Bill Giles | |
|---|---|
 Giles in 2008 | |
| Born | September 7, 1934 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Baseball executive |
| Known for | Chairman Emeritus and former part-owner of the Philadelphia Phillies |
William Yale Giles (born September 7, 1934) is the honorary National League (NL) President, and chairman emeritus and former part-owner of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Philadelphia Phillies. [1]
Giles is the son of Baseball Hall of Fame executive Warren C. Giles, [2] who was the general manager and president of the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1951) before becoming president of the National League (1951–1969). His mother Jane Mabel Skinner was of the family of John Deere, founder of John Deere Co., and of the family of Linus Yale Sr. of the Yale Lock Company. [3] [4]
Bill Giles was born in Rochester, New York, during his father's term as president of Rochester Red Wings of the International League. His baseball career began in the Cincinnati organization during the 1950s, and he was among a group of Reds' executives (including former Cincinnati general manager Gabe Paul and MLB executive Tal Smith) who helped to found the Houston Astros when they debuted as the Colt .45s in 1962. [5] Sporting News'1962 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book, published in the Colt .45s' maiden season, lists Giles as the club's traveling secretary and publicity director. [6] Subsequently, he became promotions director, and focused on that role after the renamed team moved into the Astrodome in 1965.
Giles started with the Phillies as the vice president of business operations in 1969. He worked his way up in the organization, with stops as executive vice president and president, before becoming the chairman in 1997. [7] He was succeeded as chairman by David Montgomery and became chairman emeritus in 2015. [8]
Giles was also part of the ownership group that bought the Phillies from the Carpenter family in 1981. [2] The group was composed of Giles, Claire S. Betz, Tri-Play Associates (Alexander K. Buck, J. Mahlon Buck Jr. and William C. Buck), and Double Play Inc. (John S. Middleton). [9] Mahlon Buck died in 2011. [10] Claire S. Betz died in 2014. [11] The group reportedly purchased the team for $30 million. In March 2015, the team was valued at over $1 billion. [12]
Around 2012 or 2013, Giles sold his last shares of the Phillies. [1]
Giles is also honorary president of the National League—the same job his father held on an official full-time basis. One of the honorary president's tasks is to present the Warren C. Giles Trophy, named after his father, to the National League Championship Series winner. [13]
Other duties of the honorary league president include representing the league at the All-Star Game and the postseason. [14]
In 2001, a new tournament for the Division II baseball teams in the Philadelphia area, the Bill Giles Invitational, was named in his honor.
His wife, Nancy, died on April 12, 2020. [15]
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875, the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit, in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League, which was founded 25 years later and is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams.
John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction-equipment manufacturers in the world. Born in Rutland, Vermont, Deere moved to Illinois and invented the first commercially successful steel plow in 1837.
The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known for its annual awards and voting on membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Joe Leonard Morgan was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in each of those years. Considered one of the greatest second basemen of all time, Morgan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Warren Crandall Giles was an American professional baseball executive. Giles spent 33 years in high-level posts in Major League Baseball as general manager and club president of the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1951) and president of the National League (1951–1969), and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Lawrence Patrick David Gillick is an American professional baseball executive. He previously served as the general manager of four MLB teams: the Toronto Blue Jays (1978–1994), Baltimore Orioles (1996–1998), Seattle Mariners (2000–2003), and Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2008). He guided the Blue Jays to World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, and later with the Phillies in 2008.
Gabriel Howard Paul was an American executive in Major League Baseball who, between 1951 and 1984, served as general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Colt .45s, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees. He also was president and part-owner of the Indians and president and limited partner of the Yankees.
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The 1962 New York Mets season was the first regular season for the Mets, as the National League returned to New York City for the first time since 1957. They went 40–120 (.250) and finished tenth and last in the National League, 60+1⁄2 games behind the NL Champion San Francisco Giants, who had once called New York home. The Mets were the latest team to be 60+ games behind in a division before the 2018 Baltimore Orioles finished 61 games behind the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. The Mets' 120 losses are the most by any MLB team in one season since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Since then, the 2003 Detroit Tigers 2018 Orioles, and 2023 Oakland Athletics have come the closest to matching this mark, at 43–119 (.265), 47–115 (.290), and 50–112 respectively. The Mets' starting pitchers also recorded a new major league low of just 23 wins all season.
The 1962 Houston Colt .45s were an expansion team in American Major League Baseball's National League, and 1962 was the first season in franchise history. Harry Craft was Houston's first manager. The .45s finished eighth among the National League's ten teams with a record of 64–96, 36½ games behind the league champion San Francisco Giants.
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1953 followed a radically new procedure. The institution appointed its Committee on Baseball Veterans, the famous "Veterans Committee", to meet in person and consider pioneers and executives, managers, umpires, and earlier major league players. Committees in the 1930s and 1940s had chosen several pioneers and executives, but this was the first direction of anyone's attention to field personnel other than players, the managers and umpires.
David Paul Montgomery was an American businessman and baseball executive. He served as chairman, minority-owner, and president of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.
Robert Ruliph Morgan "Ruly" Carpenter III was an American businessman and baseball executive. He was the principal owner and president of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1972 to 1981.
John Mahlon Ogden, was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played five seasons in the majors, between 1918 and 1932, for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, and St. Louis Browns. He played several seasons with the then minor league Baltimore Orioles, became a baseball executive and a scout after his retirement and is a member of the International League Hall of Fame.
The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities. Moline teams played as members the 1892 Illinois-Iowa League, 1894 Western Association, the Mississippi Valley League (1924–1932), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League and Central Association (1947–1948), winning four league championships. The franchise played as the "Moline A's" in 1947–1948.
The Moultrie Packers were a class D, and class A minor league baseball team, based in Moultrie, Georgia, founded by J.S. Dillard.
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2017 proceeded according to rules most recently amended in 2016. As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players, with results announced on January 18, 2017. The BBWAA elected Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Iván Rodríguez to the Hall of Fame.
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