Horace Fogel

Horace Solomon Fogel (March 2, 1861 – November 15, 1928) was an American Major League Baseball manager and executive who served as manager of the Indianapolis Hoosiers and New York Giants and as president of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Early life Fogel was born on March 2, 1861, in Macungie, Pennsylvania. He spent his youth working in the local iron ore mines and after a stint as a telegraph operator he entered the sports world as a sports writer for The Philadelphia Press and later the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph.

Indianapolis Hoosiers In 1887, at the recommendation of Francis Richter, Fogel was hired to manage the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the National League. During his tenure as manager, Fogel stripped Jack Glasscock of his captaincy, suspended and fined a number of other players, and accused umpires of robbing his team. In a letter published in the Indianapolis News, one of his players, Otto Schomberg, accused Fogel of drinking. He resigned after the season.

Second return to reports writing After leaving the Giants, Fogel returned to the Evening Telegraph as its sports editor. In 1903 he succeeded Ernest Lanigan as The Sporting News's Philadelphia baseball writer. He wrote under the alias Veteran until 1907, when he began using his own name.

Philadelphia Phillies On November 26, 1909, it was announced that the Philadelphia Phillies had been sold to a syndicate and that Fogel would serve as the club's president. Fogel's syndicate was backed by Charles Phelps Taft, who also owned the Chicago Cubs.

Ban from baseball On August 17, 1912, Fogel accused St. Louis Cardinals manager Roger Bresnahan of playing a weak lineup against the New York Giants in order to help his friend, Giants manager John McGraw, win the pennant. On September 6, 1912, after the Phillies lost both games of a double header to the Giants, he told reporters that the pennant race was “fixed” for the Giants. On September 28 he wrote and signed a statement accusing National League president Thomas Lynch and the league's umpires of colluding to give the National League championship to the Giants. Fogel resigned as team president on November 22, 1912, and was succeeded by attorney and team vice president and minority partner Alfred Day Wiler. Hearings on Fogel's statements took place on November 26 and November 27, 1912. Afterwards, the board of directors voted 7 to 0 to "forever exclude [Fogel] from further participation in the councils of this league as the representative of the Philadelphia Baseball Club or any other club", with Philadelphia's representative Alfred Wiler abstaining. On December 14, 1912, Wiler announced that Fogel's option on the Phillies expired and he was no longer involved in the ownership of the club.

Later life After his ouster from the National League, Fogel attempted to stay involved in baseball by publishing a monthly magazine dedicated to the sport.

Fogel died of apoplexy on November 15, 1928. He had been in poor health since a stroke in 1922. He was survived by his wife and predeceased by their son.