J. Vincent Jamison, Jr.

James Vincent Jamison, Jr.

• School St. John's College

• Born February 28, 1885 in Luray, VA USA
• Died August 28, 1954 in Hagerstown, MD USA

Biographical Information

James Vincent Jamison was President of the Blue Ridge League from May 17, 1916 until 1930 and of the Interstate League in 1946. Based in Hagerstown, MD, he was a local businessman and civic leader, but his influence in baseball extended much beyond his home region.

Born in Luray, VA in 1885, his family moved to Hagerstown just before the turn of the century. He attended St. John's College in Annapolis, MD, where he competed in tennis, football and baseball. He was named best athlete of his graduating class in 1905. back in Hagerstown, he joined his father in purchasing and operating the Jamison Cold Storage company, which exists to this day. He was vice-president of a local semi-pro league, then in May 1916, when Charles W. Boyer, the owner of the Hagerstown Blues, abruptly resigned as President of the Blue Ridge League because of the conflict of interest, Jamison was elected to succeed him. He turned the circuit into one of the most successful Class D leagues in the country, and in fact the only one that was still operating when the 1918 season began. World War I forced him to curtail the league's activities in mid-June when one of the four clubs pulled out, but the league came back stronger in 1920. He remained at the circuit's helm until 1930, during a period when a number of future major league stars passed through the league.

In 1920, Jamison served on the commission that selected Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first Commissioner of baseball (his powers extended to the minor leagues, hence the need for their representation on the selection committee). He was an officer in the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, serving on the Board of Arbitration and on the organizing committee of the Junior World Series. He planned the construction of Hagerstown's Municipal Stadium, inaugurated in 1930. However, the Great Depression forced the closing down of the Blue Ridge League after the season, and after one season in the Middle Atlantic League in 1931, the Hagerstown Hubs went the same route. Jamison then worked to bring baseball back to the "Hub City", succeeding in 1941, when the Sunbury, PA franchise from the Class B Interstate League moved to town, becoming the Hagerstown Owls. That league was one of the few minor leagues to make it through World War II without stopping play. In 1946, Jamison became the circuit's president for a season.

In addition to his baseball activities, Jamison was a founding member of Hagerstown's Rotary Club, was active in the American Red Cross and a prominent member of the local Democratic Party, although he never held elective office. He married Anna Elder Alvey in 1908 and had two sons. He died in Hagerstown in 1954.

Further Reading

• Mark C. Zeigler: "James Vincent Jamison Jr.: Blue Ridge League President, 1916-18, 1920-30", in Bob Brown, ed.: Monumental Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Capital Region, The National Pastime, SABR, Number 39, 2009, p. 35.