William C. Bartholomay (August 11, 1928 – March 25, 2020) was a successful

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

business executive, who made his living in the insurance industry. In November 1962 at age 34, he was the leader of a consortium who bought the

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), ...

(MLB)

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— a franchise in the organization's

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(NL) — from

Lou Perini Louis Robert Perini (November 29, 1903 in Ashland, MassachusettsApril 16, 1972 in West Palm Beach, Florida) was the principal owner of the Boston / Milwaukee Braves of the National League from 1945 through 1962. In 1945, he purchased the club fr ...

Despite the Braves' success in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, where the team had set league attendance records (after the franchise was moved from Boston) during the 1950s, Bartholomay was intent on moving the team to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, a growing regional center, where there was more television revenue, and where the new, 52,000-seat

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had recently been built. He wanted to be the first man to bring a baseball team to the

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. Bartholomay worked with many civic leaders to help attain his dream. After an extended legal battle with Milwaukee that kept the Braves from moving through the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

season, and many death threats, the National League agreed to the shift to Atlanta. The case ultimately led to baseball's guidelines on local ownership. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, Bartholomay was approached with a business proposition by a friend,

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...

: The two knew that a baseball team and network deal would be a good way to market the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

on a national scale and provide programming for Turner's developing ( TBS) network. Bartholomay agreed and sold the controlling interest of the team to Turner (of

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

System, Inc., and owner of

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), while retaining his interest as

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. Bartholomay was a Life Trustee of Illinois Institute of Technology.

Family

William's father, Henry Bartholomay, was an executive at Alexander & Alexander, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the United States. His mother Virginia (nee Graves) drove for the Army Motor Corps in World War I and was active in the Red Cross during World War II. One of William's great-grandfathers, Henry Bartholomay, emigrated from Germany to Rochester, NY, where he established Bartholomay Brewing Company in 1874. Another great-grandfather, Conrad Seipp, founded the Conrad Seipp Brewing Company in Chicago.

Education

Bartholomay is an alum of North Shore Country Day School and

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts inst ...

Death

On March 25, 2020, Bartholomay died in

New York-Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New Y ...

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, of complications resulting from a respiratory illness, subsequent to a bout with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in December 2019. He was 91 years old.

References

External links

Bill Bartholomay
at Baseball America Executive Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholomay, William 1928 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American businesspeople in insurance Atlanta Braves owners Atlanta Braves executives Businesspeople from Chicago Illinois Institute of Technology people Major League Baseball owners Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball team presidents Milwaukee Braves owners North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives