Fay Vincent

Francis Thomas Vincent

• School Williams College, Yale University
• High School Hotchkiss School

• Born May 29, 1938 in Waterbury, CT USA

Biographical Information

Fay Vincent was deputy commissioner when Bart Giamatti had a fatal heart attack in September 1989. He was a baseball purist who believed the integrity and tradition of the game was paramount. His shining moment came during the 1989 World Series when the games were halted because of an earthquake. He also took the difficult decisions of indefinitely suspending New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for conspiring with a small-time criminal, Howard Spira, to dig up dirt on Dave Winfield, and pitcher Steve Howe after repeated failures to conform with baseball's policies on drug use.

He was forced out in September 1992 when the owners gave him a vote of no confidence. Momentum was building towards a big showdown between owners and the Players Union. Vincent, who thought the owners, emboldened by the NFL owners' recent success in gutting the players union, were out of their minds to think they could do the same in baseball without creating lasting damage to the game. The owners disagreed and installed Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig to replace him on a provisional basis; the disastrous 1994 strike followed a short time later.

Related Sites

• Fay Vincent at the SABR Bio Project