Tom Johnson (owner)

Thomas Phillips Johnson

• School Rollins College, Harvard University

• Born June 8, 1914 in New Castle, PA USA
• Died May 23, 2000 in Pittsburgh, PA USA

Biographical Information

Tom Johnson was an attorney who was a part owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1946 until 1984.

After graduating from Harvard Law School, he set up a law practice in Pittsburgh, PA, then served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He opened what would become Pittsburgh's largest law practice after the war, Kirkpatrick and Lockhart, and was an officer or director on the board of numerous companies. In 1946, he joined the group headed by Frank McKinney and also including John Galbreath and Bing Crosby as minority partners, that purchased the Pirates from Bill Benswanger and the estate of Barney Dreyfuss. He remained a minority owner after McKinney sold his shares to Galbraith, who became the new principal owner, in 1950. He eventually sold his shares to the Galbraith family in 1984. While McKinney was prominent in Democratic Party political circles, Johnson was one of the leading Republican activists in Pittsburgh.

He was a committed baseball fan and attended many games throughout the years. His numerous business connections in Pittsburgh were key to the team's success during his time, and he was instrumental in having the Pirates move from venerable but outdated Forbes Field to Three Rivers Stadium in 1970. When Kevin McClatchy bought the Pirates from the Galbraith family in 1996, he bought a small ownership share in order to renew his connection with the team.