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

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

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

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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 ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. A former minor league player and a

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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, 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 The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

. In September

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

, a tumultuous year for that franchise, Ehlers succeeded

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catcher

Mickey Cochrane Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane (April 6, 1903 – June 28, 1962), nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detro ...

as general manager of the Athletics upon an ownership reorganization involving two warring branches of the Connie Mack 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

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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 In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

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 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,

, 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 p ...

, was hired to replace both Ehlers and Dykes on September 14, 1954. Dykes became a coach for the Cincinnati Redlegs, while Ehlers remained in Baltimore as Richards' assistant general manager. He eventually became a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

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 ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

Executive Database *Spink, J.G. Taylor, ed., ''The 1950 Official Baseball Guide.'' St. Louis:

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, 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