Bill Giles

William Yale Giles (born September 7, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the honorary National League (NL) President. He is also the chairman emeritus and former part-owner of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Philadelphia Phillies. who was the general manager and president of the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1951) before becoming president of the National League (1951–1969). His mother Jane Mabel Skinner was the granddaughter of architect Merton Yale Cady, and a member of the family of John Deere, founder of John Deere Co., and of Linus Yale Sr. of the Yale Lock Company.

Bill Giles was born in Rochester, New York, during his father's term as president of Rochester Red Wings of the International League. His baseball career began in the Cincinnati organization during the 1950s, and he was among a group of Reds' executives (including former Cincinnati general manager Gabe Paul and MLB executive Tal Smith) who helped to found the Houston Astros when they debuted as the Colt .45s in 1962.

Sporting News''' 1962 Official Baseball Guide and Record Book, published in the Colt .45s' maiden season, lists Giles as the club's traveling secretary and publicity director. Subsequently, he became promotions director, and focused on that role after the renamed team moved into the Astrodome in 1965.

Philadelphia Phillies

Giles started with the Phillies as the vice president of business operations in 1969. He worked his way up in the organization, with stops as executive vice president and president, before becoming the chairman in 1997. He was succeeded as chairman by David Montgomery and became chairman emeritus in 2015.

Giles was also part of the ownership group that bought the Phillies from the Carpenter family in 1981, heirs of the Du Pont family fortune. Mahlon Buck died in 2011. Claire S. Betz died in 2014. The group reportedly purchased the team for $30 million. In 2023, the team was valued at 2.8 billion dollars.

Around 2012 or 2013, Giles sold his last shares of the Phillies. He owned at one point about 20% of the team.

Other duties of the honorary league president include representing the league at the All-Star Game and the postseason.

Honors and awards In 2001, a new tournament for the Division II baseball teams in the Philadelphia area, the Bill Giles Invitational, was named in his honor.

Personal His wife, Nancy, died on April 12, 2020.