George W. Gage (baseball)

George W. Gage (March 9, 1812 – September 24, 1875) was an American baseball executive, president of the Chicago White Stockings from 1872 to 1875.

George W. Gage
Chicago White Stockings President
Born: (1812-03-09)March 9, 1812
Pelham, New Hampshire
Died: September 24, 1875(1875-09-24) (aged 63)
Chicago, Illinois
Teams
Gage operated the Sherman House Hotel

New Hampshire-born George W. Gage, with his brother David Allen Gage, was a prominent Chicago businessmen in the mid-1800s. The brothers owned the Tremont Hotel, and invested heavily in real estate. George started out as a machinist in Lowell, Massachusetts. He began his hotel life at Metheun, Massachusetts, and went on to own or operate a series of hotels in Massachusetts. He came to Chicago in 1853, and made the Tremont House the most popular hotel in the city. He then operated the equally famous Sherman House, until the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.[1] An active Republican, he lost the 1869 Chicago mayoral election a race, but was subsequently was appointed a city park commissioner. Gage Park, on the city's southwest side, is named for him.

The Chicago White Stockings had been disbanded following the Great Chicago Fire. On June 6, 1872, George Gage was elected president of the "Chicago Base Ball Association," the corporate name of the White Stockings. The group intended to bring professional baseball back to Chicago.[2] The White Stockings team was revived in 1874, and Gage served as president through 1875.[3] Gage was succeeded in officer by team secretary William Hulbert.[4]

References
  1. Chicago Tribune, Sept. 26, 1875. The Chicago History Museum has photos of George.
  2. Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1872.
  3. New York Herald, November 29, 1874.
  4. Chicago Inter Ocean, July 31, 1876.
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