Fay Vincent

Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent, Jr. (born May 29, 1938 in Waterbury, Connecticut) is a former entertainment and sports executive who served as the commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13th, 1989 to September 7th, 1992. He is a graduate of Williams College, Class of 1960, which he attended on a full academic scholarship, and Yale Law School, Class of 1963.

Vincent's relationship with the owners

His relationship with baseball's owners was always tenuous at best; he resigned in 1992 after the owners gave him an 18-9 no confidence vote. The owners were still angry at Vincent over his intervention during the 1990 lockout. The owners were also disappointed by dwindling television ratings in light of a $1.2 billion, with CBS (which ultimately cost the network $500 million) beginning in 1990 (Vincent's first full season as commissioner), and upwardly spiraling salaries.

Related Topics:
1992 - Ratings - CBS

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The leaders in the movement to oust Vincent were members of what was later called "The Great Lakes Gang":

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• Bud Selig, president of the Milwaukee Brewers;
• Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the Chicago White Sox;
• Stanton Cook, head of the Tribune Co., which owned the Chicago Cubs;
• Carl Pohlad, chief of the Minnesota Twins;
• Peter O'Malley, the longtime majority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers

"To do the job without angering an owner is impossible," Vincent said in his farewell. "I can't make all twenty-eight of my bosses happy. People have told me I'm the last commissioner. If so, it's a sad thing. I hope they learn this lesson before too much damage is done."

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He was replaced by Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig. It should be mentioned that Fay Vincent was never able to complete the five year term that he had inherited from Bart Giamatti. Because Selig's family retained ownership of the Brewers, Vincent was the last truly impartial commissioner of baseball, since he held no ownership of a team himself. Vincent would later contend that Major League Baseball made a huge mistake by not appointing his deputy commissioner Steve Greenberg, who's also the son of the Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, as the commissioner.

Related Topics:
Milwaukee Brewers - Bud Selig - Hall of Fame - Hank Greenberg

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