Chuck Armstrong | |
---|---|
President of Seattle Mariners | |
In office 1993 –January 31, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Gary Kaseff |
Succeeded by | Kevin Mather |
In office 1983–1989 | |
Preceded by | Dan O'Brien Sr. |
Succeeded by | Gary Kaseff |
Personal details | |
Alma mater | Purdue University Stanford Law School |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Charles G. Armstrong is an American attorney and former officer of the United States Navy,best known for his 28-year tenure as president of the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball club,a position from which he stepped down on January 31,2014. [1]
Armstrong was born in Louisville,Kentucky. In 1964,he earned an engineering degree from Purdue University,followed by a law degree from Stanford University in 1967. Shortly after graduation,Armstrong began his three-year career in the navy. [2]
Armstrong was employed as general counsel for George Argyros' California real estate business when the latter purchased the Mariners from the team's original ownership group,led by entertainer Danny Kaye,in 1981. Argyros immediately brought Armstrong to Seattle to serve as the team's president. [3] During 1987 and 1988,Argyros was attempting to purchase the San Diego Padres and sell the Mariners to several possible out-of-state investors,one of whom intended to move the team to Miami. Armstrong attempted to organize a group of Seattle-based investors with the intention of keeping the team in Seattle;however,citing a conflict of interest,Argyros instructed him to "back away" from his efforts. [4] The Mariners were eventually sold to Indiana businessman Jeff Smulyan in 1989,and Armstrong was let go. [5]
Armstrong worked for several Seattle companies as a consultant from 1989 to 1992,and served as interim athletic director for the University of Washington Huskies,during 1991. [6] In 1991,after Smulyan had put the team up for sale and rumors persisted that they would relocate to the Tampa Bay area,Armstrong was recruited by then-U.S. Senator Slade Gorton to aid in efforts keep the Mariners in Seattle. [3] He served as a consultant to Seattle-area business leader John Ellis while The Baseball Club of Seattle (led by Nintendo chairman Hiroshi Yamauchi) was negotiating to purchase the team. Major League Baseball stipulated that,as a condition of allowing the team's sale to a group with foreign majority investors,"North American interests" were to run the club's day-to-day operations. [7] The sale was approved in June 1992. Armstrong was brought back to serve as the team's president in 1993,with Ellis serving as CEO and representing the team's ownership group (a role filled by former Nintendo of America executive Howard Lincoln since Ellis' retirement in 2000).
On November 25,2013,Armstrong announced that he would retire from his position as president and COO of the Mariners. [1] January 31,2014 marked his last day as the Mariners' president. [8]
Armstrong is the father of Dorsey Armstrong,a professor in the English Department at Purdue University. A widely published scholar,she specializes in medieval literature.
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team in 1977 playing their home games in the Kingdome. Since July 1999,the Mariners' home ballpark has been T-Mobile Park,located in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle.
Hiroshi Yamauchi was a Japanese businessman and the third president of Nintendo,joining the company on 25 April 1949 until stepping down on 24 May 2002,being succeeded by Satoru Iwata. During his 53-year tenure,Yamauchi transformed Nintendo from a hanafuda card-making company that had been active solely in Japan into a multibillion-dollar video game publisher and global conglomerate. He was the great-grandson of Fusajiro Yamauchi,Nintendo's first president and founder. Hiroshi Yamauchi owned the Seattle Mariners baseball team from 1992 until his death.
Louis Victor Piniella 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 and New York Yankees. During his playing career,he was named AL Rookie of the Year in 1969 and captured two World Series championships with the Yankees.
The Mariner Moose is the team mascot of the Seattle Mariners,a Major League Baseball team. He is an anthropomorphic moose who mainly appears and performs during Mariners home games at T-Mobile Park;he additionally makes several hundred appearances in the community each year,at everything from hospitals to wedding receptions. His appearance has remained relatively unchanged since his introduction in 1990,making him one of the most recognizable and popular mascots throughout all of Major League Baseball.
Howard Charles Lincoln is an American lawyer and businessman,known primarily for being the former chairman of Nintendo of America and the former chairman and chief executive officer of the Seattle Mariners baseball team,representing absentee majority owner Hiroshi Yamauchi until Yamauchi died on September 19,2013.
George Leon Argyros is an American former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain. He is also a real estate investor and philanthropist. Argyros was the owner of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners from 1981 to 1989. He is the founder and CEO of property firm Arnel &Affiliates.
David Arnold Niehaus was an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for the American League's Seattle Mariners from their inaugural season in 1977 until his death after the 2010 season. In 2008,the National Baseball Hall of Fame awarded Niehaus the Ford C. Frick Award,the highest honor for American baseball broadcasters. Among fans nationwide and his peers,Niehaus was considered to be one of the greatest sportscasters in history.
Emmis Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis,Indiana,United States. Emmis,based on the Hebrew word for "Truth" (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations,including KPWR and WQHT,which have notoriety for their Hip Hop Rhythmic format as well as WFAN,which was the world's first 24-hour sports talk radio station. In addition to radio,Emmis has invested in TV,publishing,and mobile operations throughout the U.S.
The 1992 Seattle Mariners season was their 16th since the franchise creation. The team finished seventh (last) in the American League West with a record of 64–98 (.395).
The 1989 Seattle Mariners season was their 13th since the franchise creation,and the team finished sixth in the American League West,with a record of 73–89 (.451). The Mariners were led by first-year manager Jim Lefebvre and the season was enlivened by the arrival of nineteen-year-old Ken Griffey Jr.,the first overall pick of the 1987 draft.
The 1981 Seattle Mariners season was their fifth since the franchise creation,and were sixth in the American League West at 44–65 (.404). Due to the 1981 player's strike,the season was split in half,with pre-strike and post-strike results. The Mariners were sixth in the division in the first half at 21–36 (.368),and fifth in the second half at 23–29 (.442). The strike began on June 12 and regular season play resumed on August 10.
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle,Washington. Enfranchised in 1977,the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field,now named T-Mobile Park,has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July 1999. From their 1977 inception until June 1999,the club's home park was the Kingdome.
The Double was a double hit by the Seattle Mariners' Edgar Martínez in Game 5 of Major League Baseball's 1995 American League Division Series on October 8,1995. Trailing by one run in the bottom half of the 11th inning,with Joey Cora on third base and Ken Griffey Jr. on first,Martinez's hit drove in Cora and Griffey,giving the Mariners a 6–5 victory over the New York Yankees to clinch the series,3–2. The play is held to be the "biggest hit in franchise history".
Richard Pendleton Balderson is a retired American professional baseball player,front-office executive and scout. A longtime scouting and player development director,Balderson was the general manager of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball from late October 1985 through late July 1988.
Jeffrey Howard Smulyan is the founder and chief executive officer of Emmis Communications.
Joshua William Lueke is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays,and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. His impending retirement from professional baseball was announced prior to the upcoming 2022-2023 winter season of the Mexican Pacific League.
S. Dorsey"Dorrie" Armstrong is an American Arthurian scholar who is Professor of English and Medieval Literature at Purdue University. Before joining the English department at Purdue in 2002,she taught at Centenary College of Louisiana and California State University,Long Beach. Her research interests include medieval women writers;late medieval print culture;and the Arthurian legend.
Kevin Mather is an American former professional baseball executive and accountant. He is a minority owner of the Seattle Mariners and served as its president from 2014 until 2021.
James Fremont Stillwell,Jr. was one of the original owners of the Seattle Mariners baseball team. The original ownership group,which included entertainer Danny Kaye,took control of the team on February 6,1976. It held control until January 14,1981,when George Argyros became principal owner of the club.