Bill DeWitt Jr.

William Orville DeWitt Jr.

• School Yale University, Harvard University
• High School St. Louis Country Day School

• Born August 31, 1941 in St. Louis, MO USA

Biographical Information

Bill DeWitt has been owner of the St. Louis Cardinals since 1996, when he bought the team from August A. Busch III. He is the son of Bill DeWitt, former owner of the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds, and nephew of Charles DeWitt. A relatively quiet but respected figure in the game, he has overseen a very successful period in the team's history, with World Series titles in 2006 and 2011, and National League pennants in 2004 and 2013. The Cardinals also built a new version of Busch Stadium during his tenure, inaugurated at the start of the 2006 season.

He went to Yale University and on to Harvard University's business school. In addition to the cardinals, he was the owner of the former Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association, of the fastfood restaurant chain Arby's, and of the U.S. Playing Card Company among various businesses.

As a batboy for the Browns in 1951, it was his uniform that was worn by Eddie Gaedel during his lone major league appearance.

On May 15, 2014, he was named as head of the succession committee charged with finding a replacement for commissioner Bud Selig. The Committee identified three candidates and the owners selected Rob Manfred to take over as baseball's new commissioner at the start of 2015.