Bill DeWitt III’s baseball roots sink three generations deep.
The summer of 1916 was broiling hot, and most 14-year-old boys spent their days swimming or drinking cold lemonade on a shady porch. Not William Orville DeWitt Sr. His family needed help making ends meet, so young Bill got a job selling soda pop in the stands at Sportsman’s Park. That suited him fine: he wasn’t afraid of hard work, and he loved baseball. By the time he passed away in 1982, that grinning kid with the can-do attitude had become one of the most powerful men in the game.
His son and grandson have followed in his footsteps. Today, William DeWitt Jr. is majority owner of the St. Louis Cardinals; William DeWitt III, team president, oversees all aspects of team business and affiliated projects, including the development of Ballpark Village. “Granddad grew up with very little money in North St. Louis–his father ran a butcher shop,” Bill DeWitt III says. “Hard work and talent took him to the top. But to me and my siblings, he was just this loving guy who spent time with us, one on one, and treated us like we were the center of the universe.”
DeWitt Sr. didn’t sell sodas for long. Legendary Cardinals business manager Branch Rickey, impressed by the boy’s work ethic, gave him a job in the front office. He went to school at night, eventually earning a law degree from Washington University. From 1916 to 1936, he worked his way up to vice president/treasurer of the team. The Cards won five pennants and three world championships during this era. Always up for a challenge, he then moved to St. Louis’ underdog American League team, the Browns, leading them to their only pennant in 1944. Five years later, he rose from general manager to owner, in partnership with his brother Charlie. He later served as assistant GM of the New York Yankees, president and part owner of the Detroit Tigers, owner of the Cinncinati Reds, and chairman and part owner of the Chicago White Sox.
DeWitt III’s parents grew up here. “My dad went to Country Day and worked as a Browns batboy when he was a kid,” he says. “My mother’s family, the Cramers, lived on Exmoor Drive in Ladue.” His parents moved to Cincinnati when DeWitt Sr. bought the Reds in the early 1960s, and stayed when he sold the team. “I was raised in Cincinnati, but I have great memories of visiting my mom’s family and my aunt, Donna ‘DeDe’ DeWitt Lambert, on Upper Ladue Lane.” He didn’t call St. Louis home until 1996, when his father and several partners purchased the Cards from Anheuser-Busch. “It took me awhile to feel like a real St. Louisan,” he admits. “But when fans started telling me stories about Granddad and the way things used to be, I realized I had strong roots here.”
Recently, a World War II veteran gave him a box of letters from DeWitt Sr. “My grandfather had scouted him for the Browns and kept up with him during the war, checking to see how he was doing and reminding him, ‘Don’t forget about the Browns when you get out!’ The man told me those letters helped him get through the war.” Written on Browns letterhead in the more formal language of a bygone era, the letters nevertheless convey DeWitt Sr.’s warmth.
The third generation of DeWitts share the family work ethic. “My sisters, Katie and Margot, have worked for the Cardinals’ organization, and my brother, Andrew, is founder and CEO of Dewey’s Pizza, based in Cincinnati.” Dewitt III’s wife, Ira, founded Notifi Records. They have two kids, 15-year-old Natalie and 11-year-old Will. Asked if they’ve shown any interest in carrying baseball ownership into the fourth generation, he laughs. “It’s too early to tell,” he says. “But no matter what path they take. they’ve got a great legacy to build on—and happy memories of growing up in St. Louis.”
By Tony Di Martino
Featured Image: Bill DeWitt Jr. and Bill DeWitt III
Photos courtesy of the DeWitt family
