradley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of M.A. Bradley and grandson of Capt. Alva Bradley. He graduated Cornell in 1908. He was president of the group that bought the Cleveland Indians in 1927 for $1 million and which sold the team to Bill Veeck in 1946

He was a Cleveland tycoon, with holdings in real estate, coal, transportation. At the end of the 1927, a group of Cleveland industrialists invested in the team to assume control. The group asked Alva to assume the Presidency to oversee their interests. He accepted.

He had graduated U. School in Cleveland, & attended Cornell U. Upon graduation from college, he looked after the many interests of his father. When he father died, he assumed control of the many family businesses.

Despite his many business interests, he took a very active interest in his Cleveland team, and was a total fan. He gave his GMs a generous ability to acquire players.

Sporting News' obituary, April 8, 1953, pp. 22.------------------------------------------------1933 Who's Who in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson, pp. 34.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alva Bradley/Beau Bell around 1940.

[Bill Burgess]

Donald Leslie (Don) Barnes:

Owner: St. Louis Browns, 1936 - August 10, 1945

Born: May 8, 1894, Chicago, IL
Died: July 20, 1962, St. Louis, MO, age 68,---d. complications after operation

The executor of Ball's estate finally turned to Rickey, who recruited Bill DeWitt, Sr., the Cardinals team treasurer, and Donald Barnes, president of American Investment Company, to buy the Browns for $325,000. Barnes put up $50,000, DeWitt $25,000, and the club raised another $200,000 by selling stock at $5 a share. Under new ownership the Browns fared no better on the field or the box office, so that by 1941 Barnes sought permission from the American League to relocate the franchise to Los Angeles. The meeting was held on December 8, 1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor that precipitated the United States' entry into World War II. Because of the sudden uncertainty in the world, Barnes was turned down, but the war did lead to the greatest moment in the Brown's history. In 1944, when the level of major league talent was severely diluted because so many players were serving in the military or alternative service, the Browns were able to win its only American League pennant. Even this moment of glory, however, failed to help the club improve its image in St. Louis. The Browns had the misfortune of meeting the Cardinals in the World Series, losing to their tenants in six games.

Friday, August 10, 1945, Richard Muckerman buys out Barnes' interests in Browns, giving him 50%. Barnes began finance co. at Springfield, Il (1917), 10 years later present co. was incorporated, moved St. Louis, IL.


--------------------------------------------------------L-R: Barnes, AL Pres. Will Harridge, former Browns' Pres. Louis Von Weise, shortly after team was sold to Barnes' group.

[Bill Burgess]

George Michael Steinbrenner, III:

Owner: New York Yankees, 1973 - 2010

Born: July 4, 1930, Rocky River, OH
Died: July 13, 2010, Tampa, FL, age 80,---d. heart failure

Chairman of the Board (1980-90), Principal owner (1993-2010)

Father: Henry G., born April 15, 1904, died November 7, 1983, Westlake, Ohio; Mother: Rita H, born December 25, 1903, died February 26, 1994, Westlake, Ohio.

Biography Resource Center:
Source: Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 19. Gale Group, 1999.
George Steinbrenner (born 1930), the Cleveland shipbuilding magnate who purchased the New York Yankees in 1973, has been one of professional sports most controversial and quotable figures. Twice suspended by baseball for legal and ethical violations, Steinbrenner nevertheless earned the respect of his fellow owners for his record of success on the field. The Yankees won multiple championships under Steinbrenner's aggressive style of leadership.

George Steinbrenner was born on July 4, 1930, in Rocky River, Ohio. His father, Henry Steinbrenner, owned a Great Lakes shipping company. His mother, Rita, managed their home in Bay Village, the suburb of Cleveland where Steinbrenner spent his formative years. As a child, Steinbrenner delivered eggs to earn spending money. His father, a former collegiate track and field star, instructed him to work hard and urged him to try competitive athletics.

At age twelve, Steinbrenner took up hurdling. Whenever he finished second in a track meet, his father appeared instantly at his side, demanding to know: "What the hell happened? How'd you let that guy beat you?" These scoldings instilled a perfectionist streak in the young Steinbrenner that he often cited as the key to his later success.

