Bill Giles (baseball)

William Yale Giles (born September 7, 1934 in Rochester, New York) is the Honorary National League President, chairman emeritus, and former part owner of Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies.

He is the son of former National League president Warren C. Giles. His baseball career began in his father's former organization, the Cincinnati Reds, during the 1950s and he was among a group of Reds executives (including former Cincinnati general manager Gabe Paul and MLB executive Tal Smith) who helped to found the Houston Astros when they debuted as the Colt .45s in 1962.Sporting News' 1962 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book, published in the Colt .45s' maiden season, lists Giles as the club's traveling secretary and publicity director. Subsequently, he became promotions director, and focused on that role after the renamed team moved into the Astrodome in 1965.

Giles started with the Phillies as the vice president of business operations in 1969. He worked his way up in the organization, with stops as executive vice president and president, before becoming the chairman in 1997. He became chairman emeritus in 2015, being succeeded as chairman by David Montgomery.

Giles was also part of the ownership group that bought the Phillies from the Carpenter family in 1981. The group was composed of Giles, Montgomery, Claire S. Betz, Tri-Play Associates (Alexander K. Buck, J. Mahlon Buck Jr. and William C. Buck), and Double Play Inc. (John S. Middelton). Mahlon Buck died in 2011. Claire S. Betz died in 2014. (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thereporteronline/obituary.aspx?pid=169891958). The group reportedly purchased the team for $30 million. As of March 2015, the team was valued at over one billion dollars. (http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/john-george/2015/03/the-phillies-are-now-worth-how-much.html)

...
Wikipedia