Bill de Witt - Pennant-winning GM, Later Owner of The St. Louis Browns

Pennant-winning GM, Later Owner of The St. Louis Browns

In 1944, under his leadership as general manager, the Browns won their only American League pennant — losing to the Cardinals in the all-St. Louis 1944 World Series. The Browns' 1944 achievement is often downplayed by observers because it occurred during the height of the World War II manpower shortage, when most of the top American League players were in military service. Nevertheless, DeWitt's wartime Browns were one of the more successful teams in the AL, also posting winning campaigns in 1942 and 1945. During the latter year, they employed Pete Gray, an outfielder who, despite having only one arm, had become a capable minor league player. However, in 1946, the first postwar campaign, the Browns fell back into the second division and never enjoyed another winning campaign in St. Louis.

DeWitt and his brother Charlie (1901–1967), the Browns' traveling secretary, bought control of the club from majority owner Richard C. Muckerman in 1948, but the team’s struggles on the field and at the box office continued, and the DeWitts sold the Browns to Bill Veeck in 1951. Bill DeWitt remained in the Browns' front office until Veeck was forced to sell the club; it then moved from St. Louis to become the Baltimore Orioles in 1954.