American attorney and baseball team owner
Louis Nippert (December 24, 1903 – November 16, 1992)[1] was an American attorney, and majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from January 1973 to February 1981.
Biography
Nippert was born in Cincinnati in 1903, a great-grandson of James Gamble, a founder of Procter & Gamble.[2][3] Nippert attended the University of Cincinnati, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity[4] and earned his law degree in 1928. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1971.[5] He worked as an attorney, and served two terms in the Ohio House of Representatives,[2][3] having won election in November 1928 and November 1930 as a Republican candidate representing Hamilton County.[6][7]
In December 1966, Nippert bought into the Cincinnati Reds as part of the ownership group led by Francis L. Dale.[8] He bought majority control of the franchise in January 1973.[9] Nippert was at the helm for the Reds' most successful era, in which they won the World Series of 1975 and 1976. Generally, he was a hands-off owner, leaving the team in the hands of general manager Bob Howsam. On February 20, 1981, Nippert sold his interest to a group headed by minority owners William and James Williams.[10]
Nippert was also a limited owner of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League.[2] Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team, was named after his brother, James, who died following an injury in a college football game in 1923.[11][12]
Nippert died in November 1992, aged 89.[2][13] He was married and was survived by his wife,[11] Louise, who died in July 2012, aged 100.[5]
