In 1954, one year after Baltimore bought the St. Louis Browns, the New York Yankees hired former Browns executive and owner William O. DeWitt as assistant to general manager George Weiss. DeWitt, the paper announced, was considered an astute baseball man who would have a definite role to play with the Yankees.

Baseball fans had assumed that once the Yankees were no longer the American League’s doormats, DeWitt would quietly retire. But DeWitt, a protege of Branch Rickey, was shrewd and intelligent and his years with the Browns were only the beginning of a long and fascinating career, including his years as owner and general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. This first ever biography focuses on the life and career of a baseball executive who contributed greatly to America’s pastime.