Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston | |
|---|---|
 Huston at the opening ofYankee Stadium, April 18, 1923 | |
| Born | (1867-07-17)July 17, 1867 |
| Died | March 29, 1938(1938-03-29) (aged 70) Darien, Georgia, US |
| Occupation | Civil engineer |
| Spouse | Lena Belle Glathart |
| Children | 3 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1898–1901, 1917–1919 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Unit | United States Volunteer Engineers 16th Engineer Brigade |
| Conflicts | Spanish–American War World War I |
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston (July 17, 1867 – March 29, 1938) was an Americancivil engineer and businessman. He co-owned theNew York Yankees ofMajor League Baseball withJacob Ruppert from 1915 to 1923, turning them from one of the worst franchises in baseball into aWorld Series contender.
A civil engineer by trade, Huston worked forCincinnati's waterworks before forming a company of volunteer engineers in theSpanish–American War. He was commissioned as acaptain, earning him the nickname "Cap". He stayed in Cuba after the war as a private contractor, rebuilding infrastructure in Cuba and earning his personal fortune. Returning to the United States, Huston partnered with Ruppert to buy the Yankees in 1915. Together, they used their wealth to acquire talented players who improved the team, includingBabe Ruth.
Huston returned to the military duringWorld War I, and was promoted tomajor and then tolieutenant colonel. Following a dispute, Huston sold his interests in the Yankees to Ruppert in 1923. He purchased theButler Island Plantation, which had fallen into disrepair, and rebuilt it as a dairy and lettuce farm. Huston resided at the plantation until his death in 1938.
Huston was born inBuffalo, New York, on July 17, 1867,[1] to a schoolteacher from Kentucky and acivil engineer from Ireland. He was one of seven children, and was raised inCincinnati,Ohio,[2] where he attended public schools. Huston's father named him after two engineers who he admired,[1] and trained him to be an engineer. They worked together on theLouisville and Nashville Railroad,[3] theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, theChesapeake and Ohio Railway, and theCincinnati Southern Railway.[4] In 1890, he returned to Cincinnati and became the assistant chief engineer of the Cincinnati Waterworks, earning $135 per month ($5,102 in current dollar terms).[5][6]
When theSpanish–American War began, Huston organized a company of engineers with expertise in waterworks and masonry for service in Cuba.[7] His company earned the authorization of theUnited States Department of War,[8] and was joined to the Second Regiment of the United States Volunteer Engineers under the command ofColonelWillard Young.[1][9] Huston was commissioned as acaptain,[8] and was given charge of engineers during their training atCamp Meade. His company was integrated into theSecond Army Corps[10] and selected to go to Havana in December 1898.[11] They took over maintenance of Havana's waterworks[12] and also improved sanitation inleper colonies.[13] Huston became an advisor toLeonard Wood, the military governor of Cuba.[1]
In 1901, Huston resigned from the Army. He stayed in Havana, working as a private contractor, and made a personal fortune through government contracts.[5][14] Huston worked with a company that was based in New York City, so he relocated his family there and visited frequently.[15] He formed a partnership withNorman Davis, and they built highways, railroads, and buildings.[1] In 1911, they were given the charge of dredging Cuban harbors, includingHavana Harbor,Santiago Harbor,Cienfuegos Bay, and the Bay ofMatanzas.[13] TheCongress of Cuba approved a USD$10 million contract ($337,464,286 in current dollar terms) for Huston's company, which was signed into law byJosé Miguel Gómez, thepresident of Cuba.[5] His successor,Mario García Menocal, terminated the contract in 1913.[16]
Huston was a baseball fan. He traveled back to the United States to see baseball games, and arranged for teams to visit Cuba forexhibition games. Huston became friends withJohn McGraw, themanager of theNew York Giants of theNational League,[17] whom he met in 1911.[18] Huston entered into a deal to buy theChicago Cubs of the National League fromCharles P. Taft in July 1914, in which McGraw would become a part-owner and manager. The deal fell through whenHarry Hempstead refused to let McGraw out of his contract with the Giants.[6][19] McGraw introduced Huston toJacob Ruppert,[6] a brewer who was also looking to purchase a baseball team. After meeting for thirty minutes at theHotel Claridge, Huston and Ruppert entered into a partnership.[20]
