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Bill DeWitt
William Orville DeWitt Sr. (August 3, 1902 — March 4, 1982) was an American professional baseball executive and club owner whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned more than 60 years. DeWitt held multiple ownership and upper management positions in the major leagues, including general manager and owner of both the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds, chairman of the board of the Chicago White Sox, and president of the Detroit Tigers.
His son William DeWitt Jr. is currently the principal owner and managing partner of the St. Louis Cardinals, while grandson William III is the Cardinals' president.
DeWitt grew up in St. Louis. One of his first jobs, in 1916, was selling soda pop at the St. Louis Browns' home field, Sportsman's Park, and working as an office boy during his summer vacation. He began his formal baseball career with the Cardinals as a protégé of Branch Rickey, who moved from the Browns to the Redbirds in April 1917 and would become a legendary executive and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a young man, DeWitt studied law at night at Washington University in St. Louis, passed the Missouri Bar exam, and became the first treasurer of the Cardinals.
DeWitt ultimately joined the Browns, the city's underdog American League (AL) team, in November 1936 as minority owner (initially in partnership with majority stockholder Donald Lee Barnes) and general manager.
The Browns were cash-strapped and struggling to survive as the second-ranked team in one of the smallest markets in the big leagues, during The Great Depression. The team had drawn only 80,922 fans during the entire 1935 season.
"We operated close to the belt. We had to," DeWitt told author William B. Mead in the 1978 book Even the Browns: Baseball During World War II.
"Once we ran out of cash. Barnes tried to get the board of directors to put up some money. They said, 'No! That's money down the rat hole.' A lot wealthy guys, too ... The Browns had a hell of a time because the Cardinals were so popular and the Browns couldn't do a damned thing. We didn't have any attendance money to build up the ball club with. Most of the clubs had players in the minors that were better than some of the ones we had on the Browns."
The Browns' attendance perked up when they were allowed to play more night home games than other AL teams. Meanwhile, Rickey disciple DeWitt managed to use some of his scant resources to strengthen the Browns' farm system and scouting department, signing and developing Vern Stephens, Al Zarilla, and Jack Kramer—all future major league stars. He also attempted to add depth and unearth hidden talent by trading the Browns' few veteran assets, such as pitcher Bobo Newsom, for second-string players or minor leaguers with other organizations.
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Bill DeWitt
William Orville DeWitt Sr. (August 3, 1902 — March 4, 1982) was an American professional baseball executive and club owner whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned more than 60 years. DeWitt held multiple ownership and upper management positions in the major leagues, including general manager and owner of both the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds, chairman of the board of the Chicago White Sox, and president of the Detroit Tigers.
His son William DeWitt Jr. is currently the principal owner and managing partner of the St. Louis Cardinals, while grandson William III is the Cardinals' president.
DeWitt grew up in St. Louis. One of his first jobs, in 1916, was selling soda pop at the St. Louis Browns' home field, Sportsman's Park, and working as an office boy during his summer vacation. He began his formal baseball career with the Cardinals as a protégé of Branch Rickey, who moved from the Browns to the Redbirds in April 1917 and would become a legendary executive and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a young man, DeWitt studied law at night at Washington University in St. Louis, passed the Missouri Bar exam, and became the first treasurer of the Cardinals.
DeWitt ultimately joined the Browns, the city's underdog American League (AL) team, in November 1936 as minority owner (initially in partnership with majority stockholder Donald Lee Barnes) and general manager.
The Browns were cash-strapped and struggling to survive as the second-ranked team in one of the smallest markets in the big leagues, during The Great Depression. The team had drawn only 80,922 fans during the entire 1935 season.
"We operated close to the belt. We had to," DeWitt told author William B. Mead in the 1978 book Even the Browns: Baseball During World War II.
"Once we ran out of cash. Barnes tried to get the board of directors to put up some money. They said, 'No! That's money down the rat hole.' A lot wealthy guys, too ... The Browns had a hell of a time because the Cardinals were so popular and the Browns couldn't do a damned thing. We didn't have any attendance money to build up the ball club with. Most of the clubs had players in the minors that were better than some of the ones we had on the Browns."
The Browns' attendance perked up when they were allowed to play more night home games than other AL teams. Meanwhile, Rickey disciple DeWitt managed to use some of his scant resources to strengthen the Browns' farm system and scouting department, signing and developing Vern Stephens, Al Zarilla, and Jack Kramer—all future major league stars. He also attempted to add depth and unearth hidden talent by trading the Browns' few veteran assets, such as pitcher Bobo Newsom, for second-string players or minor leaguers with other organizations.