Joseph Iglehart
Encyclopedia
Joseph Alexander Wilson Iglehart (November 15, 1891–November 16, 1979) was an American
financier
who also served as an executive for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)
and two Major League Baseball (MLB)
franchises
.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland
on November 15, 1891, he graduated from The Boys' Latin School of Maryland
in 1910 and Cornell University
in 1914. He served in the American military during World War I
, becoming the youngest major
in the United States Army
at the time of his appointment in 1917.
After the war, he was employed as an investment banker
by the Wall Street
stock broker
age firm W.E. Hutton & Co., where he eventually became a partner
. He was later associated with CBS as an investor
, chairman of the finance
committee
and, for 47 years starting in 1932, a member of the board of directors
.
He was one of the investors in a Clarence Miles
-led group that successfully purchased the St. Louis Browns from Bill Veeck
on September 29, 1953, moving the franchise to Baltimore and renaming it the Orioles
for the season. He was appointed the team's chairman of the board after Miles' resignation
in early November, 1955. Iglehart eventually became the largest individual shareholder
, with a 32% stake in the ballclub, which emerged as a legitimate pennant
contender by on the strength of its scouting
, player development and farm system
.
When the New York Yankees
' sale to CBS was finalized on September 9, 1964, he found himself in violation of a MLB rule concerning conflict of interest
. He ended up selling his 64,000 shares
to another original Orioles investor, the National Brewing Company
, for $1.6 million on May 25, 1965. The brewery gained controlling interest at 65%, with its president
, Jerold Hoffberger
, succeeding Iglehart as board chairman.
Oddly enough, the day after the sale, the National Gypsum Company (now part of Lafarge
), another enterprise of which he was on the board, rechristened in his honor a deep sea tanker
that was converted into what was then the world's largest self-unloading cement
-carrying laker
- the J.A.W. Iglehart.
After leaving the Orioles, he served on the Yankees' board of directors until the team was sold in January, 1973 to an investment group led by George Steinbrenner
. He spent one more season with the Bronx Bombers as a consulting partner.
Iglehart died in Lutherville, Maryland
on November 16, 1979, just one day after his 88th birthday.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
who also served as an executive for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and two Major League Baseball (MLB)
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
franchises
Professional sports league organization
Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are a European model, characterised by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation to determine participation in a hierarchy of leagues or divisions and a North American model characterized by its use...
.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
on November 15, 1891, he graduated from The Boys' Latin School of Maryland
Boys' Latin School of Maryland
Boys' Latin School of Maryland is an all-boys, college-preparatory school located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1844, it is the oldest independent, non-sectarian secondary school in the state of Maryland. The school is divided into Lower, Middle and Upper Schools...
in 1910 and Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1914. He served in the American military during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, becoming the youngest major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at the time of his appointment in 1917.
After the war, he was employed as an investment banker
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
by the Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
stock broker
Stock broker
A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...
age firm W.E. Hutton & Co., where he eventually became a partner
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
. He was later associated with CBS as an investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
, chairman of the finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
and, for 47 years starting in 1932, a member of the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
.
He was one of the investors in a Clarence Miles
Clarence Miles
Clarence Miles was the chairman of the board and president of the Baltimore Orioles of the American League during the and seasons.Miles was a native of the Eastern Shore. He had gone to school with Wallis Warfield...
-led group that successfully purchased the St. Louis Browns from Bill Veeck
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...
on September 29, 1953, moving the franchise to Baltimore and renaming it the Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
for the season. He was appointed the team's chairman of the board after Miles' resignation
Resignation
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...
in early November, 1955. Iglehart eventually became the largest individual shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
, with a 32% stake in the ballclub, which emerged as a legitimate pennant
Pennant (sports)
A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
contender by on the strength of its scouting
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
, player development and farm system
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
.
When 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...
' sale to CBS was finalized on September 9, 1964, he found himself in violation of a MLB rule concerning conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
. He ended up selling his 64,000 shares
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
to another original Orioles investor, the National Brewing Company
National Bohemian
National Bohemian Beer, colloquially called Natty Boh, National Boh or just plain Boh, is an American beer originally brewed in Baltimore, Maryland, but now brewed by the Miller Brewing Company in Eden, North Carolina, and distributed by the Pabst Brewing Company...
, for $1.6 million on May 25, 1965. The brewery gained controlling interest at 65%, with its president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, Jerold Hoffberger
Jerold Hoffberger
Jerold Charles 'Jerry' Hoffberger was an American businessman. He was president of the National Brewing Company from 1946 to 1973. He was also part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles of the American League from 1954 to 1965, and majority owner from 1965 to 1979.-Biography:Hoffberger was a lifelong...
, succeeding Iglehart as board chairman.
Oddly enough, the day after the sale, the National Gypsum Company (now part of Lafarge
Lafarge
Lafarge is a French industrial company specialising in four major products: cement, construction aggregates, concrete and gypsum wallboard. In 2010 the company was the world's second-largest cement manufacturer by mass shipped behind Holcim.-History:...
), another enterprise of which he was on the board, rechristened in his honor a deep sea tanker
Tank ship
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
that was converted into what was then the world's largest self-unloading cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
-carrying laker
Lake freighter
Lake freighters, or Lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes. The best known was the , the most recent and largest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the...
- the J.A.W. Iglehart.
After leaving the Orioles, he served on the Yankees' board of directors until the team was sold in January, 1973 to an investment group led by George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
. He spent one more season with the Bronx Bombers as a consulting partner.
Iglehart died in Lutherville, Maryland
Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland
Lutherville-Timonium is a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland made up of the unincorporated communities of Lutherville and Timonium. The population was 15,814 as of the 2000 census. Within its borders lies the Lutherville Historic District...
on November 16, 1979, just one day after his 88th birthday.
External links
- Wharton, George. "Great Lakes Fleet Page Vessel Feature - J. A. W. Iglehart," Boatnerd.com.
- Kennedy, Mac. "BL and The Orioles: Shared Roots," Laker Legacy, Spring 2007: 20. – The Boys' Latin School of Maryland alumni magazine.