John Heydler

John Heydler

John Arnold Heydler (July 10 1869 - April 18 1956) was an American executive in Major League Baseball.

Born in La Fargeville, New York, he began working as a printer, eventually being employed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

He is reported to have recited "Casey at the Bat" to President Grover Cleveland, while presenting a drafted document for approval. Heydler later began working as an umpire in the National League from 1895 to 1897, and then became a sportswriter.

In 1903 he was hired as the private secretary to NL president Harry Pulliam, principally working to compile league statistics. Heydler's work caused him to record much of the league's early history, and he became an advocate of introducing new ways to measure player accomplishments; he was a strong supporter of recording runs batted in for batters, and began computing earned run averages for pitchers.

On becoming the NL's secretary-treasurer from 1907-1918, he served as the league president briefly after Pulliam's suicide in 1909. He became NL president again from 1918 to 1934, and pushed for the selection of Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first Commissioner of Baseball in 1920, realizing the importance of an official who could keep the owners in check.

Among Heydler's other accomplishments were helping to establish the Baseball Hall of Fame, and his 1929 proposal of a rule which would allow a tenth player to bat in place of the pitcher – a rule which came about with the creation of the designated hitter in 1973.

After retiring as league president, he served as NL chairman until his death in San Diego, California in 1956, aged 86.

References

*"Biographical Dictionary of American Sports", Greenwood Press (1987).

External links

* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/H/Pheydj901.htm Retrosheet] - umpiring record


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hal Chase — Harold Homer Chase (February 13, 1883 in Los Gatos, California May 18, 1947 in Colusa, California), nicknamed Prince Hal , was a first baseman in Major League Baseball, widely viewed as the best fielder at his position (see below, however).… …   Wikipedia

  • Morgan Bulkeley — Morgan Gardner Bulkeley 54th Governor of Connecticut In office January 10, 1889 – January 4, 1893 Lieutenant Samuel E. Merwin Preceded by …   Wikipedia

  • Chub Feeney — Charles Stoneham Chub Feeney (August 31, 1921 January 10, 1994) was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball and president of the National League (NL) during a 40 plus year career in baseball. Born in Orange, New Jersey, into a …   Wikipedia

  • Abraham G. Mills — Abraham Gilbert Mills (March 12, 1844 – August 26, 1929) was the fourth president of the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (1883 1884), and is best known for heading the Mills Commission which controversially credited Civil War… …   Wikipedia

  • Earned run average — In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. The ERA tells the average number of runs a pitcher would surrender over the course of a full game had he been kept in for… …   Wikipedia

  • Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2007 — The 2007 elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame proceeded according to revised rules enacted in 2001. The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) held an election to select from among recent players. The Veterans… …   Wikipedia

  • Designated hitter — In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10,[1] an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter (abbreviated… …   Wikipedia

  • 1956 in baseball — Year in baseball this year = 1956 ChampionsMajor League Baseball*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4 3); Don Larsen, MVP *All Star Game, July 10 at Griffith Stadium: National League, 7 3Other champions*Caribbean World Series:… …   Wikipedia

  • Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1937 — The 1937 process of selecting inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame was markedly different from the initial elections the previous year. As only half of the initial goal of 10 inductees had been selected in 1936, members of the Baseball Writers… …   Wikipedia

  • 1919 in baseball — Year in baseball this year = 1919 Headline Event of the YearChicago White Sox players accused of throwing World Series, resulting in the Black Sox scandal.Champions*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Chicago White Sox (5 3)Awards and honors*MLB… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”