Dorothy Elizabeth Comiskey Rigney (December 26, 1916 – January 22, 1971) was an American businesswoman who owned the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

from through . She is one of the few women to have served as principal owner of a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

team. Rigney was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to John Louis Comiskey (1885–1939) and Grace Elizabeth Reidy (1894–1956)). She was the eldest grandchild of

Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...

, and inherited control of the White Sox upon the death of her mother. In 1941, she married former White Sox

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and executive

Johnny Rigney John Dungan Rigney (October 28, 1914 – October 21, 1984) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox (– and –). Listed at , , Rigney batted and threw right-handed. A native of Rive ...

. For most of her tenure as owner, Dorothy was in a running battle for control of the team with her younger brother,

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

, who was the team's second-largest stockholder. When Dorothy put the team on the market after the 1958 season, she initially wanted to sell her 54% stake to her brother. However, Chuck made such a lowball offer that Dorothy instead sold the White Sox to Bill Veeck, ending the Comiskey family's 58-year control of the franchise. Dorothy Rigney also owned and raced

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horses. One of her most successful runners was multiple stakes race winner, Fast Hilarious whose wins included the 1969

American Derby The American Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States run annually at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The inaugural American Derby was held at Chicago's old Washington Park Race Track on the city's South Side and ra ...

and the 1971

Gulfstream Park Handicap The Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (formerly known as the Gulfstream Park Handicap) is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Gulfstream Park each year. The race is open to horses age four and up, willing to race one mile on the dirt. A Grade II even ...

. She died at a

Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 United States Census. Histor ...

hospital in 1971 at the age of 54."Dorothy Comiskey Rigney Dies At Loyola Hospital", ''Oak Park Oak Leaves'', Wednesday, January 27, 1971, Oak Park, Illinois, United States Of America

References

1916 births 1971 deaths Major League Baseball owners Chicago White Sox owners American racehorse owners and breeders Businesspeople from Chicago Comiskey family 20th-century American businesspeople Women baseball executives {{baseball-business-bio-stub

See also

References