Report Says NL to Name White Today

Bill White will be named today to succeed A. Bartlett Giamatti as National League president, becoming the first black to head a major professional sports league in the United States, The Associated Press learned Thursday.

White, a six-time All-Star first baseman with the New York and San Francisco Giants, St. Louis and Philadelphia, and a broadcaster with the New York Yankees for 18 seasons, was chosen Thursday by the five-man search committee, several sources said.

NL owners are expected to elect White today and he will become league president on April 1, when Giamatti succeeds Peter Ueberroth as commissioner.

“We’re coming to New York and we expect a positive announcement,” White’s lawyer, William Eastburn III, said Thursday.

White could not be reached by telephone Thursday and was said to be traveling in the Midwest. Katy Feeney, director of public relations for the NL, said the league had no comment on the search.

White was not mentioned publicly as a candidate for the job until Tuesday when the New York Daily News reported he would get the job. When he does, he will will join American League president Bobby Brown as former players who rose to head their leagues.

Simon Gourdine, a former NBA deputy commissioner who was the other remaining contender, was told Thursday that he no longer is being considered, a source familiar with the search told the AP.

Lou Hoynes, NL lawyer, was the third candidate the search group examined, another source said. Hoynes told the committee several weeks ago that he does not want the job.

Gourdine had been the leading candidate for many months, according to one source. The search group is composed of Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, New York Mets president Fred Wilpon, former NL president Chub Feeney, Atlanta Braves chairman William Bartholomay and Giamatti.

According to a source, Gourdine was eliminated because he doesn’t have a baseball background. Baseball officials thought it would reflect poorly on the sport if no qualified black candidate could be found from within its own ranks, said the source, who asked not to be identified.

The 55-year-old White began his major league career in 1956 with the Giants. He was traded to St. Louis before the 1958 season.

White spent 7 seasons with the Cardinals, driving in 100 or more runs in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1966. He had 20 or more homers each year from 1961 through 1966.

On Oct. 27, 1965, he was traded to Philadelphia with shortstop Dick Groat and catcher Bob Uecker for catcher Pat Corrales, pitcher Art Mahaffey and outfielder Alex Johnson.

White played 3 seasons in Philadelphia before being traded back to St. Louis in April, 1969. He spent 1969 with the Cardinals, primarily as a pinch hitter, and then retired.

White finished his career with a .286 average over 13 seasons, 202 homers, 870 RBIs and 7 Gold Gloves.