George B. Dovey (April 18, 1862 – June 19, 1909) was the principal owner of the

Boston Doves 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 ...

of 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 ...

from through .

History

Dovey was born in

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...

; he attended college in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, where he played baseball. For several years he worked as a salesman for the

St. Louis Car Company The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri. History The St. Louis Car Company ...

. In 1907, Dovey bought the Boston Beaneaters from Arthur Soden, becoming the team's principal owner; he then renamed the team the Boston Doves. At the age of 46, Dovey died of a

pulmonary hemorrhage Pulmonary hemorrhage (or pulmonary haemorrhage) is an acute bleeding from the lung, from the upper respiratory tract and the trachea, and the pulmonary alveoli. When evident clinically, the condition is usually massive.

, early in the morning of June 19, 1909 while riding a Pennsylvania Railroad train in

Greene County, Ohio Greene County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 167,966. Its county seat is Xenia. The county was established on March 24, 1803 and named for General Nathanael Greene ...

, between Cedarville and Xenia. He was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia. Following his death, his brother John became principal owner of the franchise.

References

1862 births 1909 deaths American salespeople Baseball executives Baseball players from Pennsylvania Boston Braves (baseball) Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia) Deaths from pulmonary hemorrhage Sportspeople from Pottsville, Pennsylvania 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1860s-stub