Dan Topping

Daniel Reid Topping (June 11, 1912 – May 18, 1974) was a part owner and president of the New York Yankees baseball team from 1945 to 1964. During Topping's tenure as chief executive of the Yankees, the team won 14 American League pennants and ten World Series championships. Early life and career Topping was born on June 11, 1912, in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Rhea (Reid) and Henry Junkins Topping. Henry Junkins Topping was the son of John A. Topping, an industrialist and president of Republic Iron and Steel. His mother Rhea was the daughter of Daniel G. Reid, who was known as the "Tinplate King" for his vast wealth in the tin industry. Daniel Topping inherited a portion of both fortunes. Topping had two brothers: Henry J. Topping (1914–1968), and John Reid Topping (1921-1969). Topping attended the Hun School and the University of Pennsylvania, and excelled in multiple sports. He was an excellent golfer, qualifying for the United States Amateur Championships three times. He worked in banking for a few years, opened and closed a small advertising agency, then purchased a partial interest in the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League in 1931. He became the majority owner of the club and improved the team, but the onset of World War II caused several players to join the military. Topping himself joined the Marines and served in the Pacific Theater for the majority of his tenure in the Corps. He left the Marine Corps as a major and later became a colonel in the Ready Reserve. New York Yankees owner During the war, while serving in California, Topping ran into Larry MacPhail. MacPhail, then the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, and Topping were acquainted because both Dodgers athletic teams (baseball and football) played at Ebbets Field. In California, MacPhail told Topping of his interest in purchasing the New York Yankees. MacPhail invited Topping to join the syndicate attempting to purchase the team from the estate of Jacob Ruppert. Along with Del Webb, the group purchased a 96.88% interest in the Yankees for $2.8 million in January 1945. In March, they bought the remaining 3.12%, giving them complete control of the team. MacPhail was named team president, while Topping and Webb were named vice presidents.