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List of female Major League Baseball principal owners

Since the beginning of Major League Baseball, women have rarely held high executive positions in team franchises. On occasion, however, women have ended as majority owners of Major League franchises. Most often, they end up inheriting their team from their families. As a result, there have been fourteen women who have held the controlling stakes of a franchise in the league's history.

National League owners at the December 1911 league meeting; Helene Hathaway Britton is the only woman present.

The first female owner in MLB history was Helene Hathaway Britton, the daughter of Frank Robison and the niece of Stanley Robison. She inherited the St. Louis Cardinals from her uncle upon his death and, despite pressure to sell from fellow male owners, chose to retain ownership and control of the team and took an active part in running it until financial issues forced her to sell. Grace Comiskey inherited the team from her husband J. Louis Comiskey and became team President, the first woman in the American League to hold a high executive role. Her daughter Dorothy Comiskey Rigney inherited the team from her.

Two women have independently owned majority stakes of an MLB franchise without inheriting it. Joan Whitney Payson, previously a minority owner of the New York Giants, was the first owner of the New York Mets and played a big role in bringing the National League back to New York City after the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers moved to the West Coast. She was the first woman to own a team without having inherited it. Marge Schott was the first woman to purchase a Major League franchise when she bought the Cincinnati Reds in 1984.

Additionally, a number of women have inherited the team upon the death of a family member but delegated the business of running to someone else. For instance, Edith Dunn, the wife of Cleveland Indians owner Jim Dunn, was the first woman in the American League and second overall to own a franchise but did not take part in its day-to-day operations, instead letting general manager Ernest Barnard run the team until she sold it upon remarrying in 1927. Unusually, baseball executive Mae Nugent inherited the majority shares of the Philadelphia Phillies from owners William and Laura Baker upon their deaths but her husband Gerald Nugent ran the day-to-day operations.

Principal owners

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The following is a list of women who have held the majority stake in a Major League Baseball franchise:

List of female principal MLB owners
Name Portrait Major League team(s) Ownership tenure Notes Ref.
Helene Hathaway Britton   St. Louis Cardinals 1911–1918
[1]
Edith Dunn Cleveland Indians 1922–1927
[2]
Laura Baker Philadelphia Phillies 1930–1934
[3]
Mae Nugent Philadelphia Phillies 1934–1942
  • Received minority shares of the team upon death of William Baker; received remaining shares upon death of Laura Baker, alongside son Gerald Nugent, effectively giving her majority control of the team.
  • Vice President of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1934 to 1942; husband Gerald Nugent served as President.
 [3]
Florence W. Dreyfuss Pittsburgh Pirates 1932–1949
[4]
Grace Comiskey Chicago White Sox 1939–1956
[5][6]
Dorothy Comiskey Rigney Chicago White Sox 1956–1958
  • Inherited team from mother, Grace Comiskey.
 [7]
Joan Whitney Payson   New York Mets 1962–1975
  • First woman to independently own an MLB team without inheriting it.
  • President of the New York Mets from 1962 to 1975.
 [8]
Jean R. Yawkey Boston Red Sox 1976–1992
[9]
Terry O'Malley Seidler   Los Angeles Dodgers 1979–1998
[10]
Marge Schott Cincinnati Reds 1984–1999
  • First woman to purchase an MLB team.
  • President of the Cincinnati Reds from 1985 to 1993.
 [11]
Joan Kroc San Diego Padres 1984–1990
[12]
Jackie Autry Los Angeles Angels 1998–1999
[13]
Wendy Selig-Prieb   Milwaukee Brewers 1998–2004
  • Team controlling share was transferred to her from her father, Bud Selig upon his becoming Commissioner of Baseball in 1998.
  • President of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1998 to 2001.
 [14][15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Borst, William A. "Helene Britton: The Matron Magnate". Society for American Baseball Research.
  2. ^ Bohmer, David. "Cleveland Guardians team ownership history". Society for American Baseball Research.
  3. ^ a b Westcott, Rich. "Philadelphia Phillies team ownership history". Society for American Baseball Research.
  4. ^ "Mrs. Dreyfuss Dies; Owned The Pirates; Inherited Pittsburgh Baseball Club From Husband--Sold It in 1946 for $2,250,000". The New York Times. May 14, 1950 – via TimesMachine.
  5. ^ "Control of White Sox Is Assured". Quad-City Times. Davenport, Iowa. January 15, 1941. Retrieved November 14, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Grace Comiskey New Prexy of Pale Hose Chicago". The Times. March 5, 1941. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Creamer, Robert (February 24, 1958). "The Comiskey Affair". Sports Illustrated.
  8. ^ Heaphy, Leslie. "Joan Whitney Payson: A Pioneer for the New York Mets". Society for American Baseball Research.
  9. ^ "Jean Yawkey (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research.
  10. ^ Newhan, Ross (January 7, 1997). "O'My! O'Malley Era Ending". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Berkow, Ira (November 29, 1992). "BASEBALL; Marge Schott: Baseball's Big Red Headache". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  12. ^ "Joan B. Kroc, 75, Owner of the Padres And Philanthropist". The New York Times. October 14, 2003.
  13. ^ Norwood, Robyn (August 11, 1991). "Angels' Jackie Autry Increasingly Taking Reins From Cowboy". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ Asher, Mark (January 16, 2004). "Selig Family to Place Brewers on the Market". The Washington Post.
  15. ^ "MLB owners honor Selig at their annual meeting in desert". Sports Illustrated. January 14, 2015.

Further reading

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  • Cook, William A. (2015). Lady Moguls: A History of Women Who Have Owned Major League Baseball Teams. Sunbury Press. ISBN 978-1620066362.
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