William Benswanger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William E. Benswanger (February 22, 1892 — January 15, 1972) was an American businessman who served for almost 15 years as president and chief executive of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball franchise.

Born in New York, New York, Benswanger moved with his family to Pittsburgh when he was five years of age. Upon adulthood, he entered his family's insurance business, then served in the United States Army's balloon corps during World War I. He also was an accomplished pianist and musician and served on the board of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for two decades.

Benswanger became involved in baseball through his marriage to Eleanor Fanny Dreyfuss, a daughter of longtime Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss. The elder Dreyfuss was grooming his son, Samuel, to succeed him as club president, but Samuel Dreyfuss died suddenly in 1931 from pneumonia at age 35. The following year, Barney Dreyfuss died as well. Dreyfuss' widow, Florence, inherited the team and successfully prevailed upon Benswanger, her son-in-law, to become the Pirates' president and front-office boss. He would lead the team from 1932 through the 1946 season. During that time, the Pirates boasted a number of star players, including Baseball Hall of Fame members Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner, Pie Traynor and Arky Vaughan. But, apart from four second-place finishes, they resided in the middle- to lower-rung of the National League and were late in developing a farm system, the surest method at the time of attaining sustained success in baseball. On the plus side, Benswanger kept the team going through the Great Depression and brought back all-time great Honus Wagner to serve as a coach.

In 1946, the Dreyfuss family's 46-year ownership of the team came to a close when the Pirates were purchased by a syndicate headed by Indianapolis businessman Frank McKinney, and which included entertainer Bing Crosby and Columbus, Ohio-based real estate magnate John W. Galbreath. Benswanger stepped down as club president upon completion of the sale. He died in Pittsburgh at age 79.