Ray Grebey

Clarence Raymond Grebey, Jr.

• Schools Kenyon College, University of Chicago

• Born March 10, 1928 in Chicago, IL USA
• Died August 28, 2013 in Stamford, CT USA

Biographical Information

Ray Grebey was the chief labor negotiator for Major League Baseball's owners in the early 1980s. Initially hired by MLB in 1978 to replace the retiring John Gaherin, he succeeded in avoiding a strike in 1980, before having to negotiate for the owners during the 1981 strike. He became known as "the man who killed baseball." He left baseball in 1982 to work for Pan Am Airlines.

He grew up a fan of the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, IL. He became a friend of Bill Veeck when the two went to Kenyon College at the same time. He was cut from the Kenyon baseball team and served as team manager his senior year. He served in the Army during the Korean War. Grebey worked for General Electric for 21 years before coming to baseball, and worked for Inland Steel Company before that.[1] He died from cancer at the age of 85.

Further Reading

• Jeff Katz: "Split Season 1981, Chicago Style", in Stuart Shea, ed.: North Side, South Side, All Around Town, The National Pastime, SABR, 2015. ISBN 978-1-93359987-8

Related Sites

• New York Times article
• Obituary