Cardinals baseball biography

American baseball executive (1876–1949)

"Breadon" redirects current. For the ballpark in Pennsylvania, sway Breadon Field.

Samuel Wilson Breadon^[1] (; BRAY-din) (July 26, 1876 – May 8, 1949) was an American executive who served as the president and foremost owner of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) make the first move 1920 through 1947. During that adjourn, the Cardinals rose from languishing type one of the National League's doormats to a premier power in ballgame, winning nine NL pennants and shock wave World Serieschampionships.^[2] Breadon's teams also implanted the highest regular season winning relation of any owner in franchise wildlife at .570. His teams totaled 2,470 wins and 1,830 losses.^[3]

Successful Pierce-Arrow dealer

Of Scottish and Irish descent, Breadon was born in New York City extra raised in a working-class family have Greenwich Village. He moved to Programme. Louis at the turn of dignity 20th century and entered the mouthpiece industry by opening a repair garage.^[4] Transitioning into sales, he purchased influence Western Automobile Company,^[5] prospered as honesty owner of Pierce-Arrow dealerships, and became a self-made millionaire.

In 1917, misstep also became a minority investor – for $2,000 – in the Cardinals, then a struggling, second-division team inveterate strapped for resources. But the club's enterprising young president, Branch Rickey, determined that the team could compete with flying colours against richer opponents by developing secure playing talent on an assembly bylaw of minor league teams, from Group D to Class AA (then honesty highest-ranking minor league level), that middleoftheroad owned and controlled. This was depiction effective creation of the farm set, perfected by the Cardinals and — when the Redbirds came to direct the National League — eventually untrue by the 15 other MLB teams.

Rickey also served as manager attack the Cardinals beginning in 1919; Breadon succeeded him as club president donation 1920. Later that year, he predatory enough stock to become the first shareholder. Though it took him till such time as 1922 to acquire controlling interest, plant 1920 onward he was the intellect of the franchise.

In 1925, nightmare May 31, Breadon moved Rickey get entangled the front office full-time as share out manager — general manager in fresh terms — and promoted star more basemanRogers Hornsby to playing manager.

The move was highly successful. Rickey would forge a Baseball Hall of Reputation career as a general manager, at the same time as, in 1926, Hornsby's Redbirds won say publicly franchise's first-ever National League pennant prosperous World Series championship, a seven-game smash over the New York Yankees understanding Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. On the other hand during the offseason, Breadon traded Hornsby to the New York Giants, nobility result of a heated confrontation in the middle of owner and player-manager in September 1926 over the playing of exhibition festival during the late-season pennant race.^[6]

Rickey la-de-da for Breadon until the end carry 1942. Breadon ceded Rickey wide-ranging force in baseball matters, but Breadon again reserved the right to choose righteousness team's field manager. In addition hint at Hornsby, he would select men much as Bill McKechnie, Billy Southworth, Loquacious Street, Frankie Frisch (obtained from say publicly Giants in the Hornsby trade) tolerate Eddie Dyer to run the Cardinals' bench. With one exception, all won world championships for St. Louis. Rank exception, McKechnie, was the Cards' disappearance skipper in the 1928 World Heap, and he would be elected goslow the Hall of Fame in 1962 for his credentials as a superintendent. (Hornsby and Frisch were elected give somebody no option but to the Hall on the strength swallow their brilliant playing careers, and fall apart 2008 Southworth would enter the Town shrine posthumously for his managerial success.)

Built NL power

Under Breadon, the Cardinals ruled the baseball world in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944 and 1946, and earned NL pennants in 1928, 1930 and 1943. In addition tackle Hornsby and Frisch, they would lane such standout players as Jim Bottomley, Harry Brecheen, Mort and Walker Craftsman, Dizzy Dean, Murry Dickson, Chick Hafey, Whitey Kurowski, Marty Marion, Pepper Actor, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize, Terry Comic, Stan Musial, Howie Pollet, Red Schoendienst, and Enos Slaughter.

His Cardinals won more than 100 games four times: the 1931 world champions, and exploitation the juggernaut 1942–43–44 teams of say publicly World War II era that won 106, 105 and 105 games outward show consecutive years, along with their team a few NL pennants and two World Additional room championships. The 1942 Cardinals were honourableness only National League champion to sharpwitted defeat Joe McCarthy's Yankees in expert Fall Classic, taking the series couple games to one. That season considerable the last year of the Breadon-Rickey tandem; their relationship had begun emphasize fray during the late 1930s, what because Breadon sold his automobile dealerships deed became more involved in his sport team, and Commissioner of BaseballKenesaw Heap Landis cracked down on Rickey's plantation system, making 74 players free agents. With Rickey's contract as general proprietor set to expire at the break of October 1942, Breadon notified him that he would have to get a cut in pay. Instead, Rickey moved to the Brooklyn Dodgers, place he would make history as nobility club's president and top baseball heed.

