Commissioners of Major League Baseball, American League Presidents and National League Presidents

Commissioners of Major League Baseball, American League Presidents and National League Presidents

The Commissioner of Major League Baseball has left his mark on our national pastime as much as any of the players. Their rich history includes an array of decisions ranging from making bats from a single piece of wood to suspending players from the game itself.

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a comprehensive chart of officials who were Major League Baseball Commissioners, League Presidents, and defunct league officials.

"It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." - A. Bartlett Giamatti

Commissioners of Major League Baseball (The History of Major League Baseball Commissioner) In Chronological Order
Name	Term
Kenesaw M. Landis	11-12-1920 to 11-25-1944
Albert B. "Happy" Chandler	04-24-1945 to 07-15-1951
Ford C. Frick	09-20-1951 to 11-16-1965
William D. Eckert	11-17-1965 to 11-20-1968
Bowie K. Kuhn	02-04-1969 to 09-30-1984
Peter V. Ueberroth	10-01-1984 to 09-30-1988
A. Bartlett Giamatti	04-01-1989 to 09-01-1989
Francis "Fay" T. Vincent, Jr.	09-13-1989 to 09-07-1992
Allan H. "Bud" Selig	09-07-1992 to Today
Name	Term
Commissioners of Major League Baseball

American League Presidents In Chronological Order
Name	Term
B. Bancroft "Ban" Johnson	1901 to 1927
Ernest S. Barnard	1927 to 1931
William Harridge	1931 to 1959
Joseph E. "Joe" Cronin	1959 to 1973
Leland S. MacPhail, Jr.	1974 to 1984
Robert W. Brown	1984 to 1994
Gene A. Budig	1994 to 1999
Position Discontinued	2000 to Today
National League Presidents In Chronological Order
Name	Term
Morgan G. Bulkeley	1876 to 1876
William A. Hulbert	1877 to 1882
Arthur H. Soden	1882 to 1882
Abraham G. Mills	1883 to 1884
Nicholas E. Young	1885 to 1902
Harry C. Pulliam	1903 to 1909
John A. Heydler	1909 to 1909
Thomas J. Lynch	1910 to 1913
John K. Tener	1913 to 1918
John A. Heydler	1918 to 1934
Ford C. Frick	1934 to 1951
Warren C. Giles	1951 to 1969
Charles S. Feeney	1970 to 1986
A. Bartlett Giamatti	1986 to 1989
William D. White	1989 to 1994
Leonard S. Coleman, Jr.	1994 to 1999
Position Discontinued	2000 to Today
League Presidents

Other League Presidents In Alphabetical & Chronological Order
League	Name	Term
American Association	H.D. McKnight	1882 to 1885
	Wheeler C. Wyckoff	1886 to 1889
	Zach Phelps	1890 to 1890
	Louis Kramer	1891 to 1891
	Ed Renau	1891 to 1891
	Zach Phelps	1891 to 1891
Federal League	James A. Gilmore	1914 to 1915
National Association	James W. Kerns	1871 to 1871
National Association	Robert W. Ferguson	1872 to 1875
Players League	Edward A. McAlpin	1890 to 1890
Union Association	H.B. Bennett	1883 to 1883
Union Association	Henry V. Lucas	1883 to 1885
"Other" League Presidents

These baseball officials, Major League Commissioners, and League Presidents have some of the best quotations (both from & about them) here on Baseball Almanac.

Ford C. Frick, who served as National League President (1934 to 1951), was the first league president to transition up to the Commissioner of Major League Baseball (1951 to 1965). A. Bartlett Giamatti, who was also a National League president (1986-1989), was the second & most recent league president to become Commissioner (April 1, 1989 through September 1, 1989).

Did you know that the American League and National League presidents positions were removed by Commissioner Bug Selig in 1999 to "unify the leagues"?

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