Charles H Thomas sports executive

Charles Herbert Thomas was born on November 22, 1876, in Gardner, Massachusetts, and died on August 19, 1968, in Biscayne Park, Florida. He served as the president of the Chicago Cubs from 1914 to 1916. Under Charles Murphy's ownership, the Cubs won their only two World Series titles in 1907 and 1908. Murphy became unpopular among other National League owners, the press, and his players during his tenure. Thomas began his career as a stenographer and joined the New York Giants as an assistant secretary in 1900. When Charles Murphy purchased the Cubs from Jim Hart in 1905, Thomas followed him to Chicago and became the Cubs' secretary. In 1909, he briefly resigned due to negative publicity surrounding his divorce, during which his wife alleged he had threatened her over an affair with a woman named Helen Loker. After the divorce, Thomas married Loker. In 1914, Murphy appointed Thomas as club treasurer, and later that year, Charles Phelps Taft purchased the Cubs from Murphy and made Thomas president. However, other baseball owners opposed this appointment, citing Thomas's close ties to Murphy. During Taft's ownership, the Cubs struggled both on and off the field, partly due to Taft's intention to sell the team and competition from the Federal League's Chicago Whales. In 1915, Taft sold the Cubs to Charles Weeghman, owner of the Whales. When the sale was finalized in January 1916, Thomas resigned as president. After leaving the Cubs, Thomas remained involved in baseball, working as an agent for Wilson ...