Marge Schott - Owner of The Reds

Owner of The Reds

Schott had been a Reds fan for most of her life; from 1963 onward, she held an auction to raise money for the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, attended by several Reds players. In 1981, Schott bought a minority interest in the Reds as part of a group headed by insurance magnates William and James Williams. On December 21, 1984, she purchased controlling interest for a reported $11M, making her managing general partner. In 1985, she was named president and CEO of the club. Five years later, the Reds won the World Series, when they swept the Oakland Athletics.

Schott quickly became one of baseball's most publicly visible owners. The Reds had long been a family-oriented franchise, and fans praised her efforts to keep ticket and concession prices low. For instance, she kept the price of the basic hot dog at a dollar, and kept box seats around $12—the cheapest in baseball. Unlike most owners, she sat in a regular box seat at Riverfront Stadium, and often signed autographs. She loved children (she never had any of her own) and often allowed groups of them on to the field to run to deep center field and back. She was also noted for always having Schottzie, her pet Saint Bernard, with her.

Still, she was also criticized for not spending the money it took to build the Reds into contenders. This "cheap" attitude was sometimes conveyed in her own statements. She would publicly comment on occasion about having to pay players while they were on the disabled list, notably world series hero José Rijo, of whom she once complained that she was, "paying three million dollars to sit on his butt!"