Bradford Gary Corbett (October 15, 1937 – December 24, 2012) was the owner of the Texas Rangers of

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), ...

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 1974 to 1980. Corbett was born in the Bronx in 1937. After spending a semester at

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...

, he transferred to

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Economics in 1960. He was later part owner of S&B Technical Products, headquartered in

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 ...

. Originally from

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

, Corbett made a fortune in the oil business by producing and selling plastic PVC piping. He had moved to Fort Worth, Texas in 1968 and within two years had become a millionaire at the age of 32 after first securing a $300,000

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stren ...

loan. Corbett led an investment group that purchased the Rangers from

Bob Short Robert Earl Short (July 20, 1917 – November 20, 1982) was an American businessman, sport teams owner, and politician. Background Short graduated from the College of Saint Thomas (now the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), University of St. ...

for $9.5 million on May 29, 1974. Serving as (in effect) his own

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 ...

, he quickly set about spending a great deal of money on free agent players. This was during the advent of the free agency era and soon Corbett had signed such high-priced players as

Bert Campaneris Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the Kansas City / ...

Doyle Alexander Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue J ...

Doc Medich George Francis "Doc" Medich (born December 9, 1948) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1972–1982. He was a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh, and acquired the nickname "Doc" during his e ...

Richie Zisk Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name *Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame *Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Austra ...

and

Mike Jorgensen Michael Jorgensen (born August 16, 1948) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who currently works in the St. Louis Cardinals' front office. The New York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the 1966 Major L ...

and traded for expensive talent like

Bobby Bonds Bobby Lee Bonds (March 15, 1946 – August 23, 2003) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from to , primarily with the San Francisco Giants. Noted for his outstanding combination of power hitting and speed, he was the first pl ...

Al Oliver Albert Oliver Jr. (born October 14, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won ...

and

Jon Matlack Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers. The three-t ...

. Despite never making the postseason, Texas finished in second place three times under Corbett’s ownership. The ’77 club won 94 games, the most in team history until 1999. The Team's winning percentage under him was .521, better than the winning percentages under most owners. He cried openly after the Rangers lost on July 4, 1977 and told the assembled news media, "I'm selling this team because it's killing me! They are dogs on the field and they are dogs off the field." Corbett fired three managers in the six seasons that he owned the Rangers. Corbett inherited

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

as his first manager when he purchased the team from Martin's personal friend, Robert Short. Martin became upset with Corbett's interference with his managing in 1975, thus prompting Martin to state, "You know as much about baseball as I do about pipe" Martin, Billy, with Peter Golenbock. "Number 1". Delacorte Press, 1980). In 1980 Corbett sold the team to oil producer

Eddie Chiles Harrell Edmonds "Eddie" Chiles (May 11, 1910 – August 22, 1993) was the founder of the Western Company of North America and an owner of the Texas Rangers. He was also the paternal uncle of actress Lois Chiles. Eddie Chiles was born in Itas ...

. He died at his home in Fort Worth in December 2012.

Sources

* "Huffing and Puffing in Texas" Sports Illustrated. August 7, 197

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Brad 1937 births 2012 deaths American sports businesspeople Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball owners Texas Rangers executives Texas Rangers owners People from Long Island People from Fort Worth, Texas