William Chase Temple
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| Date of birth | December 28, 1862 |
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| Place of birth | Starke, Florida, United States |
| Date of death | January 9, 1917 (aged 54) |
| Place of death | Winter Park, Florida, United States |
| Career information | |
| College | Delaware State Normal School |
| Career history | |
| As administrator | |
| 1891–1893 | Pittsburgh Pirates (President) |
| 1898–1899 | Duquesne C & A. C. (Manager) |
| 1900–1901 | Homestead L & A. C. (Manager) |
| As owner | |
| 1891–1893 | Pittsburgh Pirates (part-owner) |
| 1898–1899 | Duquesne Country & A. C. |
| 1900–1901 | Homestead Library & A. C. |
| 1902 | Pittsburgh Stars (disputed) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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William Chase Temple (December 28, 1862 – January 9, 1917) was a coal, citrus, and lumber baron during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was also a part owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from baseball's National League. He also established the Temple Cup, a trophy awarded to the winner of a best-of-seven, post-season Major League Baseball championship series that was conducted for four seasons in the National League, from 1894 to 1897. He became the first sole owner of a professional American football team, in 1898.
Temple was born in Starke, Florida. After moving to Delaware, he attended public school in Wilmington, and graduated from Delaware State Normal School in 1879. After graduation, he worked as an employee of Plankinton & Armour in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In June 1880, he worked as a bank clerk for Alexander Mitchell Bank in Milwaukee. By 1883, Chase returned to Florida and became a lumber baron. Between 1885 and 1889, he was a President and General Manager of the Metropolitan Electrical Service Company in New York City. He later became a manager of Babcock & Wilcox Steam Boiler Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1890 thru 1895. While in Pittsburgh, he was on the boards of directors of more than 20 industrial, mining and financial companies.
From 1891 until 1893, Temple was the president and part-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1894, he donated a 30-inch-high silver cup, later called the Temple Cup to the National League. The first and second-place teams of the league would play in a seven-game, post season, series to determine the winner. The revenue from the series was to be split 65% to 35%; however, the players of the first series in 1894 decided to evenly split the money. However, after the series the New York Giants reportedly cheated some Oriole players out of their money, tainting the Cup and prompting Temple to sell the Pirates in disgust.
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