Bill DeWitt, Sr.

In 1954, one year after Baltimore bought the St. Louis Browns, the New York Yankees hired former Browns executive and owner William O. DeWitt as assistant to general manager George Weiss. “DeWitt,” the news announced, “was considered an astute baseball man who would have a definite role to play with the Yankees.” Baseball fans had assumed that once the Browns were no longer the American League’s doormats, DeWitt would quietly retire. But for DeWitt, a shrewd protégé of Branch Rickey, his years with the Browns began a long and fascinating career, including his years as owner and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. This first ever biography focuses on the career of a baseball executive who contributed greatly to America’s pastime.

A member of the Society for American Baseball Research, Burton A. Boxerman taught history for 30 years and contributes to numerous historical journals. A longtime baseball fan, he lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Writer and researcher Benita W. Boxerman is retired from one of the largest public relations firms in the United States and is a member of SABR. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Burton A. Boxerman and Benita W. Boxerman
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 231
Bibliographic Info: 35 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7260-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4337-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Foreword by Bill DeWitt III 1
Foreword by William O. DeWitt, Jr. 3
Preface 5
One—Growing Up in St. Louis 7
Two—Branch Rickey’s Protégé 12
Three—Donald Barnes and the St. Louis Browns 25
Four—A World War and a World Series 47
Five—Richard Muckerman and the ­Post-War Years 67
Six—An Owner at Last 89
Seven—A Three Ring Circus 107
Eight—Interregnum 116
Nine—A New Team, Another World Series 140
Ten—Elder Statesman 173
Eleven—The DeWitt Legacy 182
Chapter Notes 187
Bibliography 209
Index 217