Sidney Weil (December 23, 1891 – January 14, 1966) was an American business executive and

salesperson Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

, who owned the Cincinnati Reds 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 ...

within

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), ...

(MLB) for four seasons at the beginning of the 1930s.

Biography

Late in the 1929 season, Weil secretly acquired enough shares of the Cincinnati Reds to become the majority owner. His purchase, estimated at $635,000, occurred weeks prior to the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

. During the four full seasons (1930–1933) that he owned the team, the Reds finished in last place in the

three times, while accruing a record of 235–379 for a .383

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

. In November 1933, Weil's majority ownership of the Reds was taken over by the Central Trust Bank.

Powel Crosley Jr. Powel Crosley Jr. (September 18, 1886 – March 28, 1961) was an American inventor, industrialist, and entrepreneur. He was also a pioneer in radio broadcasting, and owner of the Cincinnati Reds major league baseball team. In addition, Crosl ...

bought the team in February 1934. Weil was an executive of an auto sales company before buying the Reds. He filed for bankruptcy shortly after selling the Reds, listing liabilities of over $950,000. He moved to

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

sales in 1937, and sold over $1 million of insurance for 23 years in a row. Weil died in January 1966, as the result of a traffic collision in Cincinnati. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son. His wife, Florence, died in 1998 at the age of 104. His son,

Irwin Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango County ...

, became a professor of Russian literature at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

References

External links

Cincinnati Reds timeline
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weil, Sidney 1891 births 1966 deaths Major League Baseball executives Cincinnati Reds owners American salespeople Road incident deaths in Ohio