Clarence Miles (June 29, 1897 – October 8, 1977) was the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the board and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

during the and seasons. Miles was a native of the Eastern Shore. He had gone to school with Wallis Warfield. In 1924, he founded what would become one of Baltimore's more prominent law firms, Miles & Stockbridge. In

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

, he joined forces with

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Tommy D'Alesandro to bring a major league team to Baltimore. After a year of searching, they found an apparent candidate in the moribund St. Louis Browns. Their owner, Bill Veeck, had recently been broadsided by the sale of the St. Louis Cardinals to

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...

. While Veeck had mounted a considerable effort over the past two years to drive the Cardinals out of St. Louis, he'd concluded he could not possibly compete against a team with Anheuser-Busch's resources behind it and was looking to move elsewhere. Veeck had wanted to move the Browns to Baltimore himself for the 1953 season, but was voted down. After the season, Veeck cut a deal with Miles and D'Alesandro in which Miles and other Baltimore investors would buy half of Veeck's 80 percent stake in the Browns, with Veeck remaining as principal owner. The proposal required six out of eight owners to vote in favor, but at an owners' meeting in New York City on September 27, only four voted aye, reportedly because Yankees co-owner Del Webb was rounding up support to move the Browns to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Miles realized that the owners merely wanted Veeck out of the way. In 48 hours, he lined up enough support from several of the Baltimore investors in the original deal with Veeck—such as brewer

Jerold Hoffberger Jerold Charles Hoffberger (April 7, 1919 – April 9, 1999) was an American businessman. He was president of the National Brewing Company from 1946 to 1973. He was also part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles of the American League from 1954 t ...

, investment banker Joseph Iglehart and real estate developer

James Keelty James S. Keelty Jr. (December 23, 1911 – August 26, 2003) was part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles of the American League from to . Keelty was a Baltimore-area real estate developer who started James Keelty & Co. Inc. with his younger brothe ...

—to buy out Veeck's interest for $2.5 million. This deal, along with the planned move to Baltimore, was unanimously approved. Almost immediately, Miles announced the team would be renamed the Orioles. With his fellow investors both frustrated with his domination of the team's business operations and dissatisfied with a pair of seventh-place finishes, Miles resigned in early November, 1955. Keelty succeeded him as president with Iglehart becoming board chairman.Miller, James Edward. ''The Baseball Business''. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1990.

Death

Miles died in Queenstown, Maryland, in October 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Clarence Major League Baseball owners Baltimore Orioles owners Businesspeople from Baltimore 1897 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople