Connie Mack Jr.

Connie Mack Jr. was the son of Connie Mack by his second wife Katherine; he was a half-brother to Earle Mack and Roy Mack, born of his father's first marriage. After attending Germantown Academy, he learned the business of baseball by holding various jobs such as managing concessions at Shibe Park, the ballpark of the Philadelphia Athletics, which his father owned. In 1938, he was appointed assistant treasurer of the Athletics, and in 1950 replaced his father in the position of treasurer. He was issued ownership shares by his father, like his two half-brothers, and sat on the Athletics' board of directors.

In 1950, unhappy with the direction his father and older brothers were giving to the club, he orchestrated a boardroom coup by allying himself with minority shareholders from the Shibe-MacFarland family, heirs to Benjamin Shibe, his father's partner in forming the ball club in 1901. He had the support of his mother - also a shareholder - who prefered her son over her stepsons. Connie Mack Jr. viewed the team's leadership as too staid and unwilling to spend the money needed to keep the club competitive. He pointed to the lack of a farm system and his father's continued insistance on managing the club when he was well into his 80's and had clearly begun to lose his faculties. Thus, he forced his father to resign as skipper, and had him replaced with coach Jimmie Dykes for the 1951 season, shunting aside his half-brother Earle, who had expected to succeed his father as field leader. He also forced the appointment of Mickey Cochrane as General Manager, against the wishes of the elder Macks. His other half-brother, Roy, felt threatened by these developments: he expected to succeed his father as team President and could see the writing on the wall. Thus, he arranged to buy out Connie Mack Jr.'s shares in the team, at the cost of mortgaging Shibe Park and further shackling the team's financial fortunes.

Connie Mack Jr. accepted the deal, sold his shares and moved to Florida, where he operated a successful shrimping business. His son, Connie Mack III became a member of the House of Representatives and a Senator from Florida, and his grandson Connie Mack IV was also a member of the House of Representatives.

Further Reading

• Robert D. Warrington: "Departure Without Dignity: The Athletics Leave Philadelphia", The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 39, Number 2 (Fall 2010), pp. 95-115.