Remembering MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent

Vincent, who as deputy commissioner led the investigation into the Pete Rose gambling controversy, also shepherded Major League Baseball through the 1989 World Series that was marred by the major earthquake that hit the Bay Area.Rose, who set a record with 4,256 career hits, was banned from the game in 1989 after an investigation revealed he had bet regularly on a variety of sports, including, baseball. In 1991, the Hall of Fame’s board of directors adopted a rule that permanently ineligible players cannot be considered for the honor. Rose died on Sept. 30, 2024, at the age of 83 and has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The former commissioner spoke at length with The Eagle two other times, in 2005 and again in 2020. The subject was always baseball.

When Giamatti was named commissioner in April 1989, he brought Vincent along as deputy commissioner. That September, Giamatti died of a heart attack, and Vincent was elected commissioner by the Major League Baseball owners 12 days later.”The name ‘Berkshire Eagle’ appears in the movie,” Vincent said. “I was so excited. I had nothing to do with it, but when I was head of Columbia, the director was Sydney Pollack and I watched an early screening of the movie and there it was. I was so happy that The Berkshire Eagle got a little mention.”

“Fay served as the League’s president and was a firm believer in what summer collegiate baseball in New England meant for our scenic towns that hosted our teams, to college athletes, and to the game of baseball,” NECBL Commissioner Sean McGrath said in a statement. “We always knew Fay was there for the League as [he] contributed his time, support and advice. In these past few years, he has been helping us with our strategic planning and thinking about the future.””So Fay last year decided on doing the next best thing. He became our representative on Williams football. His work was good.”Vincent went on to be baseball commissioner in 1989 after the unexpected death of former Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. Prior to that, he was president and CEO for Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. He was hired at Columbia by Herbert Allen, a Williams alumnus who knew Vincent from their undergraduate days in Williamstown.He had experience with football as Vincent was an offensive lineman at Williams before falling four stories and breaking his back in a fall, also suffering partial paralysis in his left leg.”Why don’t we let kids go to those games? Why don’t we do some imaginative things that we’re not doing to let people fill up ballparks?”

Vincent helped cover Williams College sports for The Eagle for two seasons, calling O’Gara one of his first mentors.Back in 2005, Vincent told The Eagle he was concerned about youngsters playing the game, something that has — in large part — come to pass. At the time, there were three formal Little Leagues in Pittsfield. Now there is one.In the 2020 interview, Vincent was asked about Rose being banned from baseball for gambling and comparing that to those baseball players who were caught using performance-enhancing substances.While running Columbia Pictures, Vincent had his share of hits and misses. “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Tootsie” were two of his bigger hits, while the legendary “Ishtar” was a notable failure.In July 1990, an agreement was signed whereby the New York Yankees principal owner resigned as managing general partner because of his dealings with a ,000 payment to a gambler, Howard Spira, to find embarrassing information about outfielder Dave Winfield. Vincent later reinstated Steinbrenner as of 1993.In 1990, he was scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the Pittsfield Mets’ season opener, a game that happened to get rained out. Eight months earlier, Vincent was commissioner during the Bay Area earthquake.Vincent, who graduated from Williams College in 1960 and later went on to become Major League Baseball’s eighth commissioner, died Saturday at a hospital in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 86. He had undergone radiation and chemotherapy for bladder cancer and developed complications, according to The New York Times.”Do you think somebody’s trying to tell me something?” Vincent said to an Eagle reporter inside the ballpark while waiting for a possible start to the game.He was asked that night about being commissioner, and called it “the best position in Western Civilization, so I don’t mind the problems. Baseball is so beloved by Americans and is so central to how we spend our summers,” he said. “It surprised me how much people care about baseball and how much they care about the commissionership.”Interestingly enough, connections between Vincent, Pittsfield and the newspaper run along more lines than his byline covering Williams football. He was running Columbia when the movie “Absence of Malice” came out. That movie, produced by Columbia, was a hit in 1981, starring Paul Newman and Sally Field.”I regret we aren’t getting kids playing when they’re young,” he said. “I think Little League is struggling. Baseball in the inner city is in trouble. There’s a lot more than can be done with the kids. On any given day, a significant percentage of seats at ballgames are empty.Vincent’s connection to Pittsfield and Berkshire County runs deep.Vincent resigned in 1992 shortly after the owners voted to remove him, over labor strife. According to the Associated Press, the owners were “intent on a labor confrontation with players.”Vincent’s connection to Berkshire County and baseball goes beyond his time at Williams and as commissioner. He was an investor in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a summer league that is home to the North Adams SteepleCats. Vincent served as the league president from 1998-2004.”Then, less than a month after the football season, Fay suffered a broken back when he fell four flights from an icy ledge of a building to [the] pavement. The stunt was attempted during a dormitory dare session.Newspaper clips with stories by Fay Vincent Jr. Vincent graduated from Williams College in 1960.”Using performance-enhancing drugs, let’s say steroids, was to use a drug that was on the United States prohibited substance list. It was using a drug that was dangerous and is dangerous, and was prohibited for use as a matter of federal law. It’s very hard for me to come to the conclusion that people who cheat, whether they cheat by betting on baseball — Pete Rose was cheating because he knew that he had a big advantage. He could keep his relief pitcher in the bullpen on a night when he otherwise would have used a relief pitcher. On a day when Pete didn’t bet, he didn’t bring a relief pitcher in because he would save him for a day when he was betting. That kind of corruption can’t go on,” Vincent said. “I have no respect for Pete because he cheated. Do I think he should be in the Hall of Fame? No. Do I think he will be in the Hall of Fame? Yes.”Vincent and the late New York Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner were joined together for more than the fact that they shared a college alma mater; Steinbrenner also graduated from Williams College. If Francis T. “Fay” Vincent Jr. had taken a different fork in life’s road, he might have been a great sportswriter.”The younger Fay was one of the finest tackles Len Watters ever had at Williams,” O’Gara wrote on Sept. 1, 1959. “A standout at Hotchkiss School, he continued to show promise as a 230-pound freshman at Williams.The former baseball boss’ connection to the Berkshires runs deep, beyond the bylines in The Eagle and his time at Williams College, which would follow him for most of his career. Vincent used to have a summer home on Mount Hope in Williamstown and made time to help local baseball leagues. After selling his Williamstown home, Vincent divided his time between New Canaan, Conn., and Vero Beach.