William Gladstone Named King of Baseball

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Minor League Baseball announced today that Tri-City ValleyCats President and Principal Owner William (Bill) Gladstone has been named the 2015 King of Baseball. The King of Baseball is a long-standing tradition in which Minor League Baseball recognizes a veteran of professional baseball for longtime dedication and service. Gladstone will receive the King of Baseball Award at the Baseball Winter Meetings Banquet on Sunday, Dec. 6, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

"I am truly honored to have been selected as the King of Baseball as it is a wonderful distinction to be considered in the great group of prior award winners," said Gladstone. "I want to thank Minor League Baseball President Pat O'Conner and his staff for all they do for baseball."

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Gladstone graduated with honors from Lehigh University in 1951 and joined Arthur Young & Company following graduation. After attending Brooklyn Law School, primarily at night, he earned a Bachelor of Laws in 1955 and was admitted to the New York State Bar. Except for time spent serving in the U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant during the Korean War (1952-53), Gladstone spent his entire business career at Arthur Young, becoming a partner in 1963, managing partner in 1981 and chairman in 1985.

In 1989, along with the chairman of Ernst & Whinney, Gladstone helped arrange a merger with Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young, one of the leading professional service firms in the world.

In 1970, he graduated from the Harvard University Advanced Management Program and in 1992, he received an Honorary Doctor of Law from Lehigh University. At Lehigh, he endowed the William L. Gladstone Scholarship Fund in 1972 and was part of the campaign for endowment of the Arthur Young-William L. Gladstone section of the Lehigh Library Accounting Collection.

Upon his retirement from Ernst & Young in 1991, Gladstone became a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and continues in that role.

At the urging of his friend and client, Peter O'Malley, in 1992, Gladstone and four friends bought the Pittsfield Mets of the New York-Penn League. They held the Mets affiliation until 2001 when they became affiliated with the Houston Astros.

In 2001, Gladstone met New York State Senate leader Joseph L. Bruno, a relationship that would lead to the building of Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on the grounds of Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. The team, now known as the Tri-City ValleyCats, moved to Troy in 2002 and has spent 14 seasons there.

Bill served 12 years on the Minor League Baseball Board of Trustees and was a member of several committees. Gladstone was also a board member and was appointed to the Executive Committee of the New York-Penn League.

"Bill's experience in the business world and his overall business acumen provided a tremendous boost for Minor League Baseball and the New York-Penn League," said Minor League Baseball President & CEO Pat O'Conner. "His passion for the game of baseball and his presence and input on the Board of Trustees helped grow the Minor League Baseball brand across the country."

He and Millie, his wife of 62 years, own a significant baseball art and artifacts collection, parts of which have been displayed at a number of museums.

PREVIOUS KING OF BASEBALL AWARD WINNERS

1951 Clarence Rowland

1952 J. Alvin Gardner

1953 Frank Shaughnessy

1954 Shelby Pease

1955 Herman White

1956 Tommy Richardson

1957 Charles Hurth

1958 Not awarded

1959 Bonneau Peters

1960 Joe Engel

1961 Rosy Ryan

1962 Phil Howser

1963 Donnie Bush

1964 Eddie Mulligan

1965 Ray Winder

1966 Eddie Leishmann

1967 Alejo Peralta

1968 Dewey Soriano

1969 Chauncey DeVault

1970 George MacDonald

1971 Phil Piton

1972 Vince McNamara

1973 Ray Johnston

1974 Fred Haney

1975 Joe Buzas

1976 Don Avery

1977 Bill Weiss

1978 Zinn Beck

1979 Harry Simmons

1980 Billy Hitchcock

1981 Jack Schwarz

1982 Sy Berger

1983 Oscar Roettger

1984 Donald Davidson

1985 Stan Wasiak

1986 Lefty Gomez

1987 Bill Schweppe

1988 Max Patkin

1989 George Sisler, Jr.

1990 John Moss

1991 George Pfister

1992 John Lipon

1993 George Kissell

1994 Jimmy Bragan

1995 Gene DaCosse

1996 S. "Chief" Bender

1997 Max Schumacher

1998 Leo Pinckney

1999 Tom Saffell

2000 Pat McKernan

2001 Roland Hemond

2002 George Zuraw

2003 Bob Wilson

2004 Dave Rosenfield

2005 Calvin Falwell

2006 Paul Snyder

2007 Dave Walker

2008 Pat Gillick

2009 Milo Hamilton

2010 Don Mincher

2011 Chito Rodriguez

2012 George McGonagle

2013 Charlie Eshbach

2014 Bill Valentine