Edmund Bacon Fitzgerald (1926 – August 28, 2013) was an American business executive from
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and was a key figure in bringing
major league baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
back to
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 ...
in the form of the
Milwaukee Brewers in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
.
[Legacy.com obituary]
/ref>
/ref>
Early life and education
Fitzgerald was born in 1926 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
. He attended the Milwaukee Country Day School, the Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admis ...
and the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. He served in the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
from 1943 to 1946 and from 1950 to 1952.
Endeavors
Business endeavors
Fitzgerald served as chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
of Cutler-Hammer, Inc. for 15 years. During the 1980s, he was chairman and CEO of Nortel
Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Quebec, ...
. He was also director of the Business Council on National Issues in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
for four years. He also served on the board of trustees for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, First Wisconsin National Bank and Beloit College
Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and h ...
.
Baseball endeavors
Fitzgerald co-founded the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970, serving at various times as Vice President and General Partner on the club until 1982. During the 1970s, he was on the Executive Council of 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), ...
and chairman of its Player Relations Committee. He was previously a director on the board of the Milwaukee Braves and opposed the move
Political and other endeavors
Fitzgerald served as Industry Advisory Council to the U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
and was President of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) is the largest trade association of electrical equipment manufacturers in the United States. Founded in 1926, it advocates for the industry, and publishes standards for electrical product ...
. He served on President Ronald Reagan's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee and was a life trustee and chairman on the Committee for Economic Development. Due to his efforts to improve trade relations between the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and Japan, Fitzgerald was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class. He also served as a member of the U.S.-Korea Wisemen Council.
Family
Fitzgerald's father, also named Edmund Fitzgerald (1895–1986), was a civic leader who served as chairman of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, and was the namesake for the Great Lakes freighter SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', popularized in the 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 ...
song " The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald''" by Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...
. His grandfather, William E. Fitzgerald (1859–1901), was a famous shipbuilder, and his maternal grandfather Frank R. Bacon (1872–1949) co-founded Cutler-Hammer
Eaton Corporation plc is an American-Irish multinational power management company with 2021 sales of $19.63 billion, founded in the United States with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and a secondary administrative center in Beachwood ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Edmund
1926 births
2013 deaths
Businesspeople from Milwaukee
Military personnel from Milwaukee
University of Michigan alumni