Education and Early Career
Steinbrenner was educated at the Culver Military Academy in Indiana. He then went on to Williams College in Massachusetts where he continued to run track and edited the sports section of the campus newspaper. In the glee club, he stood directly behind future Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim and--by his own account--outsang him. After earning his bachelor's degree in 1952, Steinbrenner joined the United States Air Force. There he took charge of a succession of successful projects that showed his emerging leadership skills. He established a sports program and set up his own food service business on the base.

After three years in the military, Steinbrenner got a job coaching high school football in Columbus, Ohio. He later moved on to the college level, becoming an assistant at Northwestern and then at Purdue, but his Big Ten coaching career was to be short-lived. In 1957, at the request of his father, Steinbrenner returned to the shipyard, where he was put to work counting rivets in crawl spaces. He married the former Elizabeth Zweig on May 12, 1956, and seemed set to take over his father's business. The lure of big-time sports proved too powerful, however, and Steinbrenner invested a considerable sum of money into his first pro franchise, basketball's Cleveland Pipers. The team failed, and Steinbrenner lost all his savings.

Builds Fortune
Urged to file for bankruptcy, Steinbrenner instead worked to pay off his debt. When his father retired in 1963, he took control of the family shipping business and helped turn around its sagging fortunes. With the money he made, he formed a partnership with a group of investors and bought into the American Ship Building Company. Elected to the company's presidency in 1967, Steinbrenner fetched his father out of retirement to help him run the operation. American Shipbuilding flourished under Steinbrenner's leadership and made him a multimillionaire.

In the late 1960s, Steinbrenner began to exert his newfound influence on the national level. He used his political connections to become the chief fund-raiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, raising nearly $2 million over a two-year period. The election of Republican Richard Nixon to the presidency in 1968 made Steinbrenner fear reprisals against himself or his business. In order to hedge his bets, the shipbuilder contributed to Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign. Unfortunately for Steinbrenner, his donations violated several campaign finance laws. He eventually pleaded guilty to all counts and was fined a total of $35,000.

Yankee Owner
These charges came just as Steinbrenner was embarking on a new career as a major league baseball owner. In January 1973, Steinbrenner joined with a group of investors to purchase the New York Yankees for $10 million. Once baseball's hallmark franchise, the Yankees had slipped to second-division status in recent years under the ownership of CBS, and a management team headed by Mike Burke. Steinbrenner, who at first announced he would "stick to building ships" and let others run the team, promptly forced Burke out and hired Cleveland Indians' general manager Gabe Paul to supervise the rebuilding process.

In November 1974, baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn did briefly return Steinbrenner to the shipyards when he issued him a two-year suspension for his campaign finance transgressions. In Steinbrenner's absence, Paul made a series of shrewd trades and personnel decisions that laid the groundwork for the Yankees return to prominence. By the time Steinbrenner returned from exile in 1976, the Yankees had a top-flight club poised to contend for a world title. The team won its division going away that season, then relied on a clutch ninth-inning, game-winning home run by Chris Chambliss to secure the American League pennant in a five-game playoff against the Kansas City Royals. Only a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series dampened the spirit of rejuvenation surrounding the Yankees.

Championship Seasons
In 1977, Steinbrenner opened his checkbook to bring in free agent slugger Reggie Jackson, the former star of the Oakland Athletics. Jackson added considerable star power and clutch hitting to the team, but also heightened dissension in the clubhouse. He had a stormy relationship with manager Billy Martin and was considered selfish by his teammates. Nevertheless, the talented, if volatile, team survived these distractions to make it to the World Series for a second year in a row. This time they were victorious, ousting the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. Steinbrenner had fulfilled his promise to bring a championship to New York.

He brought a second world title in 1978, though again at a high cost in terms of hostility. The simmering Martin-Jackson feud bubbled over in mid-season, prompting Steinbrenner to fire his manager. On his way out the door, Martin took a few parting shots at both Jackson and the team's owner. "One's a born liar, the other's convicted," Martin observed--an apparent reference to Steinbrenner's campaign finance activity. Relations between the two men would forever be colored by this ugly incident.

