Swarthmore College Athletics

Leland "Lee" MacPhail Jr. '39 is enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y. in the Baseball Hall of Fame as well as the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame. MacPhail played both baseball and football in the 1930s at Swarthmore. MacPhail commanded the “hot corner” of the baseball diamond as a third baseman and was credited for his stellar play as a center in football in the 1939 edition of the Halcyon.

Post Swarthmore, MacPhail began to work for the New York Yankees. He went on to become the director of the team’s farm system in the 1940s, helping build a team that would go on to win the World Series seven times. He took a job as the president and general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and then also led the Yankees as the general manager. He was named the Major League Executive of the Year in 1966. In 1974, MacPhail became the president of the entire American League. MacPhail served in that role for 10 years and helped expand the league by two teams and helped bring an end to the strike of 1981.

MacPhail was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998, joining father Larry MacPhail as the first father/son duo in the Hall. MacPhail passed away in 2012 at the age of 95.