By the 1914 season,Frank J. Farrell andWilliam Stephen Devery, the owners of theNew York Yankees of theAmerican League, were running out of money. The Yankees were not a competitive franchise on the field, and did not have their own stadium; they were tenants of the Giants at thePolo Grounds, paying $65,000 annually ($2,020,345 in current dollar terms) in rent.[21] In December 1914, Huston and Ruppert entered into negotiations to buy the Yankees, and the deal was completed on January 30, 1915. They paid $463,000 ($14,391,076 in current dollar terms), each contributing half of the purchase price.[22][23] Ruppert became team president, and Huston served as secretary and treasurer.[24]Bill Donovan was hired to manage the team.[25]
To convince Huston and Ruppert to take on such a troubled franchise,Ban Johnson, the president of the American League, had gotten agreements from other teams to make decent players available to the Yankees at reasonable prices.[23][26] The Yankees purchasedWally Pipp andHugh High from theDetroit Tigers for $5,500 ($170,952 in current dollar terms),[27] but other owners withheld their players.[23] The Yankees attempted to acquireShoeless Joe Jackson, but he was traded to theChicago White Sox instead. Huston accused Johnson of directing the transaction without allowing the Yankees to bid.[28] The Yankees finished in fifth place in the American League in 1915, and retained Donovan as their manager while releasing many players.[29]
Huston and Ruppert used their wealth to acquire talented players, and used the collapse of theFederal League after the 1915 season as an opportunity to acquire them. Huston and Ruppert reported that they spent $120,000 ($3,729,868 in current dollar terms) on player acquisitions in their first year as owners, with the most expensive acquisitions beingHome Run Baker,Bob Shawkey,Lee Magee,Dan Tipple,Nick Cullop, andJoe Gedeon.[30][31] The Yankees finished in fourth place in 1916, their best finish since 1910, and they signed Donovan for another season.[32] In 1917, Huston brought adrill sergeant tospring training to instill discipline in his players, a strategy later adopted by other team owners.[33]
UponAmerica's entry intoWorld War I in April 1917, Huston reenlisted in the Army as the commander of the16th Regiment of Engineers.[3] His regiment sailed for Europe on August 1, 1917,[34] and reached France in March 1918,[35] among the first to reach the front lines.[34] He served in France, building roads and railroads behind British lines nearBethune during theGerman spring offensive, and then with theAmerican Expeditionary Forces nearVarennes andMontfaucon during theMeuse–Argonne offensive.[3][36] Huston was promoted tomajor in May 1918,[37] and again tolieutenant colonel in September 1918.[38] GeneralJohn J. Pershing cited Huston for meritorious service.[39][40]
The Yankees slumped in 1917, falling to sixth place.[41] After the 1917 season, Ruppert dismissed Donovan and hiredMiller Huggins, who was recommended to Ruppert by Johnson,[23][42] and signed him to a two-year contract.[43] Huston had wanted to hireWilbert Robinson as the Yankees' next manager[44] and was angered to find out that Ruppert had hired Huggins.[23] The Yankees finished in fourth place in the 1918 season.[45] Huston returned to the United States in January 1919, after spending 17 months overseas.[37] He never accepted Huggins, and worked to undermine him, while also harboring anger towards Johnson for his interference in the franchise.[23][46]
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In July 1919,Carl Mays left theBoston Red Sox without permission. Johnson demanded that the Red Sox suspend him, but instead, the Red Sox traded Mays to the Yankees. Johnson suspended Mays for deserting the Red Sox.[47] Huston accused Johnson of having a financial interest in theCleveland Indians,[48] and Huston and Ruppert obtained a temporaryinjunction allowing Mays to play.New York Supreme Court JusticeRobert F. Wagner ruled in favor of the Yankees, granting a permanent injunction. The owners of the Yankees, Red Sox, andChicago White Sox began to collectively oppose Johnson, becoming known as the "Insurrectos". Though the Insurrectos were outnumbered by the five teams loyal to Johnson, they held three out of the four seats on theboard of directors.[49] The conflict between the Insurrectos and Johnson contributed toKenesaw Mountain Landis's appointment as the firstCommissioner of Baseball.[49][50]