Controversial Figure
Over the next few years, the Yankees continued to contend for the American League pennant. Steinbrenner's increasingly meddlesome management style was blamed for a lack of stability that doomed the team's best efforts. He hired Billy Martin back as manager again in 1979--only to fire him at season's end. It was the first of four instances in which the erratic Martin was invited back to take control of the club, only to be let go with assurances that he would never be hired again. In 1980, the Yankees won 103 games under manager Dick Howser, but Steinbrenner fired him after the team was beaten in the playoffs.

In 1981, the Yankees returned to the World Series. However, after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first two games, the Yankees dropped the next three. Following Game Five, Steinbrenner called a late-night press conference to hold up a flimsily bandaged hand and announce that he had defended the Yankee honor by beating up two Dodger fans in an elevator. The Yankees failed to take a "get tough" cue from their owner and lost the sixth and deciding game. Before the game was even completed, Steinbrenner ordered the Yankee publicity department to issue an apology to the people of New York City for the club's lackluster performance.

Decline and Exile
The rest of the 1980s proved to be a bleak period for the Yankees and their fans. Steinbrenner signed many high-priced players, but with seemingly little regard for their adaptability to the pressures of playing in New York. Managers were put under intense pressure to succeed, subject to dismissal at any time according to the owner's whims. Three men were hired and fired during the 1982 season alone. Steinbrenner engaged in protracted contract squabbles with one star player, Don Mattingly, and publicly belittled another, Dave Winfield, by comparing him unfavorably to the departed Reggie Jackson. By 1990, the Yankees were one of the worst teams in baseball--thanks in large part to the instability wrought on the club by its owner.

By that time, Steinbrenner's relationship with Winfield had deteriorated to the point where he reportedly hired a known gambler to dig up information that would destroy the slugger's reputation. Acting on evidence of this plot, baseball commissioner Fay Vincent suspended Steinbrenner from baseball on July 30, 1990. Control of the Yankees was handed over to limited partner Robert Nederlander for an indefinite period. Yankee management used this period of "exile" to rebuild the team's shattered minor league system and make a few judicious trades. When Steinbrenner was allowed to regain control of the team in 1993, it was once again ready to contend for a world championship.

Successful Return
Many observers expected Steinbrenner to return to his imperious ways and jeopardize the club's progress, but banishment seemed to have mellowed Steinbrenner. He changed his management style, showing a renewed willingness to let his "baseball people" run the team. Other than ousting manager Buck Showalter after the 1995 season, he made few personnel changes and largely avoided making the kind of public comments that had generated controversy in the past. Under new manager Joe Torre, the team capped a stellar 1996 season with a come-from-behind upset victory over the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. Two years later, the Yankees posted the best record in American League history, going 114-48. They then completed an impressive playoff run by sweeping the San Diego Padres in four games in the World Series. They won again in 1999 and 2000.

During this period of success, Steinbrenner turned his attention more frequently toward the future of the Yankees. He lobbied city and state officials in New York for the construction of a new stadium, or at least the refurbishing of the old one. In 1999, Steinbrenner joined with New York Nets owner Lewis Katz to create YankeeNets, a merger of the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets. By 2001, YankeeNets was also the holding company for the New Jersey Devils hockey team. (Principal owners George Steinbrenner of the Yankees and Lewis Katz and Ray Chambers of the Nets and Devils retained direct control of their respective teams.) In 2001, the firm was working to launch a regional cable sports network called Yankees Entertainment and Sports.

In 2002, the Yankees won their fifth straight American League East title, but lost to the Anaheim Angels in the division series. It was the earliest postseason exit for the Yankees since 1980. In 2003, the Yankees lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins. The following year, the Yankees once again captured the American League East title and faced the Boston Red Sox in the American League division championship. The Yankees got off to a three-game lead in the best-of-seven series, but suffered an embarrassing breakdown to lose the next four games--and the pennant--to the Red Sox.

After the Yankees' post-season loss in 2004, Steinbrenner dropped to number 15 on the Sporting News' list of the most powerful people in sports. In 2003, he had ranked number nine, although as late as 2002, he had topped the power list at number one. Steinbrenner's high rankings year after year are a testament to his influence in the world of sports.

