A. Bartlett Giamatti facts for kids

Angelo Bartlett Giamatti (born April 4, 1938 – died September 1, 1989) was an American professor. He taught about English literature from the English Renaissance period. He also served as the president of Yale University. Later, he became the seventh Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Giamatti was Commissioner for only five months. He sadly passed away suddenly from a heart attack. This makes him the baseball commissioner who served for the shortest time. He was also the only one not to oversee a full baseball season. Giamatti helped solve the Pete Rose betting scandal. He allowed Rose to leave the sport voluntarily to avoid further punishment.

Early Life and Family

Bart Giamatti was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in South Hadley, Massachusetts. His father, Valentine John Giamatti, was a professor. He taught Italian language and literature at Mount Holyoke College. Giamatti's grandparents on his father's side were immigrants from Italy.

His mother's parents were from Wakefield, Massachusetts. Giamatti went to South Hadley High School. He spent a year studying at the American Overseas School of Rome. He then graduated from Phillips Academy in 1956. He attended Yale College. He was a member of a club called Delta Kappa Epsilon. He also joined a senior secret society called Scroll and Key. He graduated with honors in 1960.

In 1960, he married Toni Marilyn Smith. She taught English for over 20 years. They had three children together. Their sons, Paul and Marcus, became actors. Their daughter, Elena, became a jewelry designer.

Time at Yale University

Giamatti continued his studies at Yale University. He earned his doctorate degree in 1964. He became a professor of comparative literature at Yale. He also became an author. He was appointed master of Ezra Stiles College at Yale.

He taught for a short time at Princeton. However, he spent most of his teaching career at Yale. His studies focused on English Renaissance literature. He especially studied the poet Edmund Spenser. He also looked at how English and Italian Renaissance poets were connected.

Giamatti served as the president of Yale University from 1978 to 1986. He was the youngest president in the university's history. During his time, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1980. He also served on the board of trustees for Mount Holyoke College.

Baseball Career

In 1989, Giamatti decided not to bring back Shoeless Joe Jackson to baseball. He felt it was a matter for history, not a new review.

Giamatti loved baseball his whole life. He was a big fan of the Boston Red Sox. He once joked that he only wanted to be president of the American League. He wrote articles about baseball. One was called "Tom Seaver's Farewell." Another was "Baseball and the American Character."

Giamatti became president of the National League in 1986. He later became the commissioner of baseball in 1989. As National League president, he wanted to make ballparks better for fans. He also made umpires strictly enforce the balk rule. He supported fairness to help more minority managers, coaches, and executives in baseball.

While he was National League president, Giamatti suspended Pete Rose. This was for 30 games after Rose pushed umpire Dave Pallone in 1988. Later that year, he also suspended Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jay Howell. Howell was caught using pine tar during a game.

Baseball team owners were impressed by Giamatti. They chose him to be the next commissioner. He took office on April 1, 1989. He was determined to keep the game fair. On August 24, 1989, Giamatti convinced Pete Rose to agree to stay out of baseball permanently.

Passing Away

Giamatti's grave in New Haven, Connecticut.

Giamatti was at his vacation home in Edgartown, Massachusetts when he passed away. He died suddenly from a heart attack. He was 51 years old. This happened just eight days after he made the decision about Pete Rose. He had been commissioner for 154 days. He was buried at Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.

He was the second baseball commissioner to die while in office. The first was Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Baseball's owners then chose Fay Vincent as the new commissioner. Vincent was Giamatti's close friend. Before Game 1 of the 1989 World Series, Giamatti was honored. The World Series was dedicated to him. His son, Marcus Giamatti, threw out the first pitch.

Lasting Impact

The Little League Eastern Regional Headquarters is named after Giamatti. It is located in Bristol, Connecticut. One of the awards given by Major League Baseball is also named after him. It is called the "Bart Giamatti Award."

Giamatti was added to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

A book called Fearless: A. Bartlett Giamatti and the Battle for Fairness talks about Giamatti's life. It suggests that his upbringing taught him about fairness. This helped him make decisions, like the one about Pete Rose. The book also says Giamatti worked to improve Yale's relationship with New Haven. He believed universities should teach students to be good citizens.

Works

• The Earthly Paradise and the Renaissance Epic (1966)
• Play of Double Senses: Spenser's Faerie Queene (1975)
• The University and the Public Interest (1981)
• Exile and Change in Renaissance Literature (1984)
• Take Time for Paradise: Americans and their Games (1989)
• A Free and Ordered Space: The Real World of the University (1990)
• A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti (ed. Kenneth Robson, 1998)

See Also

• Dowd Report