Owner who moved Braves to Atlanta
ATLANTA — Former Braves owner Bill Bartholomay, who moved the franchise from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966 to become Major League Baseball’s first team in the South, has died. He was 91.
Mr. Bartholomay died Wednesday at New YorkPresbyterian Hospital, according to his daughter, Jamie.
Braves Hall of Famer Hank Aaron tweeted that Mr. Bartholomay “was the greatest owner I ever had the pleasure to play for. He understood the game of baseball more than so many others. I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s helped me in more ways than you can imagine. I will surely miss my friend.”
Mr. Bartholomay attended spring training at the Braves’ new facility in North Port, Fla., last month before the coronavirus pandemic caused MLB to suspend spring training and delay the season.
In the 1990s, Mr. Bartholomay provided key support to MLB Commissioner Bud
Selig, who grew up in Milwaukee rooting for the Braves and later owned the Brewers.
Mr. Bartholomay headed the group that sold the Braves to Ted Turner in 1976, but he retained a partial interest and remained as the team’s chairman until November 2003 when he assumed an emeritus role.
“There is baseball in Atlanta today because of Bill Bartholomay,” the Braves said in a statement Thursday.
“He was part of our organization for the last 57 years and never missed an opening day or significant event,” the team said. “He was a dear, thoughtful friend whose presence will be missed, but his legacy will surely stand the test of time for the Atlanta Braves and all of baseball.”
Mr. Bartholomay was a Chicago area-based insurance executive, and he helped sell many insurance policies for player contracts to big league clubs.
He led the group that owned the Milwaukee Braves before making the controversial decision to move the team to Atlanta.
He remained with the team when Mr. Turner took control and when Time Warner acquired the franchise in 1996 as the company merged with Turner Broadcasting System.
The team said Mr. Bartholomay deserved credit for “helping shape Atlanta as a major city in the South when he relocated the Braves from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. His warmth and grace were felt equally by presidents, MLB commissioners, business titans, Braves players and fans.”
“Besides being one of the most important figures in the game of baseball for more than five decades, Bill Bartholomay was truly a wonderful person and one of my closest friends in the world,” Mr. Selig said.