Of baseball there have been countless books, but, surprisingly, relatively few about the owners, the men and women who invested their time—and, frequently, their fortunes—in baseball teams. What has been written tends to concentrate on the financial aspects of ownership or individual owners and their private lives, and pays less attention to the enduring contributions certain owners have made.
Eight owners and their lasting influences on the game are the focus of this book. Charles Ebbets, Barney Dreyfuss, Helene Britton, Clark Griffith, Walter O’Malley, Bill Veeck, Charles Finley and August Busch were chosen for inclusion not only because of their larger contributions but also because they were hands-on owners who ran their teams decisively. For instance, Helene Britton proved that a knowledgable woman could successfully run a ball club, even if she couldn’t vote; Bill Veeck hired the first black player in the American League, introduced exploding scoreboards and was the first owner to put his players’ names on the backs of their uniforms; Walter O’Malley relocated his Dodgers to the West Coast and convinced Giants owner Horace Stoneham to bring his team out too.

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: 258
Bibliographic Info: photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2003
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1562-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8027-2
Imprint: McFarland

Dedication     v

Acknowledgments     vii

Preface     1

1 Charles H. Ebbets: The Visionary     3

2 Barney Dreyfuss: The Purist     29

3 Helene Britton: The Feminist     55

4 Clark Griffith: The Persuader     71

5 Walter O’Malley: The Prospector     98

6 Bill Veeck: The Populist     124

7 Charles Finley: The Maverick     152

8 August Busch: The CEO     178

Notes     205

Bibliography     229

Index     237

“much new knowledge on a neglected group”—Sports Collectors Digest; “invaluable…enduring asset”—Nine; “extensively researched and vastly informative…a wealth of data”—Gateway: The Quarterly Magazine of the Missouri Historical Society; “complete”—Jewish Press; “intelligent and entertaining…the Boxermans have penned a superb and timely book on baseball and the owners who have preserved, protected and defended the game against bankruptcy, player strikes and poor seasons”—St. Louis Jewish Light; “well researched…good bibliography…very good index…a book that should be in every sports section of every public library”—Public Library Quarterly; “a grand survey of eight remarkable individuals whose time, fortunes, and effort invested in the baseball teams they owned helped shape the course of this great American sport…a remarkable and highly commended study of influence and the fruits of hard labors at the highest level of athletic team management and baseball club ownership”—Midwest Book Review; “excellent book for young people to read to get a better understanding of baseball’s roots in America”—1190 KEX News Radio; “a compelling narrative that mixe[s] baseball business, Americana and popular culture…[and provides] a riveting overview of how the game changed with America”—Jeff Leen, The Washington Post.