Richard Wagner (October 19, 1927 – October 5, 2006) was a sports, entertainment, and broadcasting executive who spent twenty-five years in
Major League Baseball. He was best known for running the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
during the 1970s and the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
during the 1980s.
Early life and careers
Born in
Central City, Nebraska, Wagner's career in professional baseball began at a young age. In 1947, only 19 and fresh out of the Navy, he took a position as business manager of a Class D
Georgia–Florida League team, a
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
affiliate. In a prosperous era for the minor leagues, Wagner steadily worked his way up through leagues and classifications, shifting at one point to the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
chain and working there under the tutelage of
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...
. He held minor league administrative posts in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
;
Miami, Florida;
San Antonio, Texas;
Hutchinson, Kansas; and
Lincoln, Nebraska. At Lincoln, in 1958, he was named Top Minor League Executive of the Year by 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 ...
.
Shifting career tracks in 1959, Wagner took a position as
General Manager of
Pershing Auditorium
The Pershing Center (originally known as Pershing Auditorium) is a 4,526-seat multi-purpose arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Although still physically in place, it is no longer in use.
History
On February 12, 1900, Lincoln's first municipal auditoriu ...
in
Lincoln, Nebraska. In the next decade, he held posts in entertainment and broadcasting. He was an executive for
Ice Capades in
Hollywood, California. In
Salina, Kansas, Wagner ran radio station
KSAL. He also served as General Manager of
The Forum in
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...
, home of the Los Angeles
Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
and
Kings
Kings or King's may refer to:
*Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings
*One of several works known as the "Book of Kings":
**The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts
**The ''Shahnameh'' ...
. From the Forum, he returned to major league baseball, where he spent the remaining balance of his working years.
Years with the Reds and the Astros
After several years as Director of Promotions with the
St. Louis Cardinals under
Bob Howsam, Wagner followed Howsam to the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
in 1967. He spent the next fifteen years in the front office during that team's successful run as "
The Big Red Machine", beginning by supervising business affairs for the Reds, helping to pioneer, develop and refine marketing and promotional efforts that resulted in a series of attendance records. Later, he added duties on the player personnel side and in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
was made President and
General Manager of the team. During the years Wagner was part of the organization, the Reds won consecutive
World Series titles in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
and
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 ...
, in addition to four league flags and six division titles. During his Cincinnati years, he resided in Glendale, Ohio, a greater Cincinnati suburb. He continued as President and General Manager until he was fired by the Reds on July 11,
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
. By that time "Robert T. Wag" had dismantled the Big Red Machine by, among other things, allowing
Pete Rose to leave as a free agent to the
Phillies.
Wagner innovated the practice of Major League teams wearing green-trimmed uniforms on March 17 in honor of
St. Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
. Wagner was the general manager of the Reds, and had green versions of the Reds' uniforms made. The Reds hosted the
New York Yankees at
Al Lopez Field on March 17, 1978. This was the first time a major league team wore green trimmed uniforms on March 17, a practice adopted in subsequent years by multiple major league teams on St. Patrick's Day.
Wagner was named general manager of the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
in September of
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and continued the solidification of the already successful Houston team. His Astros won the
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
National League West championship, clinching the division with a September 25 no-hitter by team pitching ace
Mike Scott. Wagner resigned as general manager in
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, following a power struggle with team manager
Hal Lanier.
Later years
In 1988, MLB Commissioner
Peter Ueberroth and
American League President
Bobby Brown named Wagner a Special Assistant. Throughout the next decade, he served Brown and a succession of Commissioners as a top-level aide.
Wagner retired to
Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Gloria. There he served on the board of the Western Art Associates of the
Phoenix Art Museum and as a vice-president of the
Association of Professional Ball Players of America
The Association of Professional Ball Players of America (APBPA) is a United States-based charity set up in 1924 to assist professional baseball players. The organization caters to players from all leagues, including the minor leagues. The organiza ...
. Wagner was involved in a car accident in 1999 that resulted in trauma and injuries that required attention for the rest of his life. He died in Phoenix in 2006.
References
External links
Former Reds President Wagner dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Dick
1927 births
2006 deaths
People from Central City, Nebraska
Sportspeople from Nebraska
Cincinnati Reds executives
Houston Astros executives
Major League Baseball executives
Major League Baseball general managers
St. Louis Cardinals executives