William Eckert

William Dole Eckert (1909 - April 16, 1971) was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force with a distinguished record in World War II, and later the commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1968.

In 1938 William Eckert was selected as one of two officers for advanced education at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and graduated with a Master's Degree in June 1940.

Although Eckert initially didn't seek the job of commissioner, he was ultimately recommended by fellow officer, Curtis LeMay, bellicose boss of the Strategic Air Command, who refused to be a candidate himself. More than 150 names appeared on the original list of nominees for the commissionership following Ford Frick's retirement. Eckert, like Frick, also worked hard toward promoting the game internationally. His friendly relations with Japanese baseball officials paved the way for the Los Angeles Dodgers to visit Japan after the 1966 season. He also arranged subsequent visits to Japan by other Major League teams.

When he became commissioner, Eckert had not seen a game in person in over 10 years. He was a compromise choice for the job. Eckert was elected Major League Baseball's fourth commissioner on November 17, 1965 by an unanimous vote of the 20 Major League club owners.

As commmissioner, William Eckert was deferential to his owners, limp with his league presidents, and had no awareness of baseball's problems or of the direction it should be headed. He incurred the public's ire by refusing to cancel games after the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and team owners' disdain because he refused to deal forcefully with substantive business issues.

Anticipating a players' strike and having no ownership confidence in his ability to handle the situation, Eckert was forced to resign at the end of the 1968 season although he still had three years on his contract. As balm, he continued to receive his salary until his death in 1971.

In spite of his much publicized failures and shortcomings, William Eckert also developed more effective committee actions, streamlined business methods and helped stabilize franchises with bigger stadiums and long-term leases.