Sam Breadon

Samuel Breadon

• Born July 26, 1876 in New York, NY USA
• Died May 10, 1949 in St. Louis, MO USA

Biographical Information

Sam Breadon was the longtime owner of the St. Louis Cardinals.

He grew up in New York, NY in a working-class neighborhood and dropped out of school early to help out his mother make ends meet. He ended working as a bank clerk, then in 1902 moved two St. Louis, MO where two friends had opened an automobile dealership and garage. However, he was fired when the friends figured out he was looking to open his own garage, but he landed on his feet, running a popcorn concession at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and earning enough profit to be able to buy his own garage. He was soon offered an executive position in the Western Automobile Company and eventually ended up owning the business. He also owned a distributorship for Pierce-Arrow automobiles which was quite profitable.

As a rabid baseball fan, he became a part-owner of the Cardinals in 1917 and became the club's majority owner in 1922. One of his key moves was to bring in Branch Rickey as General Manager, and he created the first modern farm system. The Cardinals, bottom dwellers in the previous two decades, became very successful during Breadon's tenure as owner, winning 9 pennants and 6 World Series championships. Breadon sold the club following the 1947 season.

Breadon's name was on the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot in which the Veterans Committee examined candidates from the pre-integration era.

Further Reading

• Mark Armour: "Sam Breadon", in Charles F. Faber, ed.: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals: The World Champion Gas House Gang, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2014, pp. 238-242. ISBN 978-1-933599-731

Related Sites

• Sam Breadon at the SABR Bio Project