Philip De Catesby Ball (October 22, 1864 – October 22, 1933) was the owner of the

St. Louis Terriers The St. Louis Terriers were a baseball club that played in the short-lived Federal League in and . They played their home games at Handlan's Park. The team was owned by ice magnate Phil Ball, who later was owner of the St. Louis Browns. In thei ...

of the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

from through and the St. Louis Browns 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 b ...

from through .

Biography

He was born in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

. He died in St. Louis, Missouri of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

. Ball became wealthy through the ownership of the Federal Cold Storage Company refrigeration company in St. Louis; he expanded his holdings to include oil wells, ranch lands, and urban commercial real estate. He was considered the Federal League owner most committed to the development of a permanent third major league. As the Federal League's bidding war with the established clubs took a financial toll on its owners, Ball remained committed to stocking a competitive roster. His strategy undermined the bottom line of the Terriers, Browns, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. As part of a final settlement,

Robert Hedges Robert Hedges may refer to: *Robert Hedges (colonial administrator), President of Bengal, 1713–1718 *Robert Hedges (baseball) Robert Hedges (born 1869 in Jackson County, Missouri – died April 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri) was the owner of the ...

sold the Browns to Ball, who was subsequently able to transfer a number of players from his folded club to his new franchise.

Legacy

Ball is perhaps best known for demoting pioneering baseball executive

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

from general manager to business manager in 1915, which led to his departure for the Cardinals. He considered Rickey's ideas, such as the development of an integrated farm system, to be too radical for the time; however, he also sought to prevent other teams from experimenting with these ideas by unsuccessfully seeking a court order to vacate Rickey's 1917 contract with the Browns' crosstown rivals. Due to the poor fortunes of the team both financially and on the field, Ball's estate continued to own the Browns after his death until , when the team was sold to

Donald Lee Barnes Donald Lee Barnes (May 8, 1894 – July 20, 1962 in St. Louis, Missouri) was the owner of the St. Louis Browns of the American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two l ...

.Quirk, James P. and Rodney D. Fort, 1997
Pay Dirt: The Business of Professional Team Sports
Princeton University Press, , p. 47.

References

External links

* 1864 births 1932 deaths Businesspeople from Iowa Deaths from sepsis Infectious disease deaths in Missouri Major League Baseball executives People from Keokuk, Iowa St. Louis Browns owners Businesspeople from St. Louis Federal League executives {{US-baseball-business-bio-stub