Arthur H. Ehlers (January 22, 1897 – February 7, 1977) was an American front office executive in minor and

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He was the first

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

in the history of the modern

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, serving as their front-office boss during their return to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

as the former

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

in 1954. A former minor league player and a

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

native, Ehlers began his front office career as an executive with several minor league teams and circuits, including a stint as part-owner of the Reading, Pennsylvania, ''Chicks'' of the Class B

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

, president of the Interstate loop (1941–45) and promotions director of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues.

Executive with Philadelphia Athletics

From to , Ehlers served as the farm system director of the Philadelphia Athletics. In September

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

, a tumultuous year for that franchise, Ehlers succeeded Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane as general manager of the Athletics upon an ownership reorganization involving two warring branches of the

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

family. As a consequence of that restructuring, Cochrane, GM for only four months, stepped down; Connie Mack Jr. and his mother, the elder Mack's second wife, lost their bid for control of the franchise to

Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

and

Earle Mack Earle Thaddeus Mack (born Earle Thaddeus McGillicuddy; February 1, 1890 – February 4, 1967), was an American player and coach in Major League Baseball, and, during parts of two seasons, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics when his father ...

, Connie Sr.'s children from his first marriage; and the elder Mack, 87 years of age and celebrating his 50th year at the helm of the A's, was forced into retirement. Ehlers ran the Athletics' front office from to , with veteran

Jimmy Dykes James Joseph Dykes (November 10, 1896 – June 15, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

as his manager. Dykes and American League Most Valuable Player

Bobby Shantz Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , and won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award as a ...

wrung one last over-.500 season out of the club in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, but the Athletics lacked both talent and financial backing and had been supplanted by the National League

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

as Philadelphia's top baseball team.

First Orioles' general manager

After the 1953 campaign, the newly relocated Orioles lured Ehlers and Dykes to

as general manager and field manager. Each lasted only one season, 1954, in which the Orioles lost 100 out of 154 games and finished seventh in the AL—ahead of only one club, the Philadelphia Athletics. Paul Richards, skipper of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, was hired to replace both Ehlers and Dykes on September 14, 1954. Dykes became a coach for the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, while Ehlers remained in Baltimore as Richards' assistant general manager. He eventually became a scout for the Orioles, retiring in 1973. Ehlers died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, age 80, in Baltimore on February 7, 1977.

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20061112231738/http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Ehlers.Arthur.Obit.html * Baseball America Executive Database *Spink, J.G. Taylor, ed., ''The 1950 Official Baseball Guide.'' St. Louis:

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

, 1951. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehlers, Arthur 1897 births 1977 deaths Baltimore Orioles executives Baltimore Orioles scouts Deaths from cancer in Maryland Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball general managers Minor league baseball executives Philadelphia Athletics executives Sportspeople from Baltimore