One of the best secrets in Philadelphia is a phantom group of people we freely call the owners of the Phillies. The Phillies property group remained more mysterious in this city than Bigfoot or the Bermuda Triangle.
Although the 2008 World Series win claimed a ton from the Phillies owners, fans resumed their hatred of faceless, nameless people whom we had never seen or heard when the club gave out Cliff Lee for a reasonable reason to save $ 9 million. The time has come when we explore these Phillies ghosts who are sufficiently qualified to remain invisible. David Montgomery is here to talk about the owners, who have allowed so many years of awful baseball to be happy in 2008, and make sure that the fans never know who they really are.
David Montgomery recently said that the Phillies owners are in red, and since then they have taken over the team. HA! I think we all should bow and thank these wonderful people for selflessly throwing their hard-earned money for our pleasure. Correctly. Montgomery did not lie, but he, of course, bent the truth, like any politician. I bet they lose money ... in their operating expenses. But the value of the team is another story. Let it be so: the original group bought the team in 1981 for 30 million dollars. The 2008 Phillies reportedly cost $ 481 million (and before winning the World Series). This is more than 1600 percent more than the cost of the team ... 1,600 percent! Believe me, they WILL NOT LOSE MONEY.
Before revealing these Phillies Phantoms, let's discuss exactly how they became owners. In 1981, when Rullie Carpenter announced that he was selling the team, Bill Giles gathered a group of investors to buy the Phillies. Having spent only 50,000 dollars, he needed a little help. He took a 10 percent stake in the team, watched daily operations and became a member of the group, allowing others to hide in the shadows.
The Buck Brothers invested $ 5 million. The heir of the family Widen Fitz Dickson and mogul-mogul Bob Levy united for 3.5 million dollars. John D. Betz from Betz Laboratories promised $ 5 million. Taft Broadcasting took care of the rest, throwing $ 15 million.
In 1986, Taft Broadcasting sold its 47 percent stake to Bill Giles and the team for $ 24.1 million. Bob Levy and Fitz Dickson also received money. Bill Giles handed his overall partnership position to David Montgomery in 1997, who also took a piece of the company.
This leaves Claire Betz, The Buck Brothers and John Middleton as unspecified sources. Let's see what we can dig, right? Let's meet the actors:
Claire S. Betz
Claire S. Betz approaches 90 years and shares her time between her houses in Gwynedd, Pennsylvania and Kay Largo, Florida. Claire's husband, John Drew Betz, bought his share of the Phillies in 1981, and she took over a beautiful little soap opera. You see, her son, Peter Betz, was killed by her 16-year-old grandson Justin Betz in 1988. Justin pleaded guilty to a third-degree murder, and John died of cancer at the age of 72 during a trial. This is when she took over his share. Bill Conlin Bill Conlin assessed his share of 33 percent of the team in the November 2007 article.
Betz made his fortune through a family-owned water treatment company called Betz Laboratories, whose chairman was John Betz. Betz Laboratories was later sold to General Electric. She and David Montgomery are also on the board of the Schuylkill Center, a local conservation group. When Claire leaves, the other partners are likely to buy her shares.
Buck brothers
The Buck Brothers: Alexander K. Buck, J. Mahlon Buck Jr. and William K. Buck. Officially known as Tri-Play Associates, the three brothers participate in TDH Capital Corp., a venture capital firm based in Radnor, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1977 and primarily invests in small businesses.
They also actively participated in local charities, including gifts to the zoo, orchestra, and education. “The tanks are very principled, very, very gentlemanly, very, very private,” says JB Doherty, general partner of TDH Capital.
John middleton
John S. Middleton is in the mid-50s and is breaking his time between Bryn Maur and Stone Harbor. He graduated from Amherst College in 1977, and according to them, “Middleton runs his family’s business, which includes McIntosh Inns, Bradford Holdings and Double Play, Inc.” He inherited his share of the property from his father, Herbert Middleton. He is also on the Penn Board of Trustees of Medicine.
John was the closest to the passionate of the group. According to rumors, Middleton was a big reason why the Phillies signed Jim Thom in 2002. It was attributed as an announcement: “I myself will pay for it!”
In November 2007, it was announced that Middleton had sold his family cigar to the Altria Group, owner of Phillip Morris, for $ 2.9 billion. The fans had a short moment of hope that maybe, perhaps, we could have ownership of the victory. David Montgomery instantly disconnected those dreams. In a statement, Montgomery said: "John Middleton is a limited partner with Phyllis, and his personal and business interests do not affect the work of the ballclub." This is a pretty strong statement from the very gentle manners of Montgomery. As you will soon find out, this is exactly what it means to be a limited partner, a limited one. But, if John Middleton could somehow grab a big bet, he could call the shots and tell Montgomery if he wants to go.
It is difficult to say that if Middleton even tried to buy a team, but the program during the ceremony in 2004 in Amherst said: “Montgomery is working on the show. It is quite well known that John S. Middleton was an outcast on some issues - tearing money to sign Jim Tom was considered one of them. ”
David Montgomery
Bill Giles hired David Montgomery in 1971 to work for the Phillies & then he became a sales director. When the current group bought the team, Giles appointed Montgomery as his best assistant in 1982. It is possible that his most revealing quotation was “I just think that an organization needs an image that is not directly related to victories and losses”.
Bill giles
Giles began with the Phillies as vice president of business operations in 1969. He was Vice President of 1982, President of the team from 1982 to 1987, and CEO from 1984 to 1987. Giles decided to leave the post of general partner in 1997 and adopted the name of the managing partner. He is the son of former National League president Warren Giles and current honorary president of the National League.
Limited partners
Before moving forward, it’s helpful to know what it means to be a limited partner. Bill Conlin describes it in more detail in his article on a limited partnership, but here’s a version of Notes Cliff. In principle, the common partner (was Giles, now Montgomery) gathers a group, negotiates the sale of the team, is responsible for all debts and lawsuits and receives a small additional coin in the form of a salary.
So what does it mean to be a limited partner? This means that they are limited to cash and nothing more. Don't like what's going on? Want to get rid of David Montgomery? Very sorry. When they have agreed to the conditions of participation as partners with limited participation, they have all the powers for a common partner.
As Conlin said of Montgomery, "If you cannot prove that it is wrong and worse, it would be difficult to knock it out." He says they probably also signed an agreement not to criticize the Phillies leadership publicly. As was the case with Marj Schott many years ago, if David Montgomery does not want to leave, he will not. Just like that.
Move
We should have no reason to hate anyone who works in a team. We do not know them, and they have not done anything illegal or unethical of which we know. In fact, they seem to be very principled and cool people.
But ...
Buying a professional sports team is not just another investment in which you can let your stockbroker do all the work and call you every time with an update. ESPecially, when you ask the city and the state for $ 260 million to help you build your new stadium, you gave up the right to be “desperately private”, since Middleton was described by Amherst.
We have a rare opportunity for greatness with the current team. We need to seize the moment while we can, and our ownership group has shown us again and again that they will not help. We already missed the boat, putting Cliff Lee. Let me stop him right there and get him out of here.
Just imagine how different things would be if someone like Pat Croce, Ed Rendell, or hell, even Comcast-Spectacor ran a team ....
Do not hold your breath. We will not get a new owner. Many have tried, and no one succeeded. Bucks, Betz and Middton will continue to move their shares among them until we are all ghosts, like them.
