A. Bartlett Giamatti

A. Bartlett Giamatti
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Name	A. Bartlett Giamatti
Caption	Giamatti in 1988
Birth name	Angelo Bartlett Giamatti
Birth date	4 April 1938
Birth place	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death date	1 September 1989
Death place	Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Yale University (BA, PhD)
Occupation	University president, baseball executive
Spouse	Toni Smith, 1960
Children	3, including Paul Giamatti

A. Bartlett Giamatti was an American scholar, professor, and administrator who served as the president of Yale University before becoming the seventh Commissioner of Baseball. His tenure at Yale was marked by significant campus debates and labor disputes, while his brief but impactful leadership of Major League Baseball was defined by his decisive handling of the Pete Rose gambling scandal. A Renaissance literature scholar with a deep passion for baseball, his eloquent writings on the sport elevated it within American cultural discourse. His sudden death in 1989 cut short a career that uniquely bridged the worlds of academia and professional sports.

Early life and education

Angelo Bartlett Giamatti was born in Boston to parents of Italian descent; his father, Valentine Giamatti, was a professor of Italian literature at Mount Holyoke College. He was raised in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and attended South Hadley High School before enrolling at Yale University. At Yale, he majored in English literature and graduated *magna cum laude* in 1960. He remained at the university for his graduate studies, earning a PhD in comparative literature in 1964 with a dissertation on Edmund Spenser, the Elizabethan poet.

Academic career

Giamatti joined the Yale faculty as an instructor in English in 1964, quickly rising through the academic ranks. He became a full professor of English literature in 1971, specializing in Renaissance literature and gaining a reputation as a charismatic and demanding teacher. His scholarly work included publications on Dante and Spenser, and he served as the director of Yale's Division of the Humanities. In 1977, he was appointed provost of Yale University, a role that prepared him for higher administrative leadership and involved him in significant university planning and budgetary decisions.

Presidency of Yale University

Giamatti was named the 19th president of Yale University in 1978, becoming one of the youngest individuals to hold the position. His presidency coincided with a period of intense campus activism, including debates over university divestment from South Africa during the apartheid era and a major strike by Yale's clerical and technical workers. He was a forceful advocate for the liberal arts and the core mission of the university, while also overseeing important initiatives in the Yale School of Management and other professional schools. He resigned from the presidency in 1986.

Commissioner of Baseball

In 1986, Giamatti was elected President of the National League, a role that positioned him as a successor to the Commissioner of Baseball. He assumed the