The MacPhails

Since the early 1930s “MacPhail” has been a big name in baseball. Three generations of this one family have provided leadership, innovation and vision for the sport. Larry, Lee and Andy MacPhail, representing very different eras of American life, have each addressed baseball’s needs and opportunities in his own way.
During the 1930s and 1940s Larry MacPhail served as general manager and vice president of the Cincinnati Reds, executive vice president and president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and part owner and president of the New York Yankees. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978. Larry’s son, Lee, worked for 13 years in the Yankee organization before serving as general manager and president of the Baltimore Orioles. Lee later served two five-year terms as president of the American League and two years as president of the Player Relations Committee. Lee was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, becoming the only son ever to join his father in the Hall. Lee’s son, Andy, worked in management positions for the Chicago Cubs, the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins before becoming president and CEO of the Cubs.

The late G. Richard McKelvey was chairman of the department of philosophy and religion at Deerfield Academy (Massachusetts) and longtime coach of the Deerfield baseball and basketball teams. The author of several books about baseball, he lived in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

G. Richard McKelvey
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 352
Bibliographic Info: photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2000
pISBN: 978-0-7864-0639-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi

Introduction      1

PART I: LARRY

1. Larry Explodes on the Scene; Baseball Is on the Radio and Lighted Up      7

2. Raising Brooklyn      20

3. Larry, Leo, Reese, Reiser and Red      27

4. The Exciting Ebbets Field Experience and Other of Larry’s Doings      36

5. The Dodgers Capture the Pennant; The Yankees Claim the World Series      43

6. The End of the Line in Brooklyn      53

7. Larry Returns to New York; Welcome to the Bronx, Not Brooklyn      60

8. A Season with the Bronx Bombers      67

9. MacPhail, Rickey and Durocher; A Prescription for Fireworks      77

10. The Yankees Win It All; Larry Quits and Walks Away      84

11. The Retirement Years and the Hall of Fame, Posthumously      93

PART II: LEE

12. Lee Follows Larry into the Game      101

13. Lee’s Minor League Career Is Over; Welcome to New York      111

14. Moving Up the Organization; Lee Meets New Responsibilities      119

15. Building Baltimore      126

16. Ups and Downs with the Orioles      136

17. Life with Spike; Shepherding the Commissioner      145

18. Back to the Bronx with a Five-Year Plan      159

19. The General Manager Builds the Bronx Bombers and Meets “the Boss”      170

20. A Move to the American League Once      185

21. The Business of Baseball; Owners and Players      194

22. MacPhail, Finley and Veeck; Challenging the System      200

23. MacPhail and Miller; 50 Days Without the Game      210

24. Ten Years and Out      221

25. The Final Position; The Player Relations Committee      231

PART III: ANDY

26. Andy Follows the Family Tradition      243

27. Andy Moves to Minnesota; A Quick Trip to the Fall Classic      247

28. Collusion, Salaries and a Lockout      256

29. Andy Rebuilds and the Twins Capture Another Crown      266

30. The Twins Falter and a Strike Stops the Game      274

31. Andy Heads to Chicago; From Small Market to Big Hopes      283

32. A Season to Forget      294

33. The Cubs Have a Year to Remember; Baseball Has a Career to Remember      302

Chapter Notes      317

Index      337

“an insightful account of a key baseball family”—Library Journal; “if there’s a royal family of baseball, the MacPhails could be it…copious”—USA Today Sports Weekly; “covers three generations of MacPhails who have impacted baseball throughout the years”—The SABR Bulletin; “details how the MacPhail family since the early 1930s have placed their imprint on major league baseball”—Sports Collectors Digest.