Pads Payroll
Yearning for another World Series win, Steinbrenner spent the early 2000s padding his roster, paying top dollar to recruit the game's best players. The Yankees' payroll stood at $187.9 million in 2004--the highest in the league. The Yankees' payroll was so high Steinbrenner was forced to pay a "luxury tax" in both 2003 and 2004. Major League Baseball initiated the luxury tax in 2002 in an effort to rein in player salaries and keep the richest teams from buying all the best players. Only teams that break the payroll salary cap have to pay the tax, and the money goes to the poorer teams. In 2003 and 2004, the Yankees were the only team forced to pay, shelling out more than $85 million in luxury taxes and revenue sharing in 2004 alone. The cap did not dampen Steinbrenner's pocketbook. Prior to the 2005 spring training season, the Yankees acquired pitcher Randy Johnson in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The deal garnered Johnson a two-year $32 million contract extension.

2006 was a year of ups and downs for Steinbrenner. The Yankees became the first franchise to become valued at over $1 billion, marking a 10,000% return on Steinbrenner's original investment. Three months later, ground was finally broken for his love-coveted new stadium, scheduled for completion in 2009. But such achievements could not help but be eclipsed by the Yankees' failure to win a World Series pennant for the sixth straight year after being beaten, 8-3, by the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series. Despite the disappointment, however, Steinbrenner said he would keep Torre on as manager for the 2007 season.

In the years after he turned 70, Steinbrenner appeared to mellow. He stayed out of the spotlight, prompting rumors that he had suffered a stroke. His publicist, Howard Rubenstein, discounted the notion. "I'm on the phone with him every day," Rubenstein told the New York Times. "He lifts weights. He's in a real training program. He's really all together." A fainting incident in the autumn of 2006 gave rise to new speculation about his health, but the then 76-year-old continued to insist that he was just fine.

Wikipedia: George Steinbrenner

-------------------------June 16, 2005-----------------------------------------------------June 15, 2005----------------------------------------------------1992

[Bill Burgess]

Christian Frederick von der Ahe:

Owner: St. Louis Cardinals, 1892 - 1897

Born: October 7, 1851, Hile, Prussia
Died: June 5, 1913, St. Louis, MO, age 61,---d. cirrosis of liver, buried in Bellefontaine Catholic Cemetery, St. Louis, MO

Made fortune in beer brewing, had famous St. Louis saloon, Also managed St. Louis Nationals in 1892, 1895-97.
-----------------------
Chris von der Ahe: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Friedrich (or Frederick) Wilhelm von der Ahe was a German-American entrepreneur, best known as the owner of the St. Louis Browns of the National League which are now known as the Cardinals.

Von der Ahe arrived in New York City but quickly moved to St. Louis, where he worked as a clerk in a grocery store. Later, he bought out the store owner and expanded business by establishing a saloon in the back of the store. Von der Ahe noticed that a number of his patrons visited the saloon after baseball games, so in 1882, he bought the bankrupt and scandal-ridden St. Louis baseball franchise for $1,800 and joined the American Association baseball league. He named the team the Browns and hired future Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey to manage the team and play first base. Von der Ahe dubbed himself "der boss president of der Prowns." He took a very active role in the team, even though he knew almost nothing about baseball. With his bushy mustache, showmanship and exaggerated German accent, Von der Ahe was the first baseball owner with a significant public persona, the predecessor of Bill Veeck and Charlie Finley in this regard.

The Browns dominated the American Association, winning four straight league championships starting in 1885, and the baseball, beer, and other investments made von der Ahe wealthy. He made $500,000 off the baseball team alone. He set the ticket price at 25 cents, hoping fans would spend money on beer. As a result, the Browns led the league in attendance and soon had to expand his ballpark.

In 1885, von der Ahe erected a larger-than-life statue outside of Sportsman's Park, not of any of his star players, but of himself. A sportswriter from Denver mockingly dubbed the statue "Von der Ahe discovers Illinois." Although eccentric, von der Ahe made a number of innovations, operating a farm club called the St. Louis Whites, and inventing the World Series, initially just to raise more money at the end of the season. Also, tradition holds that von der Ahe was the first to sell hot dogs at the ballpark, although some historians dispute this.

In 1887, after a poor showing in the World Series, the ill-tempered von der Ahe threatened to withhold his players' share of the earnings. In 1891, he was also majority owner of the Cincinnati Porkers which played for part of one season in the American Association. In 1892 the team joined the National League after the American Association folded. By this time, Comiskey had lost patience with von der Ahe and left for the Cincinnati Reds. Without Comiskey, the Browns quickly became a last-place team.

