H. Gabriel Murphy

Henry Gabriel Murphy (January 8, 1903 – November 1, 2001) was an American businessman, sportsman and Major League Baseball club owner. From June 1950 through April 1984, he was a minority stockholder in the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins franchise of the American League. After October 1955, Murphy became the largest individual shareholder in the team, although he never gained majority control. A longtime insurance executive in Washington, D.C., Murphy was known for his battles with club president and majority owner Calvin Griffith over management of the Senators, and especially over Griffith's decision to relocate the club to Minneapolis-St. Paul at the close of the baseball season. Murphy was a native of Hogansburg, New York, who attended Georgetown University in Washington, where he starred in football, earned a law degree, and served as athletics director (1930–41). Minority owner of Washington Senators Ironically, Murphy had purchased his stake in the Washington franchise in 1950 as an ally of Calvin's uncle, Baseball Hall of Famer Clark Griffith, who was then the team's president. Griffith was the Senators' largest shareholder, but with his holdings at only 44 percent, he fell short of majority ownership. Murphy's 40.4 percent share in the team previously was George Richardson's but, a year after Richardson died in 1948, his estate sold his baseball holdings to New York businessman John J. Jachym, bypassing Clark Griffith. When Jachym attempted to obtain a seat on the Senators' board of directors and a voice in the team's operations, however, he was thwarted by Griffith and the board. Jachym then sold his stock to Murphy in June 1950 for a price later reported as $625,000. Griffith considered Murphy, then 47, a friendly partner; Murphy had dealt with the owner over the years when he negotiated a lease on Griffith Stadium for use by the Georgetown Hoyas varsity football team. Murphy's investment ended any threat to Griffith's control of the Senators; in return he was reported to have acquired right of first refusal should the club be put up for sale.