Margaret Carolyn Unnewehr Schott (August 18, 1928 - March 2, 2004) was the general managing partner, president and CEO of the Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball baseball from 1984 to 1999. He is the third woman to have a major league team North America without inheritance (the first was the founder of New York Mets, Joan Whitney Payson), and the second woman who bought an existing team rather than inherit it. He is probably best known for his controversial behavior during his tenure as the owner of The Reds, which includes insults against African-Americans, Jews, and people of Japanese descent. He was banned from managing the team by MLB from 1996 to 1998 because of statements in support of Germany's domestic policy of Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler; Shortly after, he sold most of his part in the team.
Video Marge Schott
Early life and career
Schott was born in Cincinnati, one of the five daughters of Charlotte and Edward Henry Unnewehr. Her father grew rich in the timber business. He attended parochial school and graduated from the Sacred Heart Academy. While in college, Marge Schott became a member of Theta Phi Alpha's brotherhood. He married Charles Schott, a member of the rich Cincinnati family, in 1952, and inherited his car dealer and interest in other industries when he died of a heart attack in 1968. A 39-year-old widow Marge Schott never married again and did not have his children.
Maps Marge Schott
Cincinnati Reds
Schott has been a Reds fan for most of his life; starting in 1963, he held an auction to raise money for Children's Hospital of Cincinnati, which was attended by several Reds players. In 1981, Schott bought minority interests at The Reds as part of a group led by insurance king William and James Williams. On December 21, 1984, he purchased a controlling interest for the reported $ 11 million, making him manage a public partner, and became the first woman to buy an MLB team. In 1985, he was appointed president and CEO of the club. Five years later, the Reds won the World Series, when they swept the Oakland Athletics.
Schott quickly became one of the most baseball owners in public. The Reds have long been a family-oriented franchise, and fans are praising his efforts to keep ticket prices and concessions low. For example, he keeps the price of a basic hot dog with a dollar, and keeps a box seat of about $ 12 - the cheapest in baseball. Unlike most owners, he sits on a regular box seat at the Riverfront Stadium, and often signs autographs. He often let groups of children on the field run into the middle and back fields. He is also known for always having Schottzie, his pet Saint Bernard, with him.
He was also criticized for not spending the money to be taken to build the Reds into a competitor. This "cheap" attitude is sometimes delivered in its own statement. He will publicly comment on the necessity of paying players when they are on the disabled list, especially World Series hero José Rijo (who suffered an elbow injury), about whom he once complained "paid three million dollars to sit on his ass!"
Controversy
1990s
On November 13, 1992, Charles "Cal" Levy, former director of marketing for The Reds, stated in a deposition to Tim Sabo, a former employee who sued the team, that he heard Schott refer to later outfielders-Reds Eric Davis and Dave Parker as "niggers million dollars. " Sabo, whose position is "team controller," alleges that his 1991 shooting was due to testify against Schott in another lawsuit filed against Schott by some limited partners and because he opposed the unwritten policy of not hiring blacks. Schott's countersuit charged that Sabo wrote an unauthorized check on him and paid health insurance premiums to retired front-office employees. He asked for $ 25,000 for damages for defamation. Sabo finally lost his jacket.
Levy, a Jewish, alleges that Schott kept the Nazi swastikas armbands in his home and claimed he heard him say "the cunning and evil Jews are the same." The next day, Schott issued a statement saying the claim of forced racism against him was exaggerated and that he did not intend to offend anyone by his statements or his ownership of the captain's armband. Schott explained that the swastikas arm bracelet is a gift from a former employee.
On Nov. 29, Schott said the "million dollar negro" comment was made jokingly, but later stated that he felt that Adolf Hitler was originally good for Germany and did not understand how the nickname "Jap" could be offensive.
During the same season, former Oakland Athletics executive, Sharon Jones, was quoted in The New York Times for hearing of Schott's circumstances: "I will never hire another nigger, I prefer to have a trained person. monkeys that work for me rather than niggers, "before the owner conference call started.
A four-person committee was held to investigate Schott. On February 3, 1993, he was fined $ 250,000 and banned from the Reds' daily operations for the 1993 season. Jim Bowden took over as managing partner. Schott returned to work on November 1.
On May 18, 1994, during a speech to the Ohio District Treasury Association, Schott commented that he did not want his players to wear earrings because "only fruits wear earrings." He said, "I grew up to believe that the man wearing the earrings is a fruit." Until 1999, the Reds had an old rule that forbids players having facial hair. Famous, in 1985, Schott offered Rollie Fingers Hall of Fame the future to play for the Reds, on condition that Fingers would shave his iconic mustache. Fingers reportedly replied that he would shave his mustache "when (Schott) shaved his Saint Bernard." The rule was lifted after a discussion between Schott and newly acquired outsider Greg Vaughn.
