Peter Magowan
{{Short description|American baseball executive (1942–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{for multi|the lawyer and politician on Prince Edward Island|Peter Magowan (lawyer)|the American politician|Peter McGowan}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Peter Magowan 2010.jpg
| caption = Magowan at the 2010 Giants World Series parade
| name = Peter Magowan
| birth_name = Peter Alden Magowan
| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|4|5}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|1|27|1942|4|5}}
| death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| alma_mater = Stanford University
University of Oxford
Johns Hopkins University
| employer = San Francisco Giants
| occupation = President
Managing General Partner
President Emeritus
President Emeritus, 2008–2019
| relatives = Charles E. Merrill (grandfather)
Charles E. Merrill Jr. (uncle)
James Merrill (uncle)
| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20070617040439/http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/team/frontoffice_bios/magowan_peter.jsp Giants Bio]
}}
Peter Alden Magowan (April 5, 1942 – January 27, 2019) was an American businessman. He was the managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball from 1993 to 2008. He was the chief executive officer of Safeway Inc. from 1979 through 1993.
Early life and career
Magowan was born in New York City in 1942.{{cite web |url=http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dccom/0-5-621415-1-625357-1-0-0-0-0-0-104-7155-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html | title=Peter A. Magowan | website=Daimler Chrysler | date=2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231505/http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dccom/0-5-621415-1-625357-1-0-0-0-0-0-104-7155-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html |archive-date=September 26, 2007 | access-date=December 25, 2007 }}{{cite news |last1=Schulman |first1=Henry |last2=Whiting |first2=Sam |title=Peter Magowan, key leader of SF Giants and Safeway, dies |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Peter-Magowan-key-leader-of-SF-Giants-dies-at-76-13565765.php |access-date=January 28, 2019 |work=SFGate |date=January 28, 2019}} His maternal grandfather was Charles Merrill (1885–1956), co-founder of Merrill Lynch and instrumental in the formation of Safeway. Magowan's father, Robert Anderson Magowan, was chairman and CEO of Safeway; Magowan's mother, Doris Merrill Magowan (1914–2001), was a philanthropist.{{cite news|last=Gorcey |first=Ryan |url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/longtime-san-francisco-giants-owner-peter-magowan-dead-76/ |title=Longtime San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan dead at 76 |date= January 27, 2019 |work= The San Francisco Examiner |access-date=January 28, 2019}} Magowan was the nephew of poet James Merrill (1926–1995).{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/ontherecord/article/On-the-Record-Peter-Magowan-2585926.php |title=On the Record: Peter Magowan |author=Maloney, Michael| publisher=SFGate |date=September 28, 2003 |access-date=January 28, 2019}}
Magowan was a native of New York City and was a New York Giants fan prior to the team moving to San Francisco. He completed high school from Groton School, had a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a master's degree from the University of Oxford. He also did post-graduate work at Johns Hopkins University.
Following graduation from Stanford, Magowan joined Safeway as a real estate negotiator in Washington D.C. He also worked as a District Manager in Houston, a Retail Operations Manager in Phoenix and a Division Manager in Tulsa. From 1976 to 1978 he was in charge of the Company's international operations. He was elected a Director of Safeway in 1978 following the death of his father. In 1979, Magowan was elected as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Safeway. Safeway's poor performance led to it being the target of corporate raiders, resulting in acquisition by KKR acting as a white knight, but he stayed on as CEO until 1993, when he resigned to devote his time to the Giants.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2019/01/27/longtime-san-francisco-giants-owner-peter-magowan-dies/38964857/ |title=Longtime San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan dies |work=USA Today |date=January 27, 2019}}
Magowan was also a director of Caterpillar, Inc., DaimlerChrysler, and Spring Group, PLC.{{cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050310005840/en/Magowan-Retire-Safeways-Board |title=Magowan to Retire From Safeway's Board |publisher=Business Wire |date=March 10, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421194731/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050310005840/en/Magowan-Retire-Safeways-Board| archive-date=2019-04-21|access-date=January 28, 2019|df=mdy-all}}
San Francisco Giants
Magowan, along with a group of investors (including Charles B. Johnson, Scott Seligman, Philip Halperin, Allan Byer, and David S. Wolff) purchased the franchise on January 12, 1993, from the previous owner, Bob Lurie. Before Magowan's consortium stepped in with its offer to buy the team, Lurie had planned to sell the team to a group from St. Petersburg, Florida, now home to the Tampa Bay Rays.{{cite news |title=BASEBALL; Look What Wind Blew Back: Baseball's Giants |author=Murray Chass |newspaper=New York Times|date=November 11, 1992 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/11/sports/baseball-look-what-wind-blew-back-baseball-s-giants.html?pagewanted=all|page=B11 }} While real estate mogul Walter Shorenstein had initially led the effort to put together a Bay Area-based group to keep the Giants in town, neither he nor the other partners had the time to handle day-to-day operations. They asked Magowan, an ardent Giants fan, to assume the post of managing general partner and principal owner.[https://sabr.org/research/san-francisco-giants-team-ownership-history Garratt, Rob. "San Francisco Giants team ownership history," Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), Wednesday, September 5, 2018.] Retrieved July 16, 2020
