View source for Peter Ueberroth

{{Short description|American sports executive (born 1937)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Peter Ueberroth
|honorific-suffix  = [[Olympic Order]]
|image        = Peter Ueberroth 1985.jpg
|caption = Ueberroth in 1985
|imagesize    = 
|office       = President of the [[United States Olympic Committee]]
|term_start   = 2004
|term_end     = 2008
|predecessor  = [[Marty Mankamyer]]<br>[[William C. Martin]] (Interim)
|successor    = [[Larry Probst]]
|office1       = Commissioner of Baseball
|order1        = 6th
|term_start1   = October 1, 1984
|term_end1     = April 1, 1989
|predecessor1  = [[Bowie Kuhn]]
|successor1    = [[Bart Giamatti]]
|office2      = [[President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games]]
|term_start2  = August 3, 1980
|term_end2    = August 12, 1984
|predecessor2 = [[Ignati Novikov]] (Official Representative)
|successor2   = [[Roh Tae-woo]]
|1blankname2  = [[President of the International Olympic Committee|IOC President]]
|1namedata2   = [[Juan Antonio Samaranch]]
|office3      = Chair of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee
|term_start3  = March 26, 1979
|term_end3    = September 27, 1984
|predecessor3        = ''Committee established''
|successor3   = ''Position dissolved''
|birth_name   = Peter Victor Ueberroth
|birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1937|09|02}}
|birth_place  = [[Evanston, Illinois]], U.S.
|death_date   = 
|death_place  =
|alma_mater   = [[San Jose State University]]
|nationality  = American
}}
[[Image:Ronald Reagan throws out the opening pitch at a Baltimore Orioles baseball game.jpg|thumb|240px|Ueberroth (front right) watches President [[Ronald Reagan]] throw the first pitch prior to a game at [[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]] in [[Baltimore]].]]
'''Peter Victor Ueberroth''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|juː|b|ər|ɒ|θ}}; born September 2, 1937) is an American sports and [[business executive]] known for his involvement in the [[Olympics]] and in [[Major League Baseball]]. A Los Angeles–based businessman, he was the chairman of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee which brought the games to Los Angeles in 1984. Ueberroth was named 1984's [[Time Man of the Year|''Time'' Man of the Year]] for his success in organizing the Olympic games.

After the conclusion of the games, he was named as the sixth [[commissioner of Baseball|commissioner of baseball]], a role he held from 1984 to 1989. He later served as the chairman of the [[United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee]] from 2004 to 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/sports/olympics/03usoc.html|title=U.S.O.C. Picks Video-Game Executive to Replace Ueberroth|last=Macur|first=Juliet|date=October 2, 2008|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 3, 2008}}</ref>

==Early life==
Ueberroth was born in [[Evanston, Illinois]], the son of Laura (Larson) and Victor Ueberroth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bhsclass1955.info/BHS_Constituents.html|title=Burlingame High School Class of 1955 Constituents|access-date=April 20, 2018}}</ref> His father was of German and Austrian descent, and his mother was of Swedish and Irish ancestry. He caddied at [[Sunset Ridge Country Club]], in Northfield, Illinois. He grew up in [[Northern California]]. While attending [[Fremont High School (Sunnyvale, California)|Fremont High School]], Ueberroth excelled in [[American football|football]], baseball, and swimming. After graduating from high school, Ueberroth attended [[San Jose State University]] on an [[athletic scholarship]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Pat Lopes |date=November 14, 2011 |title=SJSU in the News: San Jose Sports Hall of Fame Inducts Alumnus Peter Ueberroth |url=https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2011/sjsu-in-the-news-alumnus-peter-ueberroth-described-as-most-influential-american-sports-figure-of-the-past-50-years/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814033302/https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2011/sjsu-in-the-news-alumnus-peter-ueberroth-described-as-most-influential-american-sports-figure-of-the-past-50-years/ |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=SJSU NewsCenter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Piazarro |first=Sal |date=2016-03-21 |title=Pizarro: Peter Ueberroth receives San Jose State's Tower Award |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/03/21/pizarro-peter-ueberroth-receives-san-jose-states-tower-award/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513140427/https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/03/21/pizarro-peter-ueberroth-receives-san-jose-states-tower-award/ |archive-date=May 13, 2019 |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}</ref> While attending San Jose State he joined [[Delta Upsilon]]. He competed in the 1956 United States [[1956 Summer Olympics|Olympic]] water polo trials but failed to make the team. Ueberroth ultimately graduated from San Jose State in 1959 with a degree in business.