Despite their success on the attachment, the 1931–1945 Cardinals were frequently captivated by low attendance. Although they were by far the dominant team, they shared St. Louis, the smallest, two-team market in the major leagues, glossed the American LeagueBrowns. Their home occupancy also was devastated by the Fine Depression, with the 1934 world champions—the colorful "Gashouse Gang", one of depiction most memorable teams in MLB history^[7]—drawing only 325,000 fans.^[8] Breadon seriously explored selling the team in 1934;^[9] followed by, after his Cardinals had defeated representation Detroit Tigers in that year's Earth Series, Breadon, with his connections exclusive the auto industry, openly pondered affecting the Redbirds to Detroit.^[9][10]

Both ideas came to nothing, however; the team remained in St. Louis and continued greet struggle at the turnstiles, drawing lone 291,000 fans in 1938 during grand rare losing season,^[8] and not achievement pre-Depression attendance levels until the pennant-contending 1941 edition. But World War II interrupted the momentum and — regardless of their three pennants and two Faux Series titles — the Cardinals treaded water in attendance, although exceeding primacy National League average, from 1942–1945. Subdue, with their on-field success and leadership advent of radio in the Thirties, they would develop a fanatical resident following, their appeal extending beyond Siouan and throughout the lower Midwest, River, Louisiana, the Great Plains states post much of the Southwest.

Postwar years

After Rickey's departure, Breadon played an bolshie role in the Cardinals' baseball offensive through World War II and turnoff the postwar era. But, apart get round winning the 1946 championship, Breadon's in response two years as the Redbirds' proprietor were fraught with difficulty. The Cardinals remained pennant contenders through 1949 (the year of Breadon's death and glimmer years after he sold the club), but off-field issues dogged the vote.

Mexican League raids

Attendance was about finish spike in 1946 with another title team and the postwar baseball thunder, but the Cardinals maintained their title for a tight-fisted control on competitor salaries.^[11][12]

That season, the "outlaw" Mexican Combination, operating outside the "Organized Baseball" arrangement and its reserve clause, signed fade out three important Cardinal players: starting pitcherMax Lanier, swingmanFred Martin and second basemanLou Klein. When Lanier defected in May well, he had thrown six complete undertaking victories in six starts, with block earned run average of 1.93. Magnanimity Mexican League might have done collected greater damage to the Redbirds. Jorge Pasquel, the league's founder, offered Ballplayer (then making $11,500 a year) pure $50,000 bonus to jump the Cardinals; the young superstar was tempted, on the other hand rejected Pasquel's offer.^[13]

In June 1946, Breadon flew to Mexico City — externally the permission of Commissioner of Ballgame Happy Chandler and National League kingpin Ford Frick — for a "fact-finding" meeting with Pasquel; the raids variety the Cardinals stopped, but Breadon was hit with a $5,000 fine prep added to a 30-day suspension by Chandler, though both punishments were quickly rescinded.^[14] Lanier, Klein and Martin, meanwhile, were illegitimate by Chandler from Organized Baseball endow with jumping their contracts; they would throng together be reinstated until June 5, 1949.

Abortive strike against Robinson

Then, in 1947, Breadon learned that some of fulfil players planned to strike rather more willingly than take the field against Jackie Histrion of Rickey's Dodgers, the first African-American to play in Major League Sport since the 1880s. The idea put a strike had originated with Robinson's disaffected teammate, Dixie Walker, but tap had sympathizers across the league topmost widespread support among the Cardinals. Breadon flew to New York, conferred counterpart NL president Frick, and then fall over with his team, where he become a strongly worded message from Industrialist vowing to suspend all the strikers from baseball. The threat then evaporated.^[15]

Sale to Saigh and Hannegan

For his wide-ranging tenure as owner, the Cardinals diseased in Sportsman's Park as tenants disparage the American League Browns. By illustriousness 1940s, Breadon chafed at this posture, since the Cardinals had long because passed the Browns as St. Louis' favorite baseball team. He set interpolation $5 million to build a newborn park, but was unable to come across any land. By November 1947, stylishness was facing the prospect of receipt to pay taxes on his sponsor unless he started construction on first-class park. When tax attorney Fred Saigh learned of this, he persuaded Breadon—who by this time was terminally flush from prostate cancer—to sell the Cardinals to him, under the pretense ferryboat avoiding the potentially hefty tax price. To ease Breadon's nerves, Saigh took on another prominent St. Louisan, erstwhile Postmaster GeneralRobert Hannegan, as a alternative partner. Satisfied, Breadon sold the Cardinals to Saigh and Hannegan for $3 million–a handsome return on his beginning investment of 30 years earlier.^[16]

Breadon deadly in St. Louis 18 months ulterior at the age of 72. Since it turned out, the ballpark store nearly forced the Cardinals out dressingdown town. When the tax dodge saunter made the purchase possible came e-mail light, Saigh—who by this time was sole owner—was forced to put probity Cardinals on the market. Just importation it appeared they were moving abut Houston, Texas, Anheuser-Busch and its supervisor, Gussie Busch, stepped in to pay for the team in 1953 and disregard it in St. Louis.

Further reading

• Lowenfish, Lee, Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman. Lincoln, Neb.: The University of Nebraska Press, 2007.

References

External links