Charles Stoneham
Encyclopedia
Charles A. Stoneham was the owner of the New York Giants
baseball team, New York Giants
soccer team, the center of numerous corruption scandals and the instigator of the "Soccer Wars" which destroyed the American Soccer League
.
brokerage office. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a stock salesman in the company. In 1913, he established his own brokerage, Charles A. Stoneham & Company. In 1917, he also purchased the Sierra Nevada mine in Jefferson, Nevada. In 1921, Stoneham dissolved his brokerage house, convincing his investors to transfer their accounts to various other New York brokerage firms. In July 1922, E.M. Fuller & Company, one of the brokerages which accepted Stoneham's clients, collapsed.
Allegations arose that Stoneham was a silent partner in the firm and had provided false testimony in the investigation of the collapse. He was indicted on August 31, 1923 by a Federal grand jury for perjury. While this case was building, another of the brokerage firms associated with the dissolution of Stoneham's, E.D. Dier & Company, also collapsed. Once again, allegations of criminal activity began to swirl around him and in September 1923, he was indicted by the Federal government for mail fraud related to defrauding the Dier company's clients. He was acquitted of these charges on February 6, 1925. Although he was cleared of most charges in each case, the taint of scandal never fully left him.
, a notorious organized crime boss who ran numerous gambling operations. Rothstein, best known for fixing the 1919 World Series
, brokered Stoneham's purchase of the New York Giants
baseball team in 1919. He also co-owned a billiard parlour with Stoneham's right hand man, Giants manager John McGraw.
, and Havana Casino in Havana, Cuba. He was eventually forced to sell these operations in 1923, as part of an anti-corruption campaign waged by baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
. However, he continued to operate horse racing operations in New York for several more years. In truth, Charles won the New York Giants Baseball Club in a game of poker against then owner Harry Hempstead. This fact comes straight from the Stoneham family.
baseball team for one million dollars. He would own the team until his death in 1936, passing it to his son Horace Stoneham
. During his tenure as owner, Stoneham saw the Giants win the World Series in 1921
, 1922
and 1933
.
Stoneham was also involved in the aborted move of the New York Yankees
to Boston
in 1920. The Yankees, the city's second team, had leased the Polo Grounds
from the Giants since . At the time, the American League was riven by an internecine war, with the Yankees, Boston Red Sox
and Chicago White Sox
on one side and American League
president Ban Johnson
and the other five clubs on the other. With the acquisition of Babe Ruth
in 1920, the once-moribund Yankees suddenly became competitive and outdrew the Giants.
To destroy one of the three teams that opposed him, Johnson persuaded Stoneham to evict the Yankees. This would give Johnson an excuse to force a sale to a more pliable owner. The Yankees' owners, Jacob Ruppert
and Cap Huston
, responded by announcing they would move to Boston as tenants of the Red Sox. Stoneham realized that if the Yankees left town, he'd lose revenue from a valuable tenant. He also didn't want to be held responsible for forcing Ruth, the biggest star in the game, out of town. With these factors in mind, he renewed the Yankees' lease for one more year. The incident led the Yankees to construct their own park, Yankee Stadium
, to ensure that no other team would have the power to deny them a place to play.
was the second most popular professional league behind major league baseball, attracting large crowds and drawing many of Europe's best players with its excellent pay and high level of play. On September 8, 1927, Stoneham purchased the Indiana Flooring
franchise. While he wanted to rename the team the Giants, he was prevented by the fact the league already had a Giants team. Therefore, he settled on renaming his team the New York Nationals.
His infamy in soccer came as a result of his role in precipitating the "Soccer Wars" which led to the destruction of the ASL. Soccer in the US is overseen by a single organizing body, at the time known as the United States Football Association. The USFA ran an annual national single-elimination tournament known as the National Challenge Cup. Even though the Nationals had won the 1928 National Challenge Cup
over Bricklayers and Masons F.C.
of Chicago
, Stoneham and several other owners had grown frustrated by the high costs associated with this cup. Therefore, as league Vice President he instigated a boycott of the competition. When three teams defied the league and entered the cup, they were expelled from the ASL. The USFA then labeled the ASL an "outlaw league" and bankrolled the creation of the Eastern Soccer League
to compete directly against the ASL. The financial toll brought about by the Soccer War forced the capitulation of the ASL in 1929.
