Bill DeWitt

Who was Bill DeWitt?

William Orville DeWitt Sr. was a longtime executive in Major League Baseball whose career spanned more than 50 years in the game. His son William DeWitt, Jr. is currently the principal owner and managing partner of the St. Louis Cardinals, while grandson William O. DeWitt III is the president of the Cardinals.

The senior DeWitt began his baseball career with the Cardinals as a protégé of Branch Rickey, legendary business manager of the Redbirds from 1916–1942. DeWitt's first job, in 1916, was selling soda pop at the Cardinals' park; as a young man, he received a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis and became treasurer of the Redbirds. But DeWitt ultimately took a front-office job with the city’s underdog American League team, the St. Louis Browns, where he rose to general manager, minority owner and, finally, majority owner.