Bob Carpenter Jr.

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Bob Carpenter was typically referred to as Bob Carpenter throughout baseball; both his father and his son were informally known as 'Ruly.' He was born on August 31, 1915, in Wilmington, Delaware, to the elder Carpenter and Margaretta Lammot Du Pont. Aside from baseball and boxing, Carpenter was wealthy from investments and family relations with the DuPont family. He attended Duke University, where he starred in football. He married Mary Kaye Phelps on November 18, 1938. When his father bought the perennially cash-strapped Phillies in 1943, and when Bob Carpenter invested some of his fortune in talented young players such as Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn after World War II, they helped create the fabled 'Whiz Kids' pennant-winning club of 1950. More important, they ensured that Philadelphia would remain a National League city. The Carpenters bought Shibe Park from the A's, solidified their hold on Delaware Valley baseball fans, and moved into Veterans Stadium in 1971. Although Carpenter admitted that he had only seen the Phillies play 'two or three games' before his family purchased the team, the Carpenters were not new to running a baseball franchise: prior to their purchase of the Phillies, they had owned and operated a minor league baseball club, the original Wilmington Blue Rocks. Bob Carpenter took an active role in the management of the Phillies. He and his father tried to polish the team's image and way of doing business. Before the 1944 season, the team held a fan contest soliciting a new team nickname. Management chose 'Blue Jays,' the fan submission of Elizabeth Crooks, who received a $100 war bond as compensation. Phillies management said that the Blue Jays name was an official 'additional nickname,' meaning that the team had two official nicknames simultaneously. The new Blue Jays moniker was ultimately unpopular; it was officially dropped by the team in January 1950. Carpenter went on to serve as the club's general manager without portfolio after the January 1948 death of Herb Pennock, through the 1950 NL pennant, and until April of 1954. For his efforts in rebuilding the franchise, Carpenter was hailed by the Sporting News as Major League Executive of the Year for 1949. In the 1940s, Carpenter along with a friend, boxing promoter Ralph Tribuani, established the Wilmington Sportsmens Club, converted Wilmington Baseball Park into a fight venue.

In Their Own Story

The 1950 season marked a high point for the 'Whiz Kids,' led by relief pitcher Jim Konstanty. Konstanty won 16 games and set an MLB standard with 74 games pitched, helping the Phillies capture their second-all-time pennant on the final day of the season. The team drew 1.217 million fans, finishing first in the National League with attendance four times greater than that of the Athletics. However, they were foiled in the World Series by the Yankees' dominant pitching. Although the Whiz Kids could not sustain their high level of play, Carpenter's investments laid the groundwork for future success. The team hovered at or under .500 through the mid-1950s and collapsed from 1958 to 1961, but by 1964 they had burst into the league lead before a historic ten-game losing streak cost them the pennant.

Reader's Guide

Bob Carpenter served as president of the Phillies until 1972, when his son succeeded him. The Carpenter family owned the Phillies from 1943 to 1981. The Blue Jays nickname was officially dropped in January 1950. The source does not specify the exact year the Carpenters purchased Shibe Park.

Did You Know?

• Bob Carpenter was only 28 when he became the youngest club president in baseball history in November 1943.
• The Phillies had two official nicknames simultaneously from 1944 to 1949: the Phillies and the Blue Jays.
• Carpenter was named Major League Executive of the Year by the Sporting News in 1949, one year before the Phillies won the 1950 NL pennant.
• In the 1940s, Carpenter co-founded the Wilmington Sportsmens Club and promoted boxing matches featuring Sugar Ray Robinson and other champions.