Dewey Soriano (February 8, 1920 – April 6, 1998) was the part-owner of the Seattle Pilots baseball team of 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 ...

in 1969, the franchise's only year in Seattle. Born in

Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Its location is on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12, ...

, Soriano moved to Seattle with his family when he was five. He played baseball at Franklin High School in Seattle; among his teammates on the Quakers were

Fred Hutchinson Frederick Charles Hutchinson (August 12, 1919 – November 12, 1964) was an American professional baseball player, a major league pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, and the manager for three major league teams. Born and raised in Seattle, Washing ...

and newspaper columnist

Emmett Watson Emmett Watson (November 22, 1918 – May 11, 2001) was an American newspaper columnist from Seattle, Washington, whose columns ran in a variety of Seattle newspapers over a span of more than fifty years. Initially a sportswriter, he is primari ...

. Prior to owning the Pilots, Soriano served as president of both the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

and the

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International Leagu ...

. Soriano also pitched in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

for several years before becoming the owner and

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

of the

Yakima Bears The Yakima Bears were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Yakima, Washington. The Bears competed at the Class A Short Season level as members of the Northwest League from 1990 to 2012. Following the 2012 season, ...

. When Soriano won the Pilots expansion franchise in late 1967, he didn't have enough money to pay the franchise fee. In what proved to be a

harbinger A harbinger is a forerunner or forewarning, but may also refer to: Companies * Harbinger Corp., an Internet-oriented business * Harbinger Capital, a hedge fund * Harbinger Knowledge Products, an eLearning products and content services compan ...

of things to come, he had to ask for help from former

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

owner Bill Daley — who, ironically, had nearly moved the Indians to Seattle earlier in the 1960s. In return, Soriano sold Daley a 47 percent stake in the team, making him the largest shareholder. Soriano, however, retained the team presidency. Largely due to being badly undercapitalized, Soriano was nearly out of money by the end of the 1969 season. Almost as soon as the season ended, it was apparent that Soriano wouldn't be able to hold out before moving to a new stadium. It was also apparent that the timetable for a new park would have to be significantly advanced, as the Pilots' temporary home, Sick's Stadium, was completely inadequate even for temporary use. Soriano put the Pilots on the market, but no credible offers surfaced from Seattle interests. Out of desperation, Soriano cut a deal to sell the franchise to a

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 ...

-based group led by

Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served as ...

. However, legal action dragged out throughout the 1969–1970 offseason. Ultimately, Soriano took the team into bankruptcy, clearing the way for Selig to take control and move the Pilots to Milwaukee as the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. After the move to Milwaukee was finalized in late March, Soriano and his brother Max were hung in

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

in Seattle. After seven summers without major league baseball in Seattle, the expansion Mariners began play in 1977. Soriano married Alice Brougham, daughter of

Royal Brougham Royal Brewer Brougham (September 17, 1894 – October 30, 1978) was one of the longest tenured employees of a U.S. newspaper in history, working for the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, primarily as sports ...

(1894–1978), longtime sports editor of the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'' newspaper.

References

External links

Milwaukee Brewers timelineSports Press Northwest
- Wayback Machine: Dewey Soriano Story, Part I
Part II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soriano, Dewey 1920 births 1998 deaths Baseball executives Baseball people from British Columbia Canadian emigrants to the United States Seattle Pilots Businesspeople from Seattle Minor league baseball players Pacific Coast League 20th-century American businesspeople Franklin High School (Seattle) alumni