Lee MacPhail
From BR Bullpen
Leland Stanford, MacPhail Jr.
- Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown
- Born October 25, 1917 in Nashville, TN USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1998
[edit] Biographical Information
Son of fellow Hall of Famer Larry MacPhail, Lee MacPhail served as general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees and as American League president. His son Andy built a World Series winner in Minnesota. Another son Lee III was working as the GM of the Reading Phillies when he was killed in a car crash near Reading in 1969. As of 2008, Lee IV was working as the Director of Professional Scouting for the Baltimore Orioles.
After graduating from Swarthmore College, MacPhail was the business manager of the Reading Brooks in 1941. He was the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, then began a long association with the Yankees. He was the business manager then GM of the Kansas City Blues, then midwest farm director for the Yankees. He was Co-farm director, then director of player personnel for the team.
In 1959, MacPhail joined the Orioles as GM and was president of the team from 1960 to 1965. He moved into the commisioner's office to help the newly elected (and previously unconnected to baseball) William Eckert in 1966. He returned to New York as GM of the Yankees from 1967 to 1973.
MacPhail then replaced Joe Cronin as president of the American League from 1974 to 1983, just long enough to rule on George Brett's infamous "pine tar" home run off of Rich Gossage.
Quote: "Unfortunately, a person with Dad's talent comes along only once every 50 years. I've never thought of imitating him. I inherited neither his genius nor his temper. I'm just an ordinary person." Lee MacPhail.
Trivia: The MacPhails are the only father-son combination in the Hall of Fame.
With the passing of Phil Rizzuto, MacPhail is currently the oldest living Hall-of-Famer.
| Preceded by Paul Richards | Baltimore Orioles General Manager 1959-1965 | Succeeded by Harry Dalton |
| Preceded by Dan Topping, Jr | New York Yankees General Manager 1967-1973 | Succeeded by Tal Smith & Gabe Paul |