===Trans International Airlines===
After college, Ueberroth became a vice president and shareholder in [[Trans International Airlines]] (he was 22 years old at the time), then owned by future billionaire [[Kirk Kerkorian]]. Ueberroth worked at Trans International until 1963, when he founded his own travel company, which would become First Travel Corporation. By the time he sold First Travel in 1980, it was the second largest travel business in North America.

==Sports career==
===1984 Olympics===
After Los Angeles was awarded the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in 1978, management consulting firm [[Korn Ferry]] was tasked with finding a president for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. Ueberroth was one of over 200 people approached for the role; other prominent candidates included [[Curt Gowdy]], [[Alexander Haig]], [[Lee Iacocca]], and [[Pete Rozelle]]. Ueberroth later wrote that he was initially reluctant to apply for the job, but eventually agreed to meet with LAOOC board members one-on-one. In the first of these meetings, he wrote, [[Justin Whitlock Dart Sr.|Justin Dart]] declared that he did not want to meet any other candidates. Ueberroth's primary competitor for the position was Edwin Steidle, the chairman of [[May Company California]]. When the LAOOC board put the matter to a final vote on March 26, 1979, a two-week delay was requested to allow Steidle to negotiate the terms of his exit from May. With 17 of the 22 members present, the board voted 9–8 to deny the request, effectively making Ueberroth the only candidate. [[Rafer Johnson]], who later lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony, was reportedly the deciding vote. Ueberroth was then chosen unanimously.<ref name=ueberroth>Ueberroth, Peter. ''[https://archive.org/details/madeinamericahis00uebe Made in America: his own story]'', [[William Morrow and Company]], 1985.</ref>{{rp|25–35}}<ref name=behindscenes>Reich, Kenneth. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-28-ss-5802-story.html "A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Ueberroth and Usher Show...: Games Were Business, but Not as Usual"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', July 28, 1985. Retrieved November 13, 2025.<!--I'd use Reich's book ''Secrets of the Organizing Committee: Inside the 1984 Olympics'' as the source, but it doesn't appear he ever actually got it published.--></ref><ref>Reich, Kenneth. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/184891704/ "Olympics Panel Names Ziffren and Ueberroth"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', March 26, 1979, Late Final edition, front page.</ref>

Ueberroth remained in the role for the next five years, serving until after the Olympics were over.<ref name=ueberroth/>{{rp|372}} At the LAOOC's peak, Ueberroth and his second-in-command [[Harry Usher]] were responsible for managing 70,000 employees and volunteers.<ref name=behindscenes/> Ueberroth received the [[Olympic Order]] in gold from the [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC). Due to the success of the games, he was named ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's [[Time Person of the Year|Man of the Year]] in 1984. Organizing the first privately financed Olympic Games in history, Ueberroth and Usher were credited with successfully keeping operational costs low while attracting over $600 million in sponsorship and broadcasting revenues.<ref>Field, Lee, and John J. Kao.[https://www.csun.edu/~bjc20362/LAOOC%20Case%20Study.pdf "The Evolving Organization: Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee—LAOOC"], ''The Entrepreneurial Organization'', [[Prentice Hall]], 1991, pages 171–191.</ref> This resulted in a surplus of nearly $250 million, which was subsequently used to support youth and sports activities throughout the United States.<ref>[https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/los-angeles-1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984]</ref> The privately run Olympics became the model for future Games, and Ueberroth's aggressive recruiting of sponsors for the 1984 Olympics is credited as the genesis for the current Olympic sponsorship program. Due to recruiting competitors between the Los Angeles Olympic Committee and the [[United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee|United States Olympic Committee]] (USOC), after 1984 all Olympics in the US had their local organizing committees enter into recruitment agreements with the USOC to jointly recruit sponsors and share revenue. Coincidentally, he was born on the day on which the founder of the modern [[Olympic Games]], Baron [[Pierre de Coubertin]], died.

