John Augustus "Jack" Zeller (September 11, 1883"United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-85H5-7?cc=1861144&wc=SPSZ-FMS%3A199086001 : 8 April 2016), 004672957 > image 89 of 3090. Citing NARA microfilm publications M1936, M1937, M1939, M1951, M1962, M1964, M1986, M2090, and M2097 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). – February 18, 1969) was an American

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 tea ...

executive and minor league player. He served as

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

(GM) of the

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 ...

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), ...

from 1938 through 1945.

Career

Zeller was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, to German emigrants. He only began his baseball career in 1901 playing at

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

in St. Louis. A pitcher, he joined the semi-pro Trolley League and then in 1903 the

Missouri Valley League The Missouri Valley League was an American minor league baseball league which operated from 1901 through 1905. History The Missouri Valley league formed in 1901 as an Independent league. The league consisted of teams in Kansas and Missouri: Co ...

, playing for the

Joplin Miners The Joplin Miners was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Joplin, Missouri that played for 49 seasons between 1901 and 1954. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Herzog played for Joplin. Professional baseba ...

in Joplin and Sedalia Gold Bugs in Sedalia. After playing in Colorado and New York, in 1905, he moved up to the minor league, playing for Haverhill in the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. After an arm injury, he was quickly released by the team and went back to New York, where he played first base and managed Bath Beach, an independent team in Brooklyn that played on Sunday. After three years there, he purchased half of the Springfield Ponies in the

Connecticut League The Connecticut League, also known as the Connecticut State League, was a professional baseball association of teams in the state of Connecticut. The league began as offshoot of the original Connecticut State League, which dates back as far as 1884 ...

. As manager, he led the team to the league pennant in 1911. As the league had three teams from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, he led the charge to have the league renamed. In 1912, he sold his interest in Springfield and bought the Pittsfield Electrics of the same league. He served as president, secretary and manager until 1915, when play was suspended during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He sold his interest in the club to the league in 1916, which merged with the Connecticut League to form the Eastern League. He attempted to develop a new league in Massachusetts in 1916. After the U.S. entered the war in 1917, Zeller enlisted in the Army as a private. After attending the Officers Training Camp, he was promoted to sergeant and then commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in 1918. He did not see action but served as a bayonet instructor before being discharged in 1919, when he moved to Texas to work in the oil fields. Zeller joined the

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 1925 as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. Zeller served as a scout and supervisor in the Tigers organization from 1938 through 1941. He was appointed GM of the Tigers in 1938, succeeding

Mickey Cochrane Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane (April 6, 1903 – June 28, 1962), nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detro ...

. He is credited with developing the Tigers' minor league baseball organization. Following an investigation, the Tigers were found to be in violation of the minor league working agreement in 1940, resulting in 91 players being declared

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

s by

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 ...

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his h ...

. Zeller took full responsibility. Zeller then began to sell off the Tigers'

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

s. He began to believe that the farm system needed to be completely overhauled. In 1944, he proposed a new draft that would end the minor league system, replacing it with "baseball schools". Zeller stepped down as Tigers' GM in 1945. He was succeeded by

George Trautman George M. "Red" Trautman (January 11, 1890 – June 25, 1963) was an American baseball executive and college men's basketball coach. Ohio State As an undergraduate at the Ohio State University, Trautman was a three-sport letterwinner in footbal ...

. Upon leaving the Tigers, he moved to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, where he served as a

for the

East Texas League The East Texas League was a Texas–based minor league baseball league that existed between 1916 to 1950. The East Texas League played as a Class D level league in 1916 and from 1923 to 1926. The league became a Class C level league from 1936 ...

and

Evangeline Baseball League The Evangeline League began in 1934 as a six–team Class D level minor league with teams based in Louisiana, United States, later adding Mississippi and Texas based franchises. In 1935, the league was expanded to eight teams and ceased operatio ...

.The Milwaukee Sentinel – Google News Archive Search
/ref> In 1947, he joined the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

as their chief scout.Reading Eagle – Google News Archive Search
/ref>

Personal

Zeller died of a heart condition in 1969 at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeller, Jack 1883 births 1969 deaths Detroit Tigers scouts Detroit Tigers executives Boston Braves scouts Major League Baseball general managers Major League Baseball scouts People from St. Louis American people of German descent