Marvin Milkes
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marvin Milkes (August 10, 1923 – January 31, 1982) was an American front office executive in three professional sports:
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
,
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, and
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
. He is perhaps best known as the first
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
in the history of baseball's
Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their home games at Sick's Stadium and were a me ...
and—when that franchise was transferred after its only season in the Pacific Northwest—
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
.


Minor league executive

A former batboy for the
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
's
Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
, Milkes' front-office career began in
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
when he became an executive with
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
affiliates in the
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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
' vast
farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...
. He won
The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
' Minor League Executive of the Year Award (Lower Classification) in
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
as general manager of the
Fresno Cardinals Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
of the Class C
California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...
. Beginning in
1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...
, he was the GM of the
San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...
, then the Double-A
Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
affiliate 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 ...
. When the Orioles dropped the affiliation after the
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
season, Milkes worked to keep the Missions franchise alive, securing a working agreement with the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. He later served as general manager of the
Charleston Senators The Charleston Senators were an American minor league baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They were the first professional baseball team to play in Charleston, beginning play in 1910. The team was inactive during a few periods, playi ...
of the Triple-A American Association in 1960.


At the Pilots' helm

In
1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...
, he joined the front office 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 ...
's
Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
in the franchise's first year as an
expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
. Serving as assistant general manager to
Fred Haney Fred Girard Haney (April 25, 1896 – November 9, 1977) was an American third baseman, manager, coach and executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a manager, he won two pennants and a world championship with the Milwaukee Braves. He late ...
, Milkes helped build the organization. One of his duties beginning in 1965 was to supervise its newly acquired Triple-A club, the
Seattle Angels Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
of the Pacific Coast League, and when Seattle was granted an AL expansion team for —the Pilots—Milkes was named its first general manager. Although he drafted many veterans from the 1968 expansion pool, Milkes also chose younger players who would go on to long and successful Major League careers—including
Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals a ...
, Mike Marshall and
Marty Pattin Martin William Pattin (April 6, 1943 – October 3, 2018) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 475 games in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher. He pitched for the California Angels (1968), Seattle Pilots / M ...
. But his most famous acquisition was
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
Jim Bouton James Alan Bouton (; March 8, 1939 – July 10, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. Bouton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves between 196 ...
, purchased from the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
during the 1968 season. Bouton would immortalize the 1969 Pilots in his memoir/diary ''
Ball Four ''Ball Four: My Life and Hard Times Throwing the Knuckleball in the Big Leagues'' is a book by Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton, edited by Leonard Shecter and first published in 1970. The book is a diary of Bouton's 1969 season, sp ...
'', and Milkes would not escape Bouton's scorn as an example of a baseball executive willing to deceive his players for the benefit of the club's ownership and management. Bouton wrote on August 26, 1969, after Milkes had traded him to the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
: "As soon as a general manager says Now I want to be honest with you' check your wallet. It's like Marvin Milkes telling you, 'We've always had a nice relationship.' The truth is general managers aren't honest with their players, and they have no relationship with them except a business one."Bouton, Jim, ''Ball Four.'' New York and Cleveland: The World Publishing Co., 1970, page 327.