In 1995, the famous Schott announced in mid-season that manager Davey Johnson would not return, regardless of how well the Reds did it. Overall, this is due to a personality clash between Johnson and Schott. In particular, Schott did not approve Johnson to live with his fiancée before they married at the end of the year. The Reds won the division (before losing the National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 0), and Johnson was fired.
The Reds have traditionally played their first game of the season at home. On April 1, 1996, they played the Montreal Expos. The weather was cold and windy and snow fell earlier that day. Shortly after the game started, referee John McSherry's home plate called time out and signaled to the Reds break room, it was later suspected, for medical attention. After taking a few steps, McSherry collapsed and fell to the surface of the artificial grass first. Efforts to resuscitate McSherry failed and he was declared dead at the University Hospital about an hour later. The other referees decided to postpone the match until the next day. The video shows Schott looking annoyed that the match was postponed; he reportedly grumbled: "This morning's snow and now I do not believe I feel cheated This should not happen to us, not in Cincinnati It's our history, our traditions, our team No one feels worse than me. "Schott then insisted that he stands up for the fans; critics see his comments insensitive. Schott reportedly referred to the major league referees in general - and the McSherry crew members in particular - by bringing up the bouquet of flowers given to him, added a note of sympathy and sent him to the funeral home. During the next team homestand, Schott attempted to soften the feud with the referee, apologizing to them - though none of them were present at the match, just to ask them to reject the movement.
Other incidents
Schott was the subject of frequent criticism for allegedly allowing St. Bernards, Schottzie, and the ever-present Schottzie 02, close to the full control of the Riverfront Stadium, including a bowel movement on the field.
Schott is known for not wanting to hire spies, stating that "All they do is sit around and watch ball games," and would like to not post other game scores on the Riverfront Stadium scoreboard (the service fee is $ 350/month). Schott said about the scoreboard issue, "Why [fans] care about one game when they watch the other?"
On the plane, Marge Schott is allegedly approached by a woman who introduced herself as the grandson of Edd Roush. Schott then replied, "That's good, what's the deal?" Roush is a Hall of Fame center fielder who has many of his greatest years with the Reds. The New York Times then dubbed it "Baseball's Big Red Headache."
Exit ownership
On May 5, 1996, Schott was furious when he made a favorable statement to Adolf Hitler, saying that he was "good at first, but went too far." MLB again banned Schott from day-to-day operations until 1998. Later in the month, Schott was quoted in Sports Illustrated while speaking in a "cartoon Japanese accent" while describing his meeting with the Japanese prime minister. Furthermore, he said that he does not like Asian American children to "outperform our children" in high school.
On April 20, 1999, Schott agreed to sell its controller interest at The Reds for $ 67 million to a group led by Cincinnati businessman Carl Lindner. At that time he faced a third suspension, a failed healthcare and an expired possession agreement with his limited partner, who planned to overthrow him. Schott remains a minority partner.
Philanthropy
In addition to his interest in The Reds, Schott is a major donor of charitable organizations in Cincinnati, including the Cincinnati Children's Medical Center and Cincinnati Zoo, where they named the Asian elephant afterwards, Schottzie, also preserved elephants, and the Saint Ursula Academy at East Walnut Hills. He was recognized for his main contribution to the local Dan Beard Council of the Boy Scouts of America used to create an 18 hectare (7.3 hectare) lake at Camp Friedlander. The lake was named Lake Marge Schott.
Marge Schott is also a generous contributor to special events at the University of Cincinnati such as the annual Homecoming Parade. Marge Schott's stadium at UC is named in his honor.
Disease and death
In 2001, Schott, an old smoker, began to develop health problems. He was hospitalized twice for respiratory problems and suffered from pneumonia in 2003. On February 9, 2004, Schott was hospitalized. Some reports claim he was hospitalized for a runny nose while others said he complained of knee pains. However, during her stay, she has breathing problems and needs to have life support. He died at the age of 75 at The Christ Hospital, in Cincinnati.
Schott's funeral was held at the All Saints Catholic Church on the outskirts of Cincinnati, Kenwood. He was buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery wearing his signature red suit with an elephant collar pin.
References
External links
- The Baseball Library - career event
- Marge Schott on IMDb
- Marge Unnewehr Schott at Finding the Mausoleum
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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