However, the league was permanently crippled. The onset of the Great Depression
worsened the league's financial situation and it limped on for three more years before collapsing. Before that happened, Stoneham finally gained his New York Giants
soccer team in 1931 when the original Giants was renamed the New York Soccer Club
. Stoneham withdrew his team from the ASL in 1932 and disbanded it.
. He died in a hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas
on January 6, 1936 after spending several days in a coma. His son and heir Horace Stoneham
was at his bedside.
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
baseball team, New York Giants
New York Giants (soccer)
New York Giants was a name used by three different New York soccer teams. Two of these teams were associated with the New York Giants baseball franchise. The first team that used the name played in the American League of Professional Football in 1894...
soccer team, the center of numerous corruption scandals and the instigator of the "Soccer Wars" which destroyed the American Soccer League
American Soccer League
The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
.
Business ventures
Stoneham began his career as a board boy, updating stock transactions, in a New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
brokerage office. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a stock salesman in the company. In 1913, he established his own brokerage, Charles A. Stoneham & Company. In 1917, he also purchased the Sierra Nevada mine in Jefferson, Nevada. In 1921, Stoneham dissolved his brokerage house, convincing his investors to transfer their accounts to various other New York brokerage firms. In July 1922, E.M. Fuller & Company, one of the brokerages which accepted Stoneham's clients, collapsed.
Allegations arose that Stoneham was a silent partner in the firm and had provided false testimony in the investigation of the collapse. He was indicted on August 31, 1923 by a Federal grand jury for perjury. While this case was building, another of the brokerage firms associated with the dissolution of Stoneham's, E.D. Dier & Company, also collapsed. Once again, allegations of criminal activity began to swirl around him and in September 1923, he was indicted by the Federal government for mail fraud related to defrauding the Dier company's clients. He was acquitted of these charges on February 6, 1925. Although he was cleared of most charges in each case, the taint of scandal never fully left him.
Relationship with Arnold Rothstein
Stoneham had a close business relationship with Arnold RothsteinArnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein , nicknamed "The Brain", was a New York businessman and gambler who became a famous kingpin of the Jewish mafia. Rothstein was also widely reputed to have been behind baseball's Black Sox Scandal, in which the 1919 World Series was fixed...
, a notorious organized crime boss who ran numerous gambling operations. Rothstein, best known for fixing the 1919 World Series
1919 World Series
The 1919 World Series matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Although most World Series have been of the best-of-seven format, the 1919 World Series was a best-of-nine series...
, brokered Stoneham's purchase of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
baseball team in 1919. He also co-owned a billiard parlour with Stoneham's right hand man, Giants manager John McGraw.
Gambling operations
Stoneham himself was an inveterate gambler and the owner of numerous gambling operations, including the Oriental Park RacetrackOriental Park Racetrack
Oriental Park Racetrack in Marianao, Havana, Cuba was a thoroughbred horse racing facility operated during the winter months by the Havana-American Jockey Club of Cuba...
, and Havana Casino in Havana, Cuba. He was eventually forced to sell these operations in 1923, as part of an anti-corruption campaign waged by baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
. However, he continued to operate horse racing operations in New York for several more years. In truth, Charles won the New York Giants Baseball Club in a game of poker against then owner Harry Hempstead. This fact comes straight from the Stoneham family.
Baseball
In 1919, Stoneham purchased the New York GiantsSan Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
baseball team for one million dollars. He would own the team until his death in 1936, passing it to his son Horace Stoneham
Horace Stoneham
Horace C. Stoneham was the principal owner of Major League Baseball's New York/San Francisco Giants from the death of his father, Charles Stoneham, in 1936 until 1976. During his ownership, the team won National League pennants in 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954 and 1962, a division title in 1971, and a...
. During his tenure as owner, Stoneham saw the Giants win the World Series in 1921
1921 World Series
In the 1921 World Series, the New York Giants beat the New York Yankees five games to three. This was the last of the experimental best-five-of-nine series....
, 1922
1922 World Series
In the 1922 World Series, the New York Giants beat the New York Yankees in five games...
and 1933
1933 World Series
The 1933 World Series featured the New York Giants and the Washington Senators, with the Giants winning in five games for their first championship since , and their fourth overall....
.
Stoneham was also involved in the aborted move of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1920. The Yankees, the city's second team, had leased the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
from the Giants since . At the time, the American League was riven by an internecine war, with the Yankees, Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
on one side and American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
president Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
and the other five clubs on the other. With the acquisition of Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
in 1920, the once-moribund Yankees suddenly became competitive and outdrew the Giants.
