Gerald Nugent

Gerald Paul Nugent, Sr. (October 25, 1892 – November 25, 1970 ) was an American baseball executive. He was the owner of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team of the National League from 1932 through 1942.

A Philadelphia native, Nugent graduated from Northeast High School, where he excelled at football and baseball. He became a leather goods merchant after graduating, and earned two citations for bravery during World War I.

In the early 1920s, Nugent met longtime Phillies secretary Mae Mallen. Through Mallen, Nugent was introduced to longtime Phillies owner William Baker, who was so impressed with Nugent's baseball acumen that he hired Nugent as an assistant in 1925. Nugent and Mallen were married soon afterward. Nugent rose fast in the organization, becoming business manager in 1926 and a board member in 1928. His biggest catch was purchasing Chuck Klein's minor league contract. Ruch retired on the advice of his doctor in 1932, and Nugent was elected team president with the support of Baker's widow. Baker's widow died in 1932, leaving her shares to Mae Nugent and her son, Gerald Jr. Combined with his own stock, Gerald Sr. now effectively had a 51 percent controlling interest in the Phillies. Mae Nugent became a team vice president, the first female senior executive in the National League.

Unlike the notoriously miserly Baker, Nugent cared more about winning than saving money. For example, he devoted some effort to player development for the first time in the history of the franchise, and was well known for spotting obscure talent. However, for most of his tenure as owner, his debts almost always exceeded his income. In one year, he had to pledge his own stock as collateral to keep the team alive. On at least one other occasion, he had to pay a debt out of his own salary. Nugent's keen eye for talent allowed him to discover a number of fine young players, but he was often forced to sell or trade them out of town in order to balance the books. While the cash from the trades helped the Phillies stay in business, they didn't help the on-field product. His tenure saw four of the seven worst seasons in franchise history. This included five consecutive seasons in which they finished dead last in the National League while losing 100 games. He had tried several times over the years to get out of his lease with the estate of Charles Webb Murphy, and only succeeded when he threatened to go to court.