Robert Hedges (born 1869 in Jackson County, Missouri – died April 1932 in

St. Louis, Missouri 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 ...

) was the owner of the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

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 ...

from through . Hedges was instrumental in bringing Branch Rickey into the Browns' front office. He sold the Browns to Phil Ball after the 1915 season. Nicknamed as "Colonel Bob," Hedges is considered to be the first major league owner to view baseball as a purely business venture. Consequently, he invested in innovations that he believed would improve his bottom line by increasing fan attendance (such as through the installation of an electronic scoreboard and the hiring of the first live announcer) or by protecting his assets (such as by taking out life insurance policies on players and developing the first canvas to protect the playing surface from rain). Actions by Hedges were key to brokering peace between 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 ...

and its rivals. After a bidding war with the

led to salary inflation, he symbolically returned future Hall of Fame pitcher

Christy Mathewson Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Gia ...

to the New York Giants as part of the settlement to prevent future roster raids. Hedges sold the team to

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

owner Phil Ball to prevent cannibalization of the St. Louis baseball market, as the presence of three professional teams in the city and the corresponding stiff competition for players caused each franchise to experience financial losses. Hedges who, grew up on a farm and began his career working as a clerk for Jackson County, became wealthy through the manufacture of carriages. In 1900, with profits soaring, he sold his business as he had correctly surmised that his industry was greatly threatened by the rise of the automobile.

References

1869 births 1932 deaths Major League Baseball owners St. Louis Browns owners Businesspeople from St. Louis Deaths from lung cancer {{US-baseball-business-bio-stub