To destroy one of the three teams that opposed him, Johnson persuaded Stoneham to evict the Yankees. This would give Johnson an excuse to force a sale to a more pliable owner. The Yankees' owners, Jacob Ruppert
Jacob Ruppert
Jacob Ruppert, Jr. , sometimes referred to as Jake Ruppert, was a National Guard colonel; a U.S. Representative from New York; and brewery owner, who went on to own the New York Yankees...
and Cap Huston
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston , popularly known as Cap Huston, was co-owner of the Major League Baseball team that became the New York Yankees with Jacob Ruppert from 1915 to 1922. They had purchased the club from Frank J. Farrell and William S. Devery...
, responded by announcing they would move to Boston as tenants of the Red Sox. Stoneham realized that if the Yankees left town, he'd lose revenue from a valuable tenant. He also didn't want to be held responsible for forcing Ruth, the biggest star in the game, out of town. With these factors in mind, he renewed the Yankees' lease for one more year. The incident led the Yankees to construct their own park, Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, to ensure that no other team would have the power to deny them a place to play.
Soccer
In addition to baseball, Stoneham also had a significant part in US soccer history. At the time, the American Soccer LeagueAmerican Soccer League
The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
was the second most popular professional league behind major league baseball, attracting large crowds and drawing many of Europe's best players with its excellent pay and high level of play. On September 8, 1927, Stoneham purchased the Indiana Flooring
Indiana Flooring
Indiana Flooring were a New York soccer team that played in the American Soccer League between 1924 and 1927. They replaced New York Field Club. Before joining the ASL, the team had played in various state leagues....
franchise. While he wanted to rename the team the Giants, he was prevented by the fact the league already had a Giants team. Therefore, he settled on renaming his team the New York Nationals.
His infamy in soccer came as a result of his role in precipitating the "Soccer Wars" which led to the destruction of the ASL. Soccer in the US is overseen by a single organizing body, at the time known as the United States Football Association. The USFA ran an annual national single-elimination tournament known as the National Challenge Cup. Even though the Nationals had won the 1928 National Challenge Cup
1928 National Challenge Cup
The 1928 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the United States Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.-Eastern Division:-Western Division:-Final:...
over Bricklayers and Masons F.C.
Bricklayers and Masons F.C.
Bricklayers and Masons F.C., also known as Chicago Bricklayers, was a U.S. soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois which joined that city's Association Football League in 1914. Over the next twenty years, Bricklayers won two Peel Cups and was the runner up in the 1928 and 1931 National Challenge...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Stoneham and several other owners had grown frustrated by the high costs associated with this cup. Therefore, as league Vice President he instigated a boycott of the competition. When three teams defied the league and entered the cup, they were expelled from the ASL. The USFA then labeled the ASL an "outlaw league" and bankrolled the creation of the Eastern Soccer League
Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928-1929)
The Eastern Professional Soccer League, better known as the Eastern Soccer League , was a U.S. soccer league which existed for only a season and a half in 1928 and 1929. Born of the internecine strife between U.S...
to compete directly against the ASL. The financial toll brought about by the Soccer War forced the capitulation of the ASL in 1929.
However, the league was permanently crippled. The onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
worsened the league's financial situation and it limped on for three more years before collapsing. Before that happened, Stoneham finally gained his New York Giants
New York Giants (soccer)
New York Giants was a name used by three different New York soccer teams. Two of these teams were associated with the New York Giants baseball franchise. The first team that used the name played in the American League of Professional Football in 1894...
soccer team in 1931 when the original Giants was renamed the New York Soccer Club
New York Soccer Club
New York Soccer Club was the name of a New York soccer team that, in 1930, played briefly in the American Soccer League. Between 1923 and 1930 they had been known as the New York Giants. In 1930 they merged with the Fall River Marksmen to become the New York Yankees. Then in 1931 this club absorbed...
. Stoneham withdrew his team from the ASL in 1932 and disbanded it.
Death
For several years before his death, Stoneham had been suffering from a variety of physical ailments which were eventually diagnosed as symptoms of Bright's diseaseBright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
. He died in a hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
on January 6, 1936 after spending several days in a coma. His son and heir Horace Stoneham
Horace Stoneham
Horace C. Stoneham was the principal owner of Major League Baseball's New York/San Francisco Giants from the death of his father, Charles Stoneham, in 1936 until 1976. During his ownership, the team won National League pennants in 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954 and 1962, a division title in 1971, and a...
was at his bedside.