August "Gussie" Busch
| Gussie Busch | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August Anheuser Busch Jr. March 28, 1899 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | September 29, 1989 (aged 90) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation | Brewing Executive |
| Spouse(s) | Marie Church Busch Elizabeth Overton Busch Gertrude Buholzer Busch Margaret Rohde |
| Children | Carlota Busch Webster Lilly Busch Hermann August Busch III Elizabeth Busch Burke Beatrice Busch von Gontard Peter W. Busch Trudy Busch Valentine William K. Busch Andrew D. Busch Adolphus August Busch |
| Parent(s) |
August Anheuser Busch Sr. Alice Zisemann |
| Relatives |
Adolphus Busch (paternal greatfather) Bob Hermann (son-in-law) |
August Anheuser "Gussie" Busch Jr. (March 28, 1899 – September 29, 1989) was an American brewing magnate who built the Anheuser-Busch Companies into the largest brewery in the world by 1957 as company chairman from 1946 to 1975.
He became a prominent sportsman as owner of the St. Louis Cardinals franchise in Major League Baseball from 1953 until his death. The Cardinals inducted him into the team Hall of Fame in 2014.
August Anheuser Busch Jr. was born on March 28, 1899, in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was August Anheuser Busch Sr., the President of Anheuser-Busch. His mother was Alice Zisemann. His paternal grandfather, Adolphus Busch, was the German-born founder of Anheuser-Busch.
Starting at lower levels to learn the family business of Anheuser-Busch Company, Busch became superintendent of brewing operations in 1924 and head of the brewing division after his father's death in 1934. After his older brother Adolphus Busch III's death in 1946, August A. Jr. succeeded him as President and CEO.
He led the company to become the largest brewery in the world by 1957, having previously competed with Pabst and Schlitz for the top spot. He expanded it from a single site in St. Louis to operating nine separate breweries nationwide. By 1973, Anheuser-Busch had "aggregate beer sales of 26,522,000 barrels." In 1964, under his leadership, production at the St. Louis facility alone reached the ten million barrels-per-year mark.
Described as a showman and salesman, Busch began using the Clydesdale team in 1933, putting them into service to commemorate the end of Prohibition by having a team "haul the first case of Budweiser down Pennsylvania Avenue for delivery to President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House." He made their image part of the company logo and had them appear regularly at public events.
In 1953, Cardinals owner Fred Saigh was convicted of tax evasion. Facing almost certain banishment from baseball, he put the Cardinals up for sale. When Busch got word that Saigh was seriously considering selling the team to interests who would move the team to Houston; he decided to have Anheuser-Busch get into the bidding in order to keep the Cardinals in St. Louis. Ultimately, Busch persuaded Saigh to take less money ($3.75 million) than what he was being offered by out-of-town interests in the name of civic pride, and also achieved a marketing tool.
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