George Weiss (baseball)

Weiss was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and attended Yale University for a year before dropping out to help run his family's grocery store. In 1915, at age 20, he founded the New Haven MaxFeds in the independent Colonial League, an "outlaw" minor league associated with the Federal League. In 1919, Weiss borrowed $5,000 to acquire the New Haven franchise in the established Class A Eastern League;[1] his team was immediately nicknamed the Weissmen by local baseball writers.[2] He operated the New Haven club, eventually nicknamed the Profs in tribute to Yale, for a decade; it won three league championships between 1920 and 1928. In 1930, Weiss took over the front office of the Baltimore Orioles of the Class AA International League for two seasons.

Weiss and Stengel both ended up with the Mets, set to return National League baseball to New York City in 1962, four seasons after the departure of the Dodgers and New York Giants for California. Weiss was named president and de facto general manager of the Mets in May 1961, and Stengel followed as manager in 1962. In the expansion draft, Weiss selected a roster composed largely of veterans who had played for and against the last New York editions of the Dodgers and Giants, including Gil Hodges, Roger Craig, Don Zimmer, Richie Ashburn, Gus Bell and Hobie Landrith. He supplemented these drafted players by purchasing former Brooklyn stars Duke Snider, Charlie Neal and Clem Labine and veterans Frank Thomas, Gene Woodling and ex-Yankee prospect Marv Throneberry—among many others—during 1962 and 1963.

The on-field results were historically poor. The 1962 Mets put up the worst record (40–120) in recent MLB history, and the 1963, 1964 and 1965 teams lost 111, 109 and 112 games. The Met farm system was slow to contribute useful players; by Opening Day 1966, it had yielded Cleon Jones, Ed Kranepool, Tug McGraw, Ron Swoboda and Bud Harrelson, but only Jones and Kranepool saw service before 1965. Weiss also passed on Reggie Jackson in the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft, instead selecting Steve Chilcott.[6]

In his five seasons as general manager, the Mets escaped last place in the National League only in Weiss's last year. They compiled a composite record of 260–547 (.322). He retired at age 72 on November 14, 1966, and was succeeded by former Cardinal GM Bing Devine. But despite their poor play, the Mets established a dedicated fan base from their first season in existence, and when they left the dilapidated Polo Grounds for their new home, Shea Stadium, in 1964 they outdrew the pennant-winning Yankees, 1.73 to 1.3 million fans. They would dominate New York baseball attendance until 1976, when their American League rivals moved into a renovated Yankee Stadium and won the pennant.

Weiss was named The Sporting News' Executive of the Year in 1950, 1951, 1952, and 1960. In 1971, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, one of seven selected for that year's honor. All of the inductees had been selected by the Veterans Committee; no players were elected through the regular voting process of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.[7]

Weiss died in Greenwich, Connecticut, at age 78 in 1972. Stengel lamented his death, saying, "George's death is a tough thing on baseball. He was successful and great and capable in every way, shape and form. He wasn't a terrific mixer but George sure knew how to pick men. Why, you can't stay in baseball that long by pulling players out of an icebox."[8] Yogi Berra said that Weiss could be difficult to deal with, but he praised the emotion that Weiss brought to the game as well as his understanding of the importance of scouting.[8] He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1982.

With the debut of Elston Howard on April 14, 1955, the Yankees became the sixth of the eight American League teams—and the last of New York City's three big-league clubs—to break the baseball color line. According to the book Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee, Weiss at a cocktail party stated loudly that "he would never allow a black man to wear a Yankee uniform." The Yankees farm system had in place a policy preventing black players from reaching the major league club, according to the book. Howard, the first African-American Yankee, was switched from an outfielder to a catcher, the position at which it would be least likely to break into the major league club, given Berra's presence.[9]

Conflicting opinions have since been expressed about the reasons behind the Yankees' relative tardiness in integrating their playing roster. In their 2016 book, George Weiss: Architect of the Golden Age Yankees, authors Burton A. and Benita W. Boxerman devote a full chapter to the issue and explore some of the motivations that have been attributed to Weiss, both during and after his career.[10] They write:

Even though the delay in integrating the Yankees was likely a combination of factors including financial success, outstanding performance, unproductive scouts, and possibly the owners' bias against Negroes, it was Weiss, the chief decision-maker in the system, who was held responsible for the lack of a black Yankee. Did deep personal bigotries drive his decisions to delay integrating the Yankees as long as he could? Writers such as Roger Kahn and David Halberstam called him vicious and unable to empathize with any players, especially Negroes. It seemed a much more probable scenario that Weiss's true reason ... was pretty much what he declared when he was asked point-blank why there were no black Yankees: namely, that he was determined to choose a black player who would fit the "Yankee mould."[10]

On a contrary note, Steve Goldman, writing in the SBNation Yankee community Pinstripe Alley in April 2013, said that Weiss:

... clung to the excuse of so many clubs: We're not going to promote just anyone to the majors because they happen to be black; we're holding out for someone special ... By that standard, of course, only the black Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig was going to get the call.[11]

• Barra, Allen (2009). Yogi Berra Eternal Yankee. Norton. ISBN 978-039-3-06-2335.
• Perry, Dayn (2010). Reggie Jackson The Life and Thunderous Career of Baseball's Mr. October. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-156238-9.

• George Weiss at the Baseball Hall of Fame