August "Garry" Herrmann (May 3, 1859 – April 25, 1931) was an American political operative for Cincinnati

political boss In the politics of the United States of America, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of th ...

George B. Cox, an executive of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

baseball team, and president of

National Baseball Commission The National Baseball Commission was the governing body of Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from 1903 to 1920. It consisted of a chairman, the presidents of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and American League ...

. In 1946, he was named in the

Honor Rolls of Baseball The Honor Rolls of Baseball were established in 1946 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Permanent Committee to establish as a second level of induction designed to recognize non-playing contributors.James, p. 46 The committee d ...

Biography

Herrmann was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, on May 3, 1859, to a family of German descent. He learned

typesetting Typesetting is the composition of text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other ...

at a young age, and became a member of the

International Typographical Union The International Typographical Union (ITU) was a North American trade union for the printing trade of newspapers and other media. It was founded on May 3, 1852, in the United States as the National Typographical Union. It changed its name to the ...

. He then held various public positions in Cincinnati; as a member of the board of education (elected in 1882), assistant clerk of the police court (appointed in 1887), and a member of the board of administration (appointed in 1891). In 1896, he was appointed to the board of commissioners of the Cincinnati waterworks, and was then selected as the board's chairman. Herrmann served as president of the

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

from 1902 to 1927, and served as the president of

from 1903 to 1920. Herrmann essentially filled the role of

Commissioner of Baseball The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as " organized baseball". Under the direction of the commiss ...

before that position was officially established in 1920. With two other Commission members, he established the annual nature of the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

by 1905. Outside of Cincinnati public positions and baseball, Herrmann served as the Grand Exalted Ruler of the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...

(BPOE) in 1910, and was president of the

American Bowling Congress The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States of America, United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress—the original codifier ...

in 1908. Herrmann was married in 1881 and was predeceased by his wife; they had one daughter. Although financially successful, Herrmann had a reputation as a lavish entertainer, supported by news that he left an estate of $10. He died in Cincinnati on April 25, 1931, at age 71. In 1946, Herrmann was named in the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

, and on July 19, 2008, he was inducted into the

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is an entity established by Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise that pays homage to the team's past through displays, photographs and multimedia. It was instituted in 1958 to recognize th ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrmann, August 1859 births 1931 deaths American people of German descent Baseball executives Cincinnati Reds executives Cincinnati Reds owners Sportspeople from Cincinnati Burials at Vine Street Hill Cemetery Ohio Republicans Leaders of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

Biography

References

Further reading

External links