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Bill Giles, longtime Philadelphia Phillies owner and executive, dies at 92 · Best of: Features

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  Bill Giles, longtime Philadelphia Phillies owner and executive, dies at ninety two.
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  This article is being read by an automated voice generated by Everlett.
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  Philadelphia, the AP. Bill Giles who rose from a Philadelphia Phillies business
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  executive to become an owner and CEO during more than a half
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  century with the team, died Friday at his home in Gladwin, Pennsylvania.
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  He was ninety-two. A son of former National League President Warren Giles,
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  Bill Giles started with the team in 1969 as Vice President Business
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  Operations and was promoted to Executive Vice President three years later. In
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  nineteen eighty one he organized a group that purchased the club from
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  the Carpenter family. He served as president and CEO until nineteen ninety
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  seven, then became chairman. He shifted to Chairman Emeritus in twenty fifteen,
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  a title he held at the time of his death. The Phillies
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  honored Giles with a moment of silence before Friday's game against Tampa
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  Bay. Philadelphia had just four winning seasons during Giles time as CEO
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  but went to the World Series in two of the Giles also
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  played a major role in building the Phillies team that won the
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  World Series in nineteen eighty, including convincing former owner Rooney Carpenter to
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  sign free agent Pete Rose. Bill helped to reshape our franchise from
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  a traditional baseball club into a highly visible entertainment and business operation.
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  Philly's managing partner and CEO John Middleton said in a statement. His
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  profound impact in overseeing one of the greatest eras in franchise history,
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  both on and off the field, will forever be his legacy. Giles,
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  whose father headed the N L from nineteen fifty one to sixty
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  nine, became honorary president of the N L in two thousand one,
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  and was a recipient of the Bud Sellig Executive Leadership Award for
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  Lifetime Achievement in Baseball in twenty ten. Giles helped push for the
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  opening of Veterans Stadium in nineteen seventy one and current Home Citizens
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  Bank Park in two thousand four. He also was inspired to create
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  a mascot for the Phillies that would become the beloved Philly fanatic.
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  In nineteen ninety nine the Phillies established the Bill Giles Award to
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  honor minor league players who share the same attributes as the namesake,
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  a love and respect for The game of baseball, an outstanding work
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  ethic and pride in being a member of the Phillies organization. Giles
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  began his baseball career as a teenager working various jobs in the
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  Cincinnati Reds Public Relations Department. He went on to advance his career
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  in Houston, serving as traveling secretary, publicity director, and promotions director before
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  joining the Phillies following the nineteen sixty nine season. Giles gave up
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  his day-to-day responsibilities with the team in nineteen ninety nine and remained
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  on as chairman. It wasn't. Do it or else. I wasn't forced
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  out, Giles said. It was a strong suggestion, but it was my
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  decision. The business part of the game had gotten to me. I
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  wasn't as effective as I had been. Some of the partners said,
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  Don't you think it's time to let a younger man worry about
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  all those things? Giles authored the book Pouring Six Beers at a
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  Time and Other Stories from a Lifetime in Baseball, and co authored
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  another on the business of baseball. Bill was the heart and soul
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  of the organization for over two decades, Hall of Famer and former
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  Phil's third baseman Mike Schmidt said in a statement. He was a
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  close personal friend to so many of us. He will always be
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  a big part of Philly's history. See the AP's full MLB coverage
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  here.