Marge Schott

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marge Schott

Marge Schott (August 18, 1928 — March 2, 2004) was the controversial former majority owner, president and CEO of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise from 1984 to 1999. She was the first woman to buy a baseball team rather than inheriting it. [1]

Born Margaret Unnewehr in Cincinnati, Ohio, Schott was the daughter of a Cincinnati native who grew wealthy in the lumber business. She married Charles Schott, a member of a wealthy Cincinnati family, in 1952, and inherited his automobile dealerships and interests in other industries when he died of a heart attack in 1968.

1 Early Days with the Reds
2 Wire-to-Wire
3 Controversy
4 The Downfall
5 Death
6 External links

[edit] Early Days with the Reds

In 1981, Schott first purchased a minority interest in the Cincinnati Reds. On December 21, 1984, she purchased controlling interest for a reported $11m, making her a general partner and majority owner in the Reds organization, and in 1985 she was named president and CEO of the club. She quickly became one of baseball's most publicly visible and outspoken owners.

[edit] Wire-to-Wire

The 1990 Reds were, arguably, among the best in Major League history. In the regular season, they won 91 games and never fell out of first place in the division and stormed through the playoffs. The "wire-to-wire" 1990 Reds' opponent in the World Series were the heavily favored American League champions, the Oakland Athletics. Despite that team featuring a plethora of stars such as Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley, probable Hall of Fame outfielder Rickey Henderson, and sluggers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco (nicknamed "The Bash Brothers"), the Reds swept the series for their fifth (and to date, last) World Series championship.

[edit] Controversy

Arguably, Marge Schott was one of baseball's most controversial and polarizing figures.

On November 13, 1992, Charles "Cal" Levy, a former marketing director for the Reds, stated in a deposition for Tom Sabo, a former employee who was suing the team that he'd heard Schott refer to then-Reds outfielders Eric Davis and Dave Parker as "million-dollar niggers". [2] Sabo, whose position was "team controller", alleged that his 1991 firing was due to testifying against her in another lawsuit brought against Schott by several limited partners and because he opposed the unwritten policy of not hiring blacks. Schott's countersuit alleges that Sabo wrote unauthorized checks to himself and paid health insurance premiums to retired front-office employees. She also asked for $25,000 in damages for defamation. Tom Sabo ultimately lost his suit.

Levy, a Jew, also alleged that Schott kept an old Nazi swastika armband at her home and claims he overheard her say "sneaky goddamn Jews are all alike". [3] The next day Schott issued a statement saying the claims of racism levied against her were overstated and that she didn't mean to offend anyone with her statement or her ownership of the armband. On November 29, Schott said the "million dollar niggers" comment was made in jest, but then stated that she felt that Adolf Hitler was initially good for Germany and didn't understand how the epithet "Jap" could be offensive.

During the same season, a former Oakland Athletics executive assistant, Sharon Jones, is quoted in the New York Times as having overheard Schott state: "I would never hire another nigger. I'd rather have a trained monkey working for me than a nigger", before the start of an owners' conference call. [4]

A four-man committee was convened to investigate Marge Schott. On February 3, 1993, she was fined $25,000 and banned from day-to-day operations of the Reds for the 1993 season. John Allen took over a managing partner. Schott returned to work on November 1.

On May 18, 1994, Marge Schott was again caught up in controversy when she commented that she didn't want her players to wear earrings because "only fruits wear earrings." Up to 1999, the Reds had a long-standing rule prohibiting players from not only wearing earrings, but also having facial hair. The rule was rescinded after a discussion between Schott and newly-acquired outfielder Greg Vaughn.

Schott was also the target of frequent criticism for allegedly allowing her infamous St. Bernard, Schottzie, near complete free rein of Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field. This also apparently was not limited to the dog defecating on the field.

[edit] The Downfall

Arguably, Marge Schott's downfall began in earnest on April 1, 1996. The Cincinnati Reds, being Major League Baseball's oldest professional team, traditionally played the first game of the season at home. In 1996, they played the former Montreal Expos. The weather was cold and blustery and it had snowed earlier in the day.

Shortly after the game started, home plate umpire John McSherry called a time out and motioned towards the Reds dugout, it was was later presumed, for medical attention. After taking a few steps, McSherry collapsed and fell to the artificial turf face first. Attempts to resuscitate John McSherry failed and he was pronounced dead at University Hospital about an hour later. The other umpires decided to postpone the game until the next day. Video showed a visibly upset Marge Schott; reportedly she groused: "Snow this morning and now this. I don't believe it. I feel cheated. This isn't supposed to happen to us, not in Cincinnati. This is our history, our tradition, our team. Nobody feels worse than me." [5]

Schott later insisted that she was standing up for the fans; critics saw her comments as insensitive.

Marge Schott reportedly offended major league umpires in general — and members of McSherry's crew specifically — by regifting a bouquet of flowers given to her by a local television station on the morning of the game. Schott scribbled a sympathy note and sent the gift bouquet to the funeral home.

Another move by Schott viewed as unpopular was her decision to discontinue posting scores of out-of-town games. Schott's reasoning was that fans at the game simply had no interest in games not involving the Reds.

During the team's next homestand, Schott attempted to smooth over the feud with the umpires by sending flowers to the crew working this series. They were returned.

On May 5, 1996, Schott once again made statements many construed as being favorable of Adolf Hitler, whom she believed "was good in the beginning, but went too far." In response, Major League Baseball again banned Schott from day-to-day operations through 1998.

On April 20, 1999, Schott agreed to sell her controlling interest in the Reds for $67 million to a group led by Cincinnati businessman Carl Lindner. At the time she was facing a third suspension from Major League Baseball and an expiring ownership agreement with her limited partners, who planned to oust her. Schott continued to own a limited share of the team, however.

[edit] Death

In 2001, Schott, a long-time smoker, began to develop health problems. She was hospitalized twice for breathing problems and suffered from pneumonia in 2003. On February 9, 2004, Schott was hospitalized. Some reports claim she was hospitalized due to a cold while others said she complained of knee ailments. However, during her stay, she developed breathing problems and had to be put on life support. She died at age 75 in Cincinnati.

In addition to her interest in the Reds, Schott was also a major contributor to charitable organizations in Cincinnati, including Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Cincinnati Zoo.