===Baseball commissioner===
Ueberroth was elected to succeed [[Bowie Kuhn]] on March 3, 1984, and took office on October 1 of that year. As a condition of his hiring, Ueberroth increased the commissioner's fining ability from US$5,000 to $250,000.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Elderkin |first1=Phil |date=March 6, 1984 |title=L.A. Olympic boss Ueberroth accepts baseball job on his terms |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0306/030602.html |access-date=25 August 2024 |website=The Christian Science Monitor}}</ref> His salary was raised to a reported $450,000, nearly twice what Kuhn was paid.

Just as Ueberroth was taking office, the Major League Umpires Union was threatening to [[Strike action|strike]] the postseason. Ueberroth managed to arbitrate the disagreement and had the umpires back to work before the [[League Championship Series]] were over. The next summer, Ueberroth worked behind the scenes to limit a players' strike to one day before a new labor agreement was worked out with the [[Major League Baseball Players Association|Players Association]].

During the course of his stint as commissioner, Ueberroth reinstated two [[Baseball Hall of Fame|Hall of Famers]], [[Willie Mays]] and [[Mickey Mantle]], who had been banned from working for Major League Baseball by Kuhn because of their associations with gambling casinos. Also, Ueberroth [[Pittsburgh drug trials#Ramifications|suspended numerous players]] because of [[cocaine]] use, negotiated a $1.8 billion [[Major League Baseball on CBS#1990–1993 version|television contract]] with [[CBS]],<ref>Joseph Durso, [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/15/sports/a-billion-dollar-bid-by-cbs-wins-rights-to-baseball-games.html A Billion-Dollar Bid By CBS Wins Rights To Baseball Games] ''The New York Times''. December 15, 1988. Retrieved March 13, 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Mushnick|first=Phil|date=January 1, 2000|title=Crime of the Century: How Peter Ueberroth and Baseball's Money-Hungry Owners Robbed our Children of the National Pastime|url=https://nypost.com/2000/01/01/crime-of-the-century-how-peter-ueberroth-and-baseballs-money-hungry-owners-robbed-our-children-of-the-national-pastime/|newspaper=[[New York Post]]|access-date=February 22, 2015}}</ref> and initiated the investigation against [[Pete Rose]]'s [[Dowd Report|betting habits]]. In 1985, Ueberroth's first full year in office, the [[League Championship Series]] expanded from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven series. At his urging, the [[1988 Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs]] chose to install lights at [[Wrigley Field]] rather than reimburse the leagues for lost night-game revenue. Ueberroth then found a new source of income in the form of persuading large corporations to pay for the privilege of having their products endorsed by MLB.

However, Ueberroth, with the assistance of the owners, also facilitated [[Baseball collusion#1985.E2.80.931987|collusion between the owners]] in violation of the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players. Players entering free agency in the 1985, 1986 and 1987 offseasons were, with few exceptions, prevented from both signing equitable contracts and joining the teams of their choice during this period. The roots of the collusion lay in Ueberroth's first owners' meeting as commissioner, when he called the owners "damned dumb" for being willing to lose money in order to win a World Series. Later, he told the general managers that it was "not smart" to sign long-term contracts.<ref>{{cite book|title=Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball|last=Helyar|first=John|author-link=John Helyar|year=1994|publisher=[[Villard (imprint)|Villard]]|location=New York City|isbn=0-345-46524-5}}</ref> Former [[Major League Baseball Players Association]] president [[Marvin Miller]] later described this as "tantamount to fixing, not just games, but entire pennant races, including all post-season series."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Baseball's Realistic Adversary|first=Dave|last=Anderson|date=June 23, 1991|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/23/sports/sports-of-the-times-baseball-s-realistic-adversary.html}}</ref> The MLBPA, under Miller's successor, [[Donald Fehr]], filed [[Baseball collusion|collusion charges]] and won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents, and over $280 million in fines.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.bizofbaseball.com/docs/Brown_Collusion_Neyer_Blunders.pdf|access-date=November 9, 2011 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102213104/http://www.bizofbaseball.com/docs/Brown_Collusion_Neyer_Blunders.pdf |archive-date=November 2, 2011 |chapter=1985–1988 Collusions I, II . . . and III (A Hard Lesson Learned) |author=Brown, Maury |title=Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders |publisher=Touchstone|year=2006|isbn=978-0743284912}} Peter Ueberroth and Collusion</ref> [[Fay Vincent]], who followed as Ueberroth as commissioner, laid the crippling labor problems of the early 1990s (including the [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike|1994–95 strike]]) directly at the feet of Ueberroth and the owners' collusion, holding that the collusion years constituted theft from the players.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1173&Itemid=81 |title=Interview – Fay Vincent – Former Commissioner|date=November 9, 2005| work=Biz of Baseball|access-date=October 17, 2009 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713054852/http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1173&Itemid=81 |archive-date=July 13, 2007 }}</ref>

