August "Garry" Herrmann (May 3, 1859 – April 25, 1931) was an American political operative for Cincinnati
political boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...
George B. Cox, an executive of 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 ...
baseball team, and president of
National Baseball Commission
The National Baseball Commission was the governing body of Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from 1903 to 1920. It consisted of a chairman, the presidents of the National League (NL) and American League (AL), and a secretary. The ...
. In 1946, he was named in the
Honor Rolls of Baseball
The Honor Rolls of Baseball were established in 1946 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Permanent Committee to establish as a second level of induction designed to recognize non-playing contributors.James, p. 46 The committee de ...
.
Biography
Herrmann was born in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, on May 3, 1859, to a family of German descent. He learned
typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random Ho ...
at a young age, and became a member of the
International Typographical Union
The International Typographical Union (ITU) was a US trade union for the printing trade for newspapers and other media. It was founded on May 3, 1852, in the United States as the National Typographical Union, and changed its name to the Interna ...
.
[ He then held various public positions in Cincinnati; as a member of the board of education (elected in 1882), assistant clerk of the police court (appointed in 1887), and a member of the board of administration (appointed in 1891).][ In 1896, he was appointed to the board of commissioners of the Cincinnati waterworks, and was then selected as the board's chairman.]
Herrmann served as president of 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 ...
of the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
from 1902 to 1927,[ and served as the president of ]National Baseball Commission
The National Baseball Commission was the governing body of Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from 1903 to 1920. It consisted of a chairman, the presidents of the National League (NL) and American League (AL), and a secretary. The ...
from 1903 to 1920. Herrmann essentially filled the role of Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...
before that position was officially established in 1920. With two other Commission members, he established the annual nature of the World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
by 1905.
Outside of Cincinnati public positions and baseball, Herrmann served as the Grand Exalted Ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City.
History
The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...
(BPOE) in 1910, and was president of the American Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress—the original codifier of all tenpin bowling stand ...
in 1908.[
Herrmann was married in 1881 and was predeceased by his wife; they had one daughter.][ Although financially successful, Herrmann had a reputation as a lavish entertainer, supported by news that he left an estate of $10. He died in Cincinnati on April 25, 1931, eight days before his 72nd birthday.]
In 1946, Herrmann was named in the Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
's Honor Rolls of Baseball
The Honor Rolls of Baseball were established in 1946 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Permanent Committee to establish as a second level of induction designed to recognize non-playing contributors.James, p. 46 The committee de ...
, and on July 19, 2008, he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame
The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is an entity established by Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise that pays homage to the team's past through displays, photographs and multimedia. It was instituted in 1958 to recognize th ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrmann, August
1859 births
1931 deaths
American people of German descent
Baseball executives
Cincinnati Reds executives
Cincinnati Reds owners
Sportspeople from Cincinnati
Burials at Vine Street Hill Cemetery
Ohio Republicans