Bill Giles (baseball)
Encyclopedia
William Yale Giles is the chairman and part owner of Major League Baseball's
Philadelphia Phillies
.
president Warren Giles
. His baseball career began in his father's former organization, the Cincinnati Reds
, during the 1950s and he was among a group of Reds executives (including former Cincinnati general manager
Gabe Paul
and current MLB executive Tal Smith
) who helped to found the Houston Astros
when they debuted as the Colt .45s in 1962. The Sporting News
' 1962 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book, published in the Colt .45s' maiden season, lists Giles as the club's traveling secretary and publicity director. Subsequently, he became promotions director, and focused on that role after the renamed team moved into the Astrodome in 1965.
as the vice president of business operations in 1969. He worked his way up in the organization, with stops as executive vice president and president, before becoming the chairman in 1997.
Giles was also part of the ownership group that bought the Phillies from the Carpenter
family in 1981. The group is composed of Giles, David Montgomery
, Claire S. Betz, Tri-Play Associates (Alexander K. Buck, J. Maholn Buck Jr. William C. Buck), & Double Play Inc. (John S. Middelton). The group reportedly purchased the team for $30 million. As of April 2008, the Phillies were valued at over $481 million by Forbes
magazine.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
.
Personal
He is the son of former National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
president Warren Giles
Warren Giles
Warren Crandall Giles was a National League executive in Major League Baseball.-Baseball:Giles was elected president of the Moline, Illinois baseball club in the Three-I League in 1919 and began a 50-year career in baseball that saw him rise all the way to the presidency of the National League...
. His baseball career began in his father's former organization, the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, during the 1950s and he was among a group of Reds executives (including former Cincinnati general manager
General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
Gabe Paul
Gabe Paul
Gabriel Howard Paul was an American executive in Major League Baseball who served as general manager of three teams and, perhaps most famously, as president of the New York Yankees under George Steinbrenner during the 1970s....
and current MLB executive Tal Smith
Tal Smith
Talbot Merton Smith is an American former professional baseball executive who has served in high baseball operations positions — including general manager and club president — as well as the founder of a firm that advises Major League Baseball teams on salary arbitration cases.A veteran of 54...
) who helped to found the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
when they debuted as the Colt .45s in 1962. The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
' 1962 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book, published in the Colt .45s' maiden season, lists Giles as the club's traveling secretary and publicity director. Subsequently, he became promotions director, and focused on that role after the renamed team moved into the Astrodome in 1965.
Philadelphia Phillies
Giles started with the PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
as the vice president of business operations in 1969. He worked his way up in the organization, with stops as executive vice president and president, before becoming the chairman in 1997.
Giles was also part of the ownership group that bought the Phillies from the Carpenter
R. R. M. Carpenter, Jr.
Robert Ruliph Morgan Carpenter Jr. was an owner and club president of the Philadelphia Phillies of American Major League Baseball. When he took command of the Phils, in November 1943 after his father purchased the franchise, Carpenter became the youngest club president in baseball history, and he...
family in 1981. The group is composed of Giles, David Montgomery
David Montgomery (baseball)
David Montgomery is the part-owner, general partner, president, and chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Phillies.-Early life and education:...
, Claire S. Betz, Tri-Play Associates (Alexander K. Buck, J. Maholn Buck Jr. William C. Buck), & Double Play Inc. (John S. Middelton). The group reportedly purchased the team for $30 million. As of April 2008, the Phillies were valued at over $481 million by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine.
National League honorary president
Giles is also honorary president of the National League—the same job his father held on an official full-time basis. The honorary president's only task for the season is to present the Warren C. Giles Trophy—which is named after Giles' father, Warren—to the NLCS winner.External links
- Scarr, Mike, "Bill Giles: Baseball in Giles family bloodlines", Pennant Traces: Faces and traces: Profiles, MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved 2009-10-22.