The Yankees finished in third place in 1919,[45] and signed Huggins to manage for another season.[51] In December 1919, the Yankees purchasedBabe Ruth from the Red Sox for $100,000 ($1,813,628 in current dollar terms), a record sum for a player.[52] In Ruth's first season as a Yankee, the team set a record for attendance, drawing almost 1.3 million fans during the 1920 season.[23] They finished in third place,[45] and retained Huggins for the 1921 season.[53] The Yankees continued to acquire talented players from the Red Sox, as team ownerHarry Frazee had financial difficulties and Johnson prevented the loyal team owners from dealing with Frazee.[52] The players the Yankees acquired from Boston includedWaite Hoyt andWally Schang after the 1920 season,Sad Sam Jones,Bullet Joe Bush, andEverett Scott after the 1921 season,[54] andHerb Pennock before the 1923 season.[55]
Feeling overshadowed by the Yankees in their own stadium,[23] the Giants announced that they would not renew the Yankees' lease at the Polo Grounds for the 1921 season,[21] though they ultimately relented and allowed the Yankees to remain for two more seasons.[56] Huston and Ruppert began looking for a location to build their own stadium, choosing a site adjacent toMacombs Dam Park inthe Bronx in 1921. They set out to build the first three-tiered baseball stadium, with an anticipated 75,000 capacity;[23][57] the Polo Grounds held fewer than 40,000. Construction began in 1922.[58]
The Yankees finished in first place in the American League in 1921, reaching the1921 World Series, which they lost to the Giants. Huston blamed Huggins, and wanted him fired.[59] The Yankees again won the American League in 1922, but lost to the Giants in the1922 World Series, and Huston again argued for firing Huggins. When Ruppert refused, Huston announced that he would sell his shares.[23][60] Despite his desire to sell the team, Huston oversaw the construction ofYankee Stadium, which was completed before the start of the 1923 season.[3] He sold his stake in the Yankees to Ruppert for $1.25 million ($23,068,848 in current dollar terms), finalizing the deal in May 1923. Ruppert gave Huston a seat on the board of directors.[61] With Huston's sale of his share of the Yankees, andFrank Chance's hiring in Boston, relations worsened between the two franchises.[62]
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After selling his stake in the Yankees, Huston purchased 650 acres (260 ha) on Champney Island, located in theAltamaha River, south ofDarien, Georgia, to establish a duck preserve.[63] The land was originally used for cultivating rice, but had been deserted after theAmerican Civil War.[64][2] When Huston learned about the history of rice cultivation on the land, he decided to restore the area.[65] He bought the 1,250-acre (510 ha)Butler Island Plantation onButler Island, a neighboring island, and set about recultivating the land.[66] Huston brought in tractors, dredgers, and thousands of workers to rebuild trenches andlevees and plant various species of fruits and vegetables.[63][67] He built the Huston House on the property in 1927.[68] In 1929, Huston began planting lettuce, which the plantation continued to produce after his death.[69] Huston spent over $100,000 ($1,776,128 in current dollar terms) on a herd ofGuernsey cattle to establish the plantation as a dairy farm in 1932.[67][70]
Still interested in baseball, Huston served as an advisor to theAtlanta Crackers of theSouthern Association during the 1933 season.[71] He arranged for Robinson to join the team as its president.[72] In the mid-1930s, Huston attempted to purchase theBrooklyn Dodgers of the National League, and he stated that his intention was to hire Ruth as his manager.[73] In 1937, he acknowledged that he had offered to buy the Dodgers for $1.7 million ($37,183,565 in current dollar terms), but was turned down.[74]
Huston served as national commander of theVeterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and theUnited Spanish War Veterans in 1923.[75] He toured the country in support of veterans' issues, such as calling for passage of theWorld War Adjusted Compensation Act.[76] He remained involved in veterans' issues throughout his life. When a game in the 1922 World Series ended as a tie, thegate receipts were donated to the VFW and used to found the VFW National Home for widows and orphans of veterans.[77] Huston served as director of the National Home later in his life.[78] He involved himself in other civic ventures. He was a lifelong member of theSociety of Civil Engineers[1] and served as president of thechamber of commerce forBrunswick, Georgia.[79]
Huston and his wife, Lena Belle Glathart, a native ofLawrence, Kansas,[80] had three children. Huston died at the Butler Island Plantation on March 29, 1938, from an apparentheart attack.[1][3] He was buried atChrist Church atSt. Simons, Georgia, on March 31 with military honors.[81]
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Owner of theNew York Yankees (withJacob Ruppert) 1915–1923 | Succeeded by |