One and done in Seattle

Unfortunately for Milkes, the Pilots' tenure in Seattle would be the shortest of any franchise in modern MLB history and ''Ball Four'' would be the team's lasting legacy. The Pilots played in a former minor league facility,
Sick's Stadium Sick's Stadium, also known as Sick's Seattle Stadium and later as Sicks' Stadium, was a baseball Baseball park, park in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. It was located in Rainier Valley, ...
, that was intended only as a stopgap until a domed stadium could be built. The team was outdrafted by its expansion twin, the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
, and finished last in the
American League West Division The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cu ...
, winning only 64 games and drawing only 678,000 fans. They were also plagued by an unstable, undercapitalized ownership.
Dewey Soriano Dewey Soriano (February 8, 1920 – April 6, 1998) was the part-owner of the Seattle Pilots baseball team of the American League in 1969, the franchise's only year in Seattle. Born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Soriano moved to Seattle with ...
, the man who had won the franchise, couldn't pay the expansion fee and had to get help from former
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
owner William R. Daley, who got almost half the stock in return. By the end of the season, the Pilots had almost run out of money. It was obvious that the Pilots would not be able to hold out long enough to move to their new stadium without new ownership. It was also obvious that those new owners would have to start construction right away, as it was now clear that Sick's Stadium was inadequate even for temporary use. A local group was forced to withdraw when the
Bank of California The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, and considered instrumental in developing the Amer ...
called a $4 million loan to the Soriano-Daley group. Another local group put together a nonprofit bid to buy the team, but this bid was rejected out of concerns it would devalue the other clubs. Another, more traditional bid by the same people fronting the nonprofit group fell one vote short of approval. The American League was concerned enough to seize control of the Pilots and appoint
Roy Hamey Henry Roy Hamey (June 9, 1902 – December 14, 1983) was an American front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). A longtime employee of the New York Yankees, he was appointed the club's general manager in November 1960. Inheriting a ...
as caretaker CEO to watch over the foundering franchise. As the Pilots got ready for
spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...
in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, the only credible buyers who appeared on the horizon were bent on moving the Pilots to
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
. This group, headed by
Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the commissioner emeritus of baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth commissioner of baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served a ...
, wanted to bring baseball back to a city still smarting over the
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
move of the
Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The club was founded in Boston, ...
to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. It had tried to lure 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
to Milwaukee, and failed to land a
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 ...
expansion franchise in 1969. MLB gave tentative approval for the sale to Selig's group, but the state of Washington got a temporary injunction to stop the sale. In response, the Pilots filed for
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
to forestall any further legal action. As spring training drew to a close, Pilots players and management were unsure whether to report to Seattle or Milwaukee to begin the 1970 season. At the bankruptcy hearing, Milkes testified that the Pilots no longer had enough money to pay the coaches, players and office staff. Had Milkes been more than 10 days late in paying the players, they would have all become free agents and left Seattle without a team for the 1970 season. With this in mind, Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney C. Volinn declared the Pilots bankrupt on March 31—seven days before Opening Day—clearing the way for them to move to Milwaukee. The team's equipment had been sitting in
Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...
with the drivers awaiting word on whether to drive toward Seattle or Milwaukee. With the move being approved on such short notice, Selig and his syndicate were compelled to retain Milkes and the new
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
he had just hired,
Dave Bristol James David Bristol (born June 23, 1933) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Success in the minors, and with the Reds Bristol attended high school at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Te ...
. The Brewers took the field with the outline of the old Pilots logo clearly visible on their uniforms, and Milkes was allowed to finish the season—during which Milwaukee won 65 games (one more than the Pilots had won the previous year), finished fourth in the AL West, and attracted 933,000 fans. Then, on December 17, 1970, Milkes turned in his resignation.


After baseball: hockey and soccer

As it turned out, Milkes' resignation signaled the end of a 25-year baseball career. His next job, in February 1972, was as the first general manager in the history of the New York Raiders, a franchise in the upstart
World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...
. But Milkes' tenure was brief; he resigned eight months into the job. Almost a decade later, in 1981, Milkes was general manager of Soccer Los Angeles, which operated the
Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...
of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
, but the franchise folded and in November of that year he resigned. Slightly more than two months later, on January 31, 1982, Milkes died of an apparent
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
at a Los Angeles health club. He was 58 years old.


References

*Obituary, ''
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 ...
'', Feb. 2, 1982. *Spink, C. C. Johnson, ed., ''The 1968 Baseball Guide.'' St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1969. {{DEFAULTSORT:Milkes, Marvin 1923 births 1982 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Baseball executives California Angels executives Los Angeles Angels executives Major League Baseball general managers Milwaukee Brewers executives Minor league baseball executives North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives Seattle Pilots World Hockey Association executives