Famous American Sports Administrators

Vincent Kennedy McMahon is a professional wrestling promoter, currently serving as WWE's chairman and CEO. Often regarded as the most influential person in the history of professional wrestling, McMahon is credited with popularizing WWE. Also a well-known philanthropist, McMahon donated more than $8 million in 2008, giving grants to the Sacred Heart University, Fishburne Military School, and East Carolina University.

Basketball player Jerry West, also known as Mr. Clutch, for his ability to snatch games in clutch situations, is known for his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. He was part of the US squads that won an Olympic gold in 1960 and a Pan American Games gold in 1959.

A former professional baseball player, Billy Beane went on to become a front office executive, a position which he has used to apply statistical analysis called sabermetrics to baseball. This has proved to be a game-changer as teams are now evaluating players based on this statistical analysis. His career inspired the film Moneyball where he was played by Brad Pitt.

Jerry Krause was a sports scout and executive. He served as the general manager of the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for several years, from 1985 to 2003. He won the NBA Executive of the Year Award twice. He died in 2017 and was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame later that year. 

Tommy Lasorda was a popular baseball player who later also served as a manager of the MLB team LA Dodgers. His coaching career saw him win two World Series for the Dodgers. He also led the American baseball team to a gold medal win at the Sydney Games.

Businessman Lamar Hunt was a major promoter of American football, soccer, tennis, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States. He was the principal founder of the Major League Soccer (MLS) and American Football League (AFL). He was also the co-founder of World Championship Tennis. In 1982, he was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. 

Nancy Benoit first gained fame as a cover girl for Wrestling All Stars. She later appeared in matches, taking up numerous pseudonyms, such as Devil Angel, Woman, and Fallen Angel. She was later killed mercilessly along with her child, by her second husband, Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit, who then committed suicide.

Initially MLB’s chief baseball officer, Joe Torre has won 4 World Series championships for the New York Yankees, as a manager. He has authored books such as The Yankee Years. He and his wife have launched the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, which helps prevent domestic violence.

Though born into the well-known political family, Roger Goodell, the son of senator Charles Goodell, avoided politics and stepped into sports instead. The current NFL commissioner, he was instrumental in bringing about significant changes to decrease on-field concussions of players, by introducing punishments for hitting defenseless players.

Known to his fans as The Mouth of the South, Jimmy Hart is a popular wrestling manage who works for WWE. As a teenager, he had joined the 60s’ band The Gentrys, which released the Billboard-charting track Keep on Dancing. He has also been the man behind many wrestlers’ entrance themes.

Miami University head football coach Bo Schembechler was once part of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, known as the Ten-Year War. He was also dragged into a controversy when it was reported that in spite of several Michigan students claiming they were sexually abused by a university doctor, he downplayed the incidents.

Penny Chenery was introduced to the world of Thoroughbred racing world by her father, Christopher Chenery. Penny owned the famed Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown owner. She was also one of the rare few women at the Columbia Business School back in her time. She also inspired a Disney film.

Also known as The Chief, Art Rooney not only founded the NFL team Pittsburgh Steelers but was also named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He won the Super Bowl four times as an owner and was a major force behind the NFL-AFL merger. He was also a track racing enthusiast.

Apart from owning NFL's Houston Texans, Bob McNair also gained fame as a self-made billionaire, who made it to the Forbes 400 in 2018. After a streak of failures in business, he finally managed to succeed with Cogen Technologies. He also headed the real-estate firm The McNair Group.