Under Ueberroth, Major League Baseball enjoyed "increased attendance (record attendance four straight seasons), greater awareness of crowd control and alcohol management within ballparks, a successful and vigilant anti-drug campaign, significant industry-wide improvement in the area of fair employment, and a significantly improved financial picture for the industry. When Ueberroth took office, 21 of the 26 clubs were losing money; in Ueberroth's last full season – [[1988 in baseball|1988]] – all clubs either broke even or finished in the black. In [[1987 in baseball|1987]], for example, baseball as an industry showed a net profit of $21.3 million, its first profitable year since [[1973 in baseball|1973]]."<ref name="mlb.mlb.com">{{cite web |title=Commissioners |url=https://www.mlb.com/official-information/about-mlb/commissioners |website=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref>

Nonetheless, following the announcement of the first of three large awards to the players following the collusion findings, Ueberroth stepped down as commissioner before the start of the [[1989 in baseball|1989 regular season]]; his contract was to have run through the end of the season. He was succeeded by [[National League (baseball)|National League]] president [[A. Bartlett Giamatti|Bart Giamatti]].<ref name="mlb.mlb.com"/>

==Post-baseball activities==
Ueberroth was a corporate director of [[The Coca-Cola Company]] from 1986 until his retirement in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-02-19 |title=James D. Robinson III, Peter Ueberroth to Retire from The Coca-Cola Company Board of Directors |url=https://investors.coca-colacompany.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/741/james-d-robinson-iii-peter-ueberroth-to-retire-from-the-coca-cola-company-board-of-directors |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=The Coca-Cola Company |language=en}}</ref> Ueberroth is an investor and chairman of the Contrarian Group, Inc., a business management company, and has held this position since 1989. He is also co-chairman of [[Pebble Beach Company]]. He is a director of [[Hilton Hotels]] Corp. and previously served as director of [[Adecco S.A.]] from 2004 to 2008. He has served as Chairman of the Board of [[Aircastle]] since 2012 and been on the board since 2006.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110128230618/http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers?symbol=AYR#MwL1Eh9cJtM1ldLr.97 Aircastle Ltd (AYR)] [[Reuters]].</ref>

In 1989, Ueberroth considered purchasing [[Eastern Air Lines]], then crippled by a strike and [[bankruptcy]] from [[Texas Air]]. However, a management dispute with Texas Air CEO [[Frank Lorenzo]] led to the deal falling through.<ref name="Robinson, Jack E">{{cite book|author=Robinson, Jack E. |title=Freefall: the needless destruction of Eastern Air Lines and the valiant struggle to save it|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mE0PAQAAMAAJ|date=May 8, 1992|publisher=HarperBusiness|isbn=978-0-88730-556-6}}</ref>

In 1990, Ueberroth bought controlling interest of [[Hawaiian Airlines]] with his brother John and business partner J. Thomas Talbot.<ref name="Granelli">{{cite news |last1=Granelli |first1=James S. |title=Ueberroth Team Agrees to Buy Hawaiian Air |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-08-22-mn-913-story.html |access-date=23 November 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 22, 1989}}</ref>

Three years after leaving office, he led the ''[[1992 Los Angeles riots#Aftermath|Rebuild Los Angeles]]'' project after the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]].<ref name="Alonso, Alex A.">{{cite book |last=Alonso |first=Alex A. |url=https://docslib.org/doc/8909259/rebuilding-los-angeles-a-lesson-of-community-reconstruction |title=Rebuilding Los Angeles: A Lesson of Community Reconstruction |date=1998 |publisher=[[University of Southern California]] |location=Los Angeles}}</ref>

In 1999, Ueberroth, along with [[Arnold Palmer]] and [[Clint Eastwood]], bought the [[Pebble Beach, California|Pebble Beach]] [[Pebble Beach Golf Links|golf course]].

