Bud Selig
The pragmatic and often controversial baseball executive who reshaped the modern game with radical changes during two decades of transformative leadership.
Born 1934 (age 92)·Major League Baseball Commissioner from 1992 to 2015·Birthday: July 30·The Silent Generation
Biography
Bud Selig's tenure as baseball's commissioner was a period of profound and often painful evolution. A former car dealer and owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, he ascended to the role during the crisis of the 1994 strike, which canceled the World Series. That trauma defined his mission: to save and then grow the national pastime. A master of backroom consensus-building among owners, Selig engineered changes that altered the sport's DNA. He introduced wild-card playoffs and interleague play, boosting television revenue and fan interest. He oversaw the controversial merger of the separate American and National League offices, centralizing power. His legacy is deeply mixed: he presided over the steroid era's home run explosion and the subsequent Mitchell Report, but also implemented revenue sharing and drug testing. Selig's baseball was bigger, richer, and more nationally focused, a business transformation that left traditionalists uneasy but secured the sport's financial footing for the 21st century.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Bud was born in 1934, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bud Was Born
The biggest hits of 1934
#1 Movie
It Happened One Night
Best Picture
It Happened One Night
Bud's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1934Born
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1939Started school
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1947Became a teenager
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1950Could drive
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1952Could vote
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1955Turned 21
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1964Turned 30
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1974Turned 40
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1984Turned 50
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 60
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 70
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 80
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2026Age 92 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Oversaw the introduction of the Wild Card playoff format and interleague play, dramatically altering MLB's postseason and regular-season structure.
- Served as the de facto and then official Commissioner of Baseball for 23 years, from 1992 to 2015, one of the longest tenures.
- Presided over the implementation of revenue sharing and a competitive balance tax among MLB teams.
- Moved the Milwaukee Brewers from the American League to the National League in 1998, a rare league switch.
Did You Know?
He taught history and political science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee before entering the baseball business full-time.
Selig was the last MLB commissioner to have previously been an owner of a team.
Under his watch, the number of MLB teams expanded from 28 to 30 with the addition of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
“Any time you have change, there is going to be some pain.”
