Major League Baseball Team Owner. He owned the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team from 1913 until his death in 1930. The former commissioner of the New York City, New York Police Department, he purchased the team from Horace Fogel after Fogel was banned from Baseball for making disparaging remarks about umpire officiating. William Baker's legacy is often described as "extremely tight-fisted". Believing the baseball team should pay for itself by generating it's own revenue, he sold off many outstanding players, often either when their star was rising or at the peak of their careers, rather than pay them salaries commensurate to their performance on the field. Two future Hall of Famers, pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander and shortstop Dave "Beauty" Bancroft, were lost to the team this way. As a consequence, after the Phillies reached the World Series in 1915, they remained mired at the bottom of their division for the rest of his tenure as owner. The park they played in, known officially as "National League Park", became known as the Baker Bowl. Neglected by Baker, the stadium deteriorated badly over the time span of his ownership, and was universally derided by players and fans. When he died in 1930, he left a team that had a losing record for fifteen straight seasons.
Major League Baseball Team Owner. He owned the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team from 1913 until his death in 1930. The former commissioner of the New York City, New York Police Department, he purchased the team from Horace Fogel after Fogel was banned from Baseball for making disparaging remarks about umpire officiating. William Baker's legacy is often described as "extremely tight-fisted". Believing the baseball team should pay for itself by generating it's own revenue, he sold off many outstanding players, often either when their star was rising or at the peak of their careers, rather than pay them salaries commensurate to their performance on the field. Two future Hall of Famers, pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander and shortstop Dave "Beauty" Bancroft, were lost to the team this way. As a consequence, after the Phillies reached the World Series in 1915, they remained mired at the bottom of their division for the rest of his tenure as owner. The park they played in, known officially as "National League Park", became known as the Baker Bowl. Neglected by Baker, the stadium deteriorated badly over the time span of his ownership, and was universally derided by players and fans. When he died in 1930, he left a team that had a losing record for fifteen straight seasons.
Bio by: RPD2
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