Besides Ginger Beaumont, my alma mater also claims as an alumnus one of the most innovative executives in baseball history, Leland Stanford "Larry" MacPhail. MacPhail ran the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. Among his many creations:
1. First night game in the major leagues
2. First televised game (August 26, 1939)
3. First to introduce "Old Timers' Games" to the majors
4. First to establish pension funds for club employees throughout all levels of baseball
5. Headed first committee for players' pension funds, the finest in sports
6. First to use air plane travel for baseball teams
7. First to shake up New York City by broadcasting all home and road games. (The first radio broadcast of a baseball game in the majors was by Harold Arlen in Pittsburgh in 1921.)
8. First to introduce yellow baseballs, which were never accepted in baseball came to the fore in both tennis and golf
9. First to regularly schedule doubleheaders
10. First to install a stadium club
11. First to introduce season ticket plan
12. First to develop and introduce protective batting helmets
In large measure, the game we watch today comes directly from the vision of Larry MacPhail. The link above provides a great deal more information about this remarkable man. His son Lee MacPhail built the great Orioles teams of the 1960s and later was president of the American League. Grandson Andy MacPhail was the architect of the 1987 Twins. That's a pretty influential family.
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