Legal problems plagued von der Ahe's ownership, especially in the later years, and in an effort to recoup his losses, in 1892 he moved to a larger ballpark, which he surrounded with an amusement park, complete with beer garden, a horse track in the outfield, a "shoot-the-shoots" water flume ride, and an artificial lake (also used for ice skating in the winter). The league, which prohibited gambling on its grounds, disapproved of the race track; so did von der Ahe's outfielders. The press called the facility "Coney Island West" and nicknamed von der Ahe "Von der Ha Ha."

With losses still piling up, von der Ahe resorted to selling off his best players, mostly to Brooklyn. In 1898, part of the ballpark burned down during a game with Chicago, his second wife divorced him, and his bondsman kidnapped him for not paying his debts. In a highly publicized trial connected with the fire, von der Ahe lost his baseball team. The Browns changed hands twice and changed their name twice, first to the Perfectos and then to the Cardinals. The American League team known as the St. Louis Browns from 1902-1953 had no connection to von der Ahe's team aside from the name, which was designed to invoke the memory of the 1885-1889 era.

Von der Ahe soon lost his other wealth as well, and was reduced to tending bar in a small saloon. Comiskey frequently sent von der Ahe money to help make ends meet. He died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1913. He was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, with the statue that once stood in front of Sportsman's Park adorning his grave.

[Bill Burgess]

Charles Albert Comiskey:

Owner: Chicago White Sox, 1901 - 1931

Born: August 15, 1859, Chicago, IL
Died: October 26, 1931, Eagle River, IL, age 72

Wikipedia article

Charles's bio as it appeared in 1933's Who's Who
in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson.


------------------------------------------------------------------------1914




--------------------------------------1917.


--------------1920 with William Veeck, Pres. of the Cubs.

[Bill Burgess]

John Louis Comiskey:

Owner: Chicago White Sox, 1931 - 1939

Born: August 12, 1885, Dubuque, IA
Died: July 18, 1939, Eagle River, WI, age 54

Inherited team upon death of his father, 1931. Rebuilt team to respectability, Appointed VP/Treasurer, 1910, 2 years later contracted scarlet fever. Was ill for the rest of his life. Weighed 380 lbs. Started farm system, installed night games lights in 1939. Died, heart disease, pneumonia.

John's bio/photo, as it appeared in 1933's Who's Who
in Major League Baseball, edited by Harold (Speed) Johnson.

----------------------------------------------------With Harry Mitchell Grabiner, 1926, who later became his VP/Secretary.

March 3, 1925 - Chicago White Sox Officials at Spring Training Pasadena, CA -
Traveling Secretary Joseph Barry, President Louis Comiskey, and Vice President
Harry Grabiner, of the Chicago White Sox Baseball Club, are shown left to right
at Brookside Park in Pasadena, as the Sox opened spring training there. ----------------------------------1930's


Harry Grabiner/Lou Comiskey


-----------------Harry Grabiner/Louis Comiskey: 1926-----------------------------Louis Comiskey/Harry Grabiner: 1926

[Bill Burgess]

Charles Oscar Finley:

Owner: Kansas City A's, Oakland A's: 1961 -1980

Born: February 22, 1919, Birmingham, AL
Died: February 19, 1996, La Porte, IN, age 77; Buried: Calumet Park Cemetery / Mausoleum, Lake County, Merrilville, IN

Kansas City Athletics owner, 1961 - 1967
Oakland Athletics owner, 1968 - 1980

Wikipedia: Charles Finley

One of the most flamboyant, innovative, cantankerous and controversial baseball club owners ever…Introduced orange baseballs, ball girls, a mechanical rabbit that gave baseballs to the umpires, and advocated night World Series games in an effort to boost fan interest…As his own general manager, signed Jim Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Vida Blue and Bert Campaneris, who became the nucleus of his Oakland dynasty…Shifted the club he acquired in 1960 from Kansas City to Oakland after the 1967 season…Won five straight division titles (1971-75) and World Championships in 1972-74…The A's were en route to a division title in 1981 when he sold the club to Levi-Strauss.

-----------February 24, 1976-------------------------------September 26, 1981