Aaron Stern

Aaron S. Stern

• Born 1854 in Bloomington, IL USA
• Died April 3, 1920 in Cincinnati, OH USA

Biographical Information

Aaron Stern was the owner of the Cincinnati Reds back when they were members of the American Association and at the time of their move to the National League.

A lifelong bachelor from a Jewish family, Stern first made his fortune as a cloth dealer with the firm of Stern, Lauer and Shohl, based in Cincinnati, OH. He first became a stockholder in the Reds, also known at that time as the Red Stockings, in 1882 and in 1883 succeeded Justus Thorner as team president. He stayed in the position until the end of the 1890 season, which was the first that the team played in the National League (they had been one of the strongest teams in the American Association before that). He was the majority owner of the team at various points during that period: for the first time in 1884, after which he sold his shares to George L. Herancourt, and then starting on February 27, 1886, when he bought the stock of brewer John Hauck to achieve a majority position again. He eventually sold his shares to Al Johnson on October 3, 1890, following major losses occurred in the bitter fight with the Players League during the 1890 season. Johnson bought the team with the intension to transfer the club to the Players League, but when the fledgling circuit folded within a couple of months, he in turn sold them to John T. Brush, who kept them in the National League.

In 1906, Stern moved to New York, NY where he became a theater producer. He died back in Cincinnati in 1920.