Kevin S. McClatchy (born January 13, 1963) is the chairman of

McClatchy McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it b ...

and former owner of the

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

baseball team. He led a group of investors that purchased the team in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, and served as the team's CEO and lead owner until 2007, when

Bob Nutting Robert Nutting (born March 29, 1962, colloquially known as 'Bob') is an American businessman and sports team owner. Since 2007, he has been the principal owner and chairman of the board of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. His oth ...

took over as lead owner, and McClatchy and Nutting hired Frank Coonelly to become CEO.

Early life

McClatchy was born in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the son of C.K. McClatchy and Grace Kennan. He is a grandson of the eminent diplomat and historian

George F. Kennan George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904 – March 17, 2005) was an American diplomat and historian. He was best known as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly hist ...

. His great-grandfather

Charles Kenny McClatchy Charles Kenny McClatchy, better known as C. K. McClatchy (November 1, 1858 – April 27, 1936), was the editor of ''The Sacramento Bee'' and a founder of McClatchy Newspapers, the family-owned company that was forerunner to The McClatchy Comp ...

edited

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

for 53 years and was a founder of

McClatchy Newspapers McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it ...

.His father "CK" ran the paper, and nurtured it to become public, and with Erwin Potts' leadership, McClatchy acquired papers throughout the US, and became the predominant media leader of journalism in the US market. Prior to purchasing the Pirates, he owned the minor-league

Modesto A's Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is located ...

. In addition to his baseball work, McClatchy is a director of the family-owned

The McClatchy Company McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it b ...

, of which McClatchy Newspapers was the forerunner (he succeeded Gary B. Pruitt as chairman of the board of the company in April 2012). An alumnus of the

Trinity-Pawling School Trinity-Pawling School (formerly The Pawling School) is an independent, college-preparatory boarding school for boys in grades 7-12 and postgraduates, located in Pawling, New York, United States. The school, located on a 230-acre campus in sou ...

Pawling, New York Pawling may refer to: *Pawling (town), New York, in Dutchess County **Pawling (village), New York, in the town of Pawling *** Pawling (Metro-North station), train station for the village **Pawling Nature Reserve, in the northern section of the t ...

, McClatchy went on to graduate from the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

, where he was a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

fraternity.

Time with the Pirates

McClatchy was the leader and plurality investor in a group that paid $95 million ($ today) for the Pittsburgh Pirates in February 1996. McClatchy immediately assumed the posts of managing general partner and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, becoming the public face of the ownership group. McClatchy was a member of Major League Baseball's executive council and the labor and international committees. At some point after 2005, which is not entirely known because the Pirates are a private corporation,

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

newspaper publisher G. Ogden Nutting and his family became the plurality and then majority owners in the franchise.

, Ogden's son, had already served as

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

since 2002. The Nuttings, however, mostly shied from the spotlight and allowed McClatchy to continue serving as the main or even sole voice of the ownership group. In 2006, McClatchy speculated openly about resigning, possibly even selling the team, if the Pirates did not improve. He affirmed that he was frustrated with his own team, referencing popular and political complaints about the "promise" he made that the publicly funded

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth location to serve as the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. Opened during the 2001 Major League Baseb ...

would provide the owners with all the resources they needed to field a winning team. On October 4, 2006, however, McClatchy announced that despite another losing season, he would remain in his offices, and made only a few minor personnel changes. On January 12, 2007, the Pirates announced that Bob Nutting would replace McClatchy as the Pirates principal owner, though McClatchy stayed on as CEO and operating head of the franchise. During McClatchy's reign as owner, the Pirates never achieved a winning season. The closest they came was in 1997, when they finished 79-83–which was also the only time they finished higher than third in their division. On July 6, 2007, it was announced that McClatchy would step down as CEO after the 2007 MLB season. On September 8, 2007, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that baseball executive Frank Coonelly will be hired by the Pirates to replace McClatchy as CEO. This report came just one day after the Pirates fired general manager

Dave Littlefield David Michael Littlefield (born June 16, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball executive, who is currently a scout for the Detroit Tigers. Previously, Littlefield was employed as senior vice president and general manager of the Pittsb ...

. The hiring of Coonelly was announced September 13.

Personal life

On September 22, 2012, McClatchy came out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

in an interview with

Frank Bruni Frank Anthony Bruni (born October 31, 1964) is an American journalist writing for ''The New York Times'' since 1995. Following a wide range of assignments, including a stint as chief restaurant critic, he was named an op-ed columnist in June 2011 ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. As of 2013, McClatchy continues to live in

Ligonier Township, Pennsylvania Ligonier Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Ligonier Township entirely surrounds, but does not include, Ligonier Borough, which is a separate municipality. The township's population was 6,058 at the 2020 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McClatchy, Kevin 1963 births Living people American LGBTQ businesspeople American gay sportsmen LGBTQ people from California LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball owners Major League Baseball team presidents Pittsburgh Pirates executives Pittsburgh Pirates owners Businesspeople from Sacramento, California University of California, Santa Barbara alumni McClatchy people American chief executives of professional sports organizations Gay businessmen Sigma Alpha Epsilon members 20th-century American sportsmen