Marge Schott
| Marge Schott | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Margaret Carolyn Unnewehr August 18, 1928 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 2, 2004 (aged 75) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Owner of the Cincinnati Reds |
| Years active | 1968–1999 |
| Partner(s) | Charles Schott |
Margaret Carolyn Unnewehr Schott (August 18, 1928 – March 2, 2004) was the managing general partner, president and CEO of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise from 1984 to 1999. She was the third woman to own a North American major-league team without inheriting it (the first being New York Mets founder Joan Whitney Payson), and the second woman to buy an existing team rather than inheriting it. She is perhaps most well known for her controversial behavior during her tenure as owner of the Reds, which included slurs towards African-Americans, Jews, and persons of Japanese ancestry. She was banned from managing the team by the MLB from 1996 through 1998 due to statements in support of German domestic policies of Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler; shortly afterwards, she sold the majority of her share in the team.
Schott was born in Cincinnati, one of five daughters of Charlotte and Edward Henry Unnewehr. Her father grew wealthy in the lumber business. She attended parochial schools and graduated from the Sacred Heart Academy. While in college, Marge Schott became a member of Theta Phi Alpha fraternity. She married Charles Schott, a member of a wealthy Cincinnati family, in 1952, and inherited his automobile dealerships and interests in other industries when he died of a heart attack in 1968. A widow at 39, Marge Schott never remarried and had no children of her own.
Schott had been a Reds fan for most of her life; from 1963 onward, she held an auction to raise money for the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, attended by several Reds players. In 1981, Schott bought a minority interest in the Reds as part of a group headed by insurance magnates William and James Williams. On December 21, 1984, she purchased a controlling interest for a reported $11M, making her managing general partner, and becoming the first woman to buy an MLB team. In 1985, she was named president and CEO of the club. Five years later, the Reds won the World Series, when they swept the Oakland Athletics.
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