William A. Wrigley III (January 21, 1933 – March 8, 1999), known as William Wrigley, was president of the

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, known as the Wrigley Company, is an American multinational chewing gum (Wrigley's gum) company, based in the Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois. Wrigley's is wholly owned by Mars, In ...

, founded by his grandfather

William Wrigley Jr. William Mills Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American chewing gum industrialist. He was founder of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. Biography William Mills Wrigley Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Penns ...

, from 1961 until his death from pneumonia in March 1999. His father,

P. K. Wrigley P. is an abbreviation or acronym that may refer to: * Page (paper) A page is one side of a leaf (or sheet) of paper, parchment or other material (or electronic media) in a book, magazine, newspaper, or other collection of sheets, on which text o ...

, preceded him as president. He was succeeded by his son Bill Wrigley Jr. as president and CEO. He inherited ownership of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in 1977. Only a few months later, his mother died, and he eventually sold the team to the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

in 1981 to pay off the tax bill. After assuming the company’s presidency in 1961, Wrigley maintained its position as the world's largest manufacturer of chewing gum by venturing into

Orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...

Freedent Freedent is a gum manufactured by Wrigley's. Freedent was first introduced in the US and UK in 1975 and is marketed as the gum that "won't stick to most dental work (or braces)." Freedent comes in three flavors: Peppermint, Spearmint, and Winter ...

Extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

Hubba Bubba Hubba Bubba is a brand of bubble gum produced by Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Introduced in the United States in 1979, the bubble gum got its name from the phrase "Hubba Hubba", which some military personnel in Wo ...

, and Big Red.

Personal

Wrigley was a 1954 graduate of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, where he was

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of the

Yale football The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing ...

team. He was first married in 1957 to Alison Hunter. They had three children, Alison Elizabeth, Philip Knight, and William Jr., before their marriage ended in divorce in 1969. The following year in a ceremony on Catalina island, he married Joan Georgine Fisher. That marriage ended in annulment. In November 1981 he married Julie Burns.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrigley, William 1933 births 1999 deaths Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball owners Chicago Cubs executives Chicago Cubs owners Businesspeople in confectionery Wrigley family American chief executives of food industry companies Businesspeople from Chicago Yale College alumni