Nelson Doubleday Jr. (July 20, 1933 – June 17, 2015) was the owner and the next-to-last president and CEO of

Doubleday and Company Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 and was the largest in the United States by 1947. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed th ...

before its sale to Bertelsmann A.G. in 1986. He was instrumental in the company's purchase of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in 1980. After selling Doubleday Publishing, Doubleday personally bought a 50 percent stake in the Mets in 1986, with team president

Fred Wilpon Fred Wilpon (born November 22, 1936) is an American real estate developer and former baseball executive. He was principal owner of the New York Mets from 1987 to 2020. Early life and education Wilpon was raised in a Jewish family

buying the remaining 50 percent. Doubleday remained

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Mets, a post which he had held since 1980. In 2002, Doubleday sold his interest in the New York Mets to Wilpon and Wilpon's family, in an acrimonious transaction that saw a dispute over the team's value.

Early life and education

Nelson Doubleday Jr. was born July 20, 1933, in Oyster Bay,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, as the son of Ellen McCarter and

Nelson Doubleday Nelson Doubleday (June 16, 1889 – January 11, 1949) was a U.S. book publisher and president of Doubleday Company from 1922–1946. His father Frank Nelson Doubleday had founded the business. His son Nelson Doubleday Jr. followed him i ...

, and had a younger sister Neltje. Their father owned Doubleday Publishing, which was founded by Nelson Sr.'s father

Frank N. Doubleday Frank Nelson Doubleday (January 8, 1862 – January 30, 1934), known to friends and family as “Effendi” (phonetic "F.N.D."), founded the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897, which later operated under other names. Starting work at the age o ...

. Their paternal grandmother Neltje Blanchan De Greff published books on gardens and birds."Nelson Doubleday Jr, Publishing Executive and Mets Owner, Dies at 81"
"The Washington Post," June 18, 2015, accessed April 10, 2017 He grew up in Oyster Bay and in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. He attended the Green Vale School in Glen Head, then the

Eaglebrook School Eaglebrook School is an independent junior boarding and day school for boys in grades six through nine. It is located in Deerfield, Massachusetts, on the Pocumtuck Range near Deerfield Academy and sited on an campus which is also preserved by ...

and

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 Admissi ...

, both in

Deerfield, Massachusetts Deerfield is a New England town, town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. ...

. After Deerfield, Doubleday attended

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, where he earned a degree in economics, and played baseball, football and ice hockey. Upon his graduation in 1955, Doubleday served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and was stationed at

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

Career

Growing up as the son and grandson of owners of a major book publishing house, Nelson Doubleday Jr. was determined to join the family business. Entering Doubleday as a young man as an assistant in the promotion and subsidiary rights departments, he learned the business by progressing through a variety of positions. He became the president of Doubleday in 1978. In 1980, he was instrumental in the company's decision to buy the

baseball team from the Payson family, putting up 80% of the $21.1 million price tag and became

of the Mets. The remaining 20% came from partners City Investing Corporation and

. Wilpon and Doubleday put in an additional $20 million over the next three years to rebuild the franchise. The pair built the franchise into a pennant contender in 1984 and 1985 and winning the

1986 World Series The 1986 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1986 Major League Baseball season, 1986 season. The 83rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Lea ...

title. The team also saw attendance rise significantly and earn $6 million. In 1985, Doubleday saw a decline in sales from 1980 and hired James R. McLaughlin, the head of

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

, a Doubleday subsidiary, to streamline and downsize. Doubleday's tenure as president ended in 1985; he was succeeded by McLaughlin, who was president during 1985 and 1986. In 1986, Doubleday sold the publishing company to Bertelsmann AG for a reported $475 million. That same year, Doubleday and Wilpon each bought a 50 percent ownership position in the Mets.New York Observer: "Even During Series Mets Partners Spar, Endangering Stadium" By Andrew Rice
October 30, 2010 In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, Doubleday sold his stake in the Mets to Wilpon for $135 million, thus making Wilpon the sole owner of the Mets.

Personal life

Doubleday married Florence McKim, the daughter and step-daughter, respectively, of

Lillian Bostwick Phipps Lillian Stokes Bostwick Phipps (July 9, 1906 – November 27, 1987) was an American socialite and owner of Thoroughbred steeplechase racehorses. Early life Lillian Stokes Bostwick was born in New York City, the daughter of Mary Stokes and Alb ...

and

Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was inducte ...

. By 1972, they had divorced.Marylin Bender, "The Story Behind Family and Firm Reads Like a Novel"
''The Palm Beach Post,'' December 31, 1972, accessed April 19, 2012 In 1973, he married Sandra Pine Barnett (nicknamed Sandy). He had five daughters and one son. Doubleday died of pneumonia at his

Locust Valley, New York Locust Valley is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island ...

, home on June 17, 2015, aged 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doubleday, Nelson Jr. Doubleday family 1933 births 2015 deaths People from Oyster Bay (town), New York Major League Baseball owners New York Mets owners Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Princeton Tigers football players Princeton Tigers baseball players Princeton Tigers men's ice hockey players Deerfield Academy alumni United States Air Force airmen