Magowan made his mark on the team immediately, signing free agent superstar Barry Bonds, a San Francisco Bay Area-native whose father, Bobby Bonds, began his career as a Giant.{{cite web|author=Murray Chass|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/06/sports/baseball-giants-make-investment-43-million-in-bonds.html |title=BASEBALL; Giants Make Investment: $43 Million in Bonds – The New York Times |work=The New York Times |date=December 6, 1992 |access-date=January 28, 2019}}
Magowan was also noted for spearheading the construction of the Giants' current home, Oracle Park (previously AT&T Park, SBC Park and Pacific Bell Park). Previously, several initiatives to build tax-supported stadiums had been rejected by San Francisco voters. In December 1995, Magowan unveiled his plan for a 42,000 seat ballpark in China Basin, which would be privately funded – the first ballpark built without public funds in over 30 years. The plan was passed easily by San Francisco voters, by a two-to-one margin.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070617040439/http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/team/frontoffice_bios/magowan_peter.jsp "Peter A. Magowan: President and Managing General Partner"] [http://www.sfgiants.com SF Giants Website] Retrieved on December 25, 2007
In late 2007 and early 2008, Peter Magowan and Giants general manager Brian Sabean drew some criticism in the Mitchell Report when it was revealed Giants athletic trainer Stan Conte came to Sabean and told him he suspected Bonds trainer Greg Anderson was distributing steroids and Giants management did not investigate or tell Major League Baseball.{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Don-t-blame-Sabean-for-not-blowing-the-whistle-3230659.php|title=Don't blame Sabean for not blowing the whistle|first=Bruce|last=Jenkins|date=January 19, 2008|website=SFGate}} Conte had been approached by a player. In the January 2007 Congressional hearings on performance-enhancing drugs, Congressman Henry Waxman asked Commissioner Bud Selig to discipline Sabean and Magowan for their culpability.{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Selig-Giants-might-be-stuck-in-unforgiving-spot-3232535.php|title=Selig, Giants might be stuck in unforgiving spot|first=Ray|last=Ratto|date=January 16, 2008|website=SFGate}} Some sports insiders argued that Magowan's and Sabean's actions on steroids were not any different from other clubs at the time. When Magowan was interviewed for the Mitchell Report, Magowan told Senator George Mitchell that Barry Bonds told him he had used steroids; he withdrew that assertion a few days later.{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/What-Magowan-told-Mitchell-about-Bonds-3299724.php|title=What Magowan told Mitchell about Bonds|first=John|last=Shea|date=December 14, 2007|website=SFGate}}
On May 16, 2008, Magowan announced he would be stepping down as managing partner of the Giants effective October 1.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3399713|title=After cutting Bonds ties, Magowan leaving Giants|date=May 16, 2008|website=ESPN.com}} Bill Neukom succeeded Magowan as the principal shareholder and lead representative of the investors in the San Francisco Giants.{{cite web|last=Schulman |first=Henry |url=https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/SF-Giants-to-replace-managing-partner-Bill-Neukom-2309738.php |title=SF Giants to replace managing partner Bill Neukom |publisher=SFGate |date=September 14, 2011 |access-date=January 28, 2019}}
On November 3, 2010, Magowan participated in the Giants victory parade as the team celebrated its first World Series title since moving to San Francisco in 1958. In 2016, he was elected to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.{{cite web|last=Schulman |first=Henry |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/The-man-who-went-to-batfor-ballpark-shares-credit-7469116.php |title=The man who went to bat for ballpark shares credit |publisher=SFChronicle.com |date=May 14, 2016 |access-date=January 28, 2019}} Magowan was inducted into the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame in 2019.{{cite web|last=Schulman |first=Henry |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Late-Giants-owner-Peter-Magowan-enshrined-on-Wall-14475924.php |title=Late Giants owner Peter Magowan enshrined on Wall of Fame he created |publisher=SFChronicle |date=September 28, 2019 |access-date=November 28, 2020}} Magowan received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1992.{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#sports}}
Personal life
Magowan died while in hospice care on January 27, 2019, at his home in San Francisco.{{cite web|author=NBC Sports Bay Area |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Former-San-Francisco-Giants-Owner-Peter-Magowan-Dies-at-76-504947751.html |title=Former San Francisco Giants Owner Peter Magowan Dies at 76 |publisher=NBC Bay Area |access-date=January 28, 2019}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sf/history/owners.jsp List of San Francisco/New York Giants owners ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018165810/http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/sf/history/owners.jsp |date=October 18, 2006 }}
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{{succession box |before = Bob Lurie |title = San Francisco Giants President |years = 1993–2008|after = Larry Baer}}
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{{San Francisco Giants owners}}
{{San Francisco Giants Presidents}}
{{San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame}}
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Category:20th-century American businesspeople
Category:21st-century American businesspeople
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:American chief executives of food industry companies
Category:American retail chief executives
Category:Businesspeople from New York City
Category:Businesspeople from San Francisco
Category:Caterpillar Inc. people
Category:Major League Baseball owners
Category:Major League Baseball team presidents
Category:Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni