List of Pittsburgh Pirates owners and executives
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the National League Central division. The team began play in 1882 as the Alleghenies (alternately spelled "Alleghenys"[1]) in the American Association. The franchise moved to the National League after owner William Nimick became upset over a contract dispute, thus beginning the modern day franchise.[2]
From the franchise's beginning, the owner and manager fulfilled the duties of the general manager. However, in 1946, Roy Hamey left his position as president of the second American Association to become the Pirates' first general manager.[3] The franchise's second general manager, Branch Rickey, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1967.[4] Hired in September 2007, Neal Huntington is the Pirates's previous general manager.[5] Barney Dreyfuss purchased the franchise in 1900, bringing players including Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke with him from the Louisville Colonels, which he had previously owned. In his 32 years as owner, Dreyfuss built Forbes Field and helped to organize the World Series.[6] Dreyfuss was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008.[7] Robert Nutting served as chairman of the board from 2003 to 2007, at which point he became majority owner of the franchise.[8]
| Years | Seasons; each is linked to an article about that particular season |
| Div | Division titles: number of division titles won by the general manager |
| Pen | Pennants: number of pennants (league championships) won by the manager |
| WS | World Series: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager |
| * | Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
Owners
| Owner(s) | Years | Div | Pen | WS | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denny McKnight | 1882–1886 | — | — | — | [9] |
| William A. Nimick | 1887–1891 | — | — | — | [10] |
| William Kerr and Phil Auten | 1892–1899 | — | — | — | [10] |
| Barney Dreyfuss* | 1900–1932 | 0 | 6 | 2 | [6] |
| Florence W. Dreyfuss | 1932–1946 | — | — | — | [11] |
| John Galbreath (Majority Owner 1946–86), with Frank E. McKinney, Thomas P. Johnson, Bing Crosby (1%) and Warner Communications (48% 1982–86) | 1946–1986 | 6 | 3 | 3 | [12][13] |
| Pittsburgh Associates | 1986–1996 | 3 | 0 | 0 | [14] |
| Kevin McClatchy | 1996–2007 | — | — | — | [15] |
| Robert Nutting | 2007–present | — | — | — | [8] |
General managers
| # | General manager | Years | Div | Pen | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny McKnight | 1882–1883 | — | — | — |
| 2 | Edmund C. Converse | 1884 | — | — | — |
| 3 | William A. Nimick | 1885–1890 | — | — | — |
| 4 | J. Palmer O'Neil | 1891 | — | — | — |
| 5 | William Chase Temple | 1892 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Al Buckenberger | 1893 | — | — | — |
| 7 | William Kerr | 1894–1897 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Bill Watkins | 1898 | — | — | — |
| 9 | William Kerr | 1899 | — | — | — |
| 10 | Barney Dreyfuss* | 1900–1932 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 11 | William Benswanger | 1932–1946 | — | — | — |
- Prior to 1946, the club presidents performed the current duties of general manager.
- As the deceased owner's son-in-law, Benswanger officially served as "president and chief executive" but in effect was general manager for his mother-in-law owner.
| # | General manager | Years | Div | Pen | WS | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Ray Kennedy | 1946 | — | — | — | [16] |
| 13 | Roy Hamey | 1946–1950 | — | — | — | [3] |
| 14 | Branch Rickey* | 1951–1955 | — | — | — | [16] |
| 15 | Joe L. Brown | 1956–1976, 1985 | 5 | 2 | 2 | [17] |
| 16 | Harding Peterson | 1976–1985 | 1 | 1 | 1 | [18] |
| 17 | Syd Thrift | 1985–1988 | — | — | — | [19] |
| 18 | Larry Doughty | 1988–1992 | 2 | 0 | 0 | [16] |
| 19 | Ted Simmons | 1992–1993 | 1 | 0 | 0 | [20] |
| 20 | Cam Bonifay | 1993–2001 | — | — | — | [21] |
| 21 | Dave Littlefield | 2001–2007 | — | — | — | [22] |
| 22 | Neal Huntington | 2007–2019 | — | — | — | [5] |
| 23 | Ben Cherington | 2019–present | — | — | — |
Presidents
| # | President | Years | Div | Pen | WS | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny McKnight | 1882–1883 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 2 | Edmund C. Converse | 1884 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 3 | William A. Nimick | 1885–1890 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 4 | J. Palmer O'Neil | 1891 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 5 | William Chase Temple | 1892 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 6 | Al Buckenberger | 1893 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 7 | William Kerr | 1894–1897 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 8 | Bill Watkins | 1898 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 9 | William Kerr | 1899 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 10 | Barney Dreyfuss* | 1900–1932 | 0 | 6 | 2 | [23] |
| 11 | William Benswanger | 1932–1946 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 12 | Frank E. McKinney | 1946–1950 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 13 | John Galbreath | 1951–1969 | 1 | 1 | 1 | [23] |
| 14 | Dan Galbreath | 1970–1985 | 2 | 2 | 2 | [23] |
| 15 | Malcolm Prine | 1986–1987 | — | — | — | [23] |
| 16 | Carl Barger | 1989–1991 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 17 | Mark Sauer | 1991–1996 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | Kevin McClatchy | 1996–2007 | — | — | — | |
| 19 | Frank Coonelly | 2007–2019 | — | — | — | |
| 20 | Travis Williams | 2019–present | — | — | — |