Ueberroth ran for [[Governor of California]] in the [[2003 California recall]] election as an independent, though he was a registered [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]. His campaign focused on California's economic and budget crisis, avoiding social issues. With polls indicating only a low level of support, he pulled out of the race on September 9, 2003, though his name still appeared on the ballot and received a small but significant number of votes. He placed [[Results of the 2003 California recall|sixth in a field of 135 candidates]].

Ueberroth was chairman of [[Ambassadors International]] but was replaced by his son, Joseph Ueberroth in April 2006. Ueberroth resigned from the board in November 2008.

Ueberroth was also the chairman of the [[United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee|United States Olympic Committee]] Board of Directors from 2004 to 2008.

Ueberroth was inducted into the [[USA Water Polo Hall of Fame]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Peter Ueberroth (2010) |url=https://usawaterpolo.org/hof.aspx?hof=136 |access-date=18 September 2020 |publisher=USA Water Polo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://usawaterpolo.org/sports/2018/11/28/trads-hof-inductees-html.aspx |access-date=18 September 2020 |publisher=USA Water Polo}}</ref>

Ueberroth is a Life [[Trustee]] of the [[University of Southern California]].<ref name=USCtrustee>[http://www.usc.edu/about/administration/trustees/ Board of Trustees] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726020808/http://www.usc.edu/about/administration/trustees/ |date=July 26, 2011 }}, University of Southern California, Retrieved April 13, 2008.</ref>

Ueberroth and his wife, Ginny, were two of the founders of [[Sage Hill School]]. He additionally served briefly on the school's Athletic Advisory Council.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.dailypilot.com/2008-04-29/news/dpt-ueberroth042908_1_dedication-los-angeles-olympic-games-time-magazine-man|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708222213/http://articles.dailypilot.com/2008-04-29/news/dpt-ueberroth042908_1_dedication-los-angeles-olympic-games-time-magazine-man|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2011|title=Sage Hill hosts private dedication for gym|work=[[Daily Pilot]]|date=April 29, 2008|access-date=May 5, 2008}}</ref>

Ueberroth is a board member for the [[Lott Trophy|Lott IMPACT Trophy]], named after [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Pro Football Hall of Famer]] [[Ronnie Lott]], and is awarded annually to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year.<ref>[http://lottimpacttrophy.org/ Lott Impact Trophy] Retrieved December 15, 2011.</ref>

==Personal life==
Ueberroth married Virginia "Ginny" Nicolaus in 1959, and they have four children.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Petrillo |first1=Zac |title=Peter Ueberroth |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/peter-ueberroth/ |access-date=25 August 2024 |publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |title=Hardball: Nancy Collins Quizzes Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1eYCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52 |journal=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=June 9, 1986|pages=52–57, 61}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Peter Ueberroth}}
* {{C-SPAN|22584}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=peter-ueberroth}}
* {{SABR Baseball Biography Project|peter-ueberroth}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box|title=[[President of the Olympic Organizing Committee|President of Organizing Committee for Summer Olympic Games]]
|before={{flagicon|URS}} [[Konstantin Chernenko]]
|after={{flagicon|KOR}} [[Roh Tae-woo]]
|years=[[1984 Summer Olympics|1984]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Baseball Commissioners}}
{{Time Persons of the Year 1976–2000}}
{{SN Sportsman of the Year}}
{{NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ueberroth, Peter}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in aviation]]
[[Category:American male water polo players]]
[[Category:American people of Austrian descent]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Swedish descent]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Evanston, Illinois]]
[[Category:California Republicans]]
[[Category:Directors of Coca-Cola]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball commissioners]]
[[Category:People from Sunnyvale, California]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Olympic Order]]
[[Category:San Jose State University alumni]]
[[Category:Time Person of the Year]]
[[Category:Chairs of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Delta Upsilon members]]
[[Category:American athlete-politicians]]