Thomas P. Johnson, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Thomas P. Johnson

American lawyer, businessman, Major League Baseball team co-owner

Date of Birth: 08-Jun-1914

Place of Birth: New Castle, Pennsylvania, United States

Date of Death: 23-May-2000

Profession: lawyer, businessperson

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Gemini


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About Thomas P. Johnson

  • Thomas Phillips Johnson (June 8, 1914 – May 23, 2000) was an American attorney, businessman, philanthropist, Republican Party activist, and sportsman who was perhaps best known as a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball franchise from 1946 through 1984.
  • Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Johnson attended local primary schools and preparatory school in Washington, D.C.
  • He graduated summa cum laude from Rollins College in 1934.
  • Three years later, he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
  • He began the practice of law in Pittsburgh in 1937.
  • After he interrupted his legal career to serve in the United States Navy during World War II, at war's end he became a founder of the law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart; by the time of Johnson's death, the firm (now K&L Gates) had become Pittsburgh's largest.
  • During his career, he served as an officer or director of more than 50 companies, as well as on the Rollins College board of trustees.In August 1946, Johnson joined a group headed by Indianapolis businessman Frank E.
  • McKinney that purchased the Pirates' franchise from its longtime owners, the Barney Dreyfuss family.
  • With McKinney initially holding 50 percent of the team's stock, Johnson acquired 15 percent interest.
  • His fellow minority partners included entertainer Bing Crosby (15 percent) and Columbus, Ohio-based real estate magnate John W.
  • Galbreath (20 percent).
  • Four years later, in 1950, McKinney sold his controlling interest and Galbreath became majority owner.
  • Johnson retained his share in the team until selling it to the Galbreath family in 1984 and, as a Pittsburgh resident and leading member of its business and legal circles, played a key role in ownership and management decisions through three Pirate World Series championship seasons (1960, 1971 and 1979).
  • During his tenure as an owner, the Pirates moved from venerable Forbes Field to Three Rivers Stadium in 1970. A committed Pirates' fan who attended 55 Opening Day games, Johnson remained passionate about baseball after 1984 and once again invested in the Pirates as part of a new ownership syndicate headed by Kevin McClatchy in 1996.
  • He died in Pittsburgh from cancer-related respiratory failure at the age of 85.

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