Magowan was one of the civic leaders who helped prevent the team from moving to St. Petersburg in '92GETTY IMAGES
Former MLB Giants Managing General Partner PETER MAGOWAN, who "fought off relocation of the team and spearheaded construction of their waterfront ballpark," died yesterday at 76, according to a front-page piece by Schulman & Whiting of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Magowan had been ill for "several years, undergoing surgeries for prostate and liver cancer, and had recently gone into hospice care." Magowan hired the execs who "built four World Series teams that garnered three championships" in '10, '12 and '14, and he led the franchise and its owners to "significant financial success." Magowan also "OKd the signing" of BARRY BONDS after the '92 season, a "shocking entry into baseball’s free-agent marketplace by what had been a stingy franchise." Magowan was "criticized in the landmark Mitchell Report" for turning a "blind eye" toward use of PEDs. Giants fans will "remember Magowan as one of the civic leaders who helped prevent the team from moving" to St. Petersburg in '92. After multiple failed attempts to build a publicly financed ballpark to replace the "aging, freezing Candlestick Park, the Giants under Magowan built" what is now called Oracle Park. They used private funding, which is "common now but at the time annoyed sports franchise owners who sneered at the precedent." In '08, Magowan retired as Managing General Partner, replaced by fellow investor WILLIAM NEUKOM. Rumors "abounded that the other owners pushed Magowan out because of the Mitchell Report" and various player contracts. But Magowan said that the decision "was his." He was 66 and "wanted to spend more time with family." Magowan will be added to the Giants' Wall of Fame on Feb. 9 (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/28).
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: In San Jose, Kerry Crowley in a front-page piece notes though Magowan’s role shifted, he "remained a fixture at the ballpark he helped build even as he battled various health issues." Magowan spent three months in New Orleans during the summer of '14 "receiving treatment for cancer, but returned to AT&T Park shortly after being released from the hospital to watch the Giants clinch their third World Series berth in five seasons." Magowan then also traveled with the Giants to K.C. for the '14 World Series (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 1/28). The AP's Josh Dubow noted Magowan did "significant work in the community, making the Giants the first professional sports team to dedicate an annual game to the fight against AIDS/HIV with the creation of 'Until There's A Cure Day' in 1994." He also formed the Junior Giants program that "provided free leagues for kids to play and learn baseball." Magowan "revered the rich history of the franchise he started following as a child," signing WILLIE MAYS to a lifetime contract and bringing back WILLIE MCCOVEY and ORLANDO CEPEDA as special advisers. He established the team's Wall of Fame in '08 (AP, 1/27).
