William Walsingham Jr. (July 9, 1909 – April 13, 1969) was an American front office executive in
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 ...
. He spent the bulk of his 30-year career with 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 ...
, owned by his uncle,
Sam Breadon
Samuel Wilson Breadon (; ''BRAY-din'') (July 26, 1876 – May 8, 1949) was an American executive who served as the president and principal owner of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1920 through 1947. During that tim ...
, from
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
through
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
. He also served as a vice president of Breadon's Western Automobile Company, later Sam Breadon Inc.
Walsingham began as a ticket-taker with the Cardinals, but by the early 1940s he had become a vice president of the Redbirds. When Breadon parted company with his longtime
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 ...
,
Hall of Famer
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
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 ...
, at the close of the
1942
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
campaign, Walsingham became the club's chief of baseball operations, although the GM title was not formally assigned to him. He was part of a management triumvirate that included Breadon and the Cardinals' chief scout,
Joe Mathes
Joseph John Mathes (July 28, 1891 – December 21, 1978) was an American Major League Baseball infielder. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the season, the St. Louis Terriers during the season, and the Boston Braves
The Bo ...
.
Walsingham continued as a vice president of the Cards, GM without portfolio, and a member of its board of directors after Breadon sold the club to Robert E. Hannegan and
Fred Saigh
Frederick Michael Saigh Jr. (pronounced "sigh") (1905–1999) was a lawyer, real estate investor, and owner of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1948 through 1953.
Early life
Saigh was born in Springfield, Illinois, a ...
in November 1947. In January
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
, Saigh was forced to dispose of the Cardinals after his conviction on income tax evasion charges. Walsingham stepped in as the team's official
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 ...
representative and chief executive, as rumors swirled that he would assemble a syndicate to buy the franchise. However, August A. Busch Jr. came forward as the team's new owner; the "beer baron" would operate the Cardinals for the next 36 years.
Busch appointed a brewery executive, Richard A. Meyer, as the Cardinals' general manager upon his purchase of the team, but Walsingham remained a vice president in the Cardinal front office until October 1955, when
Frank Lane
Frank Charles Meyers LaneCorbett, Warren: ''Frank Lane,'' succeeded Meyer as GM. Walsingham said that he resigned "because I believe a ball club cannot be successfully run by two people, both of whom are confident they can do the job."
In 1957, Walsingham was named an executive vice president with 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
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 ...
— ironically, the transplanted
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...
, who from 1902 to 1953 fought an ultimately losing battle against the Cardinals for the affections of the city's fans before leaving town. His appointment was an attempt by the Orioles' owners to rein in Paul Richards' freewheeling spending on amateur talent and phase him out of his general manager duties to concentrate on
managing
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 ...
the ballclub. But Walsingham failed to establish any authority within the organization and was ignored by Richards, who continued to operate in his dual GM/field manager role unimpeded. Walsingham was dismissed on October 30, 1958 and eventually replaced by
Lee MacPhail
Leland Stanford MacPhail Jr. (October 25, 1917 – November 8, 2012) was an American front-office executive in Major League Baseball. MacPhail was a baseball executive for 45 years, serving as the director of player personnel for the New York Y ...
, who became general manager after Richards agreed to relinquish those duties.
Walsingham then returned to St. Louis to become a marketing consultant with Busch's
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 ...
brewery. He died in his native city of a heart ailment at age 59 on April 13, 1969, survived by his wife and four children.
See also
*
List of St. Louis Cardinals owners and executives
The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Owners, transactions and valuation
Chris von der Ahe (1882–1898)
In 1882, the St. L ...
Society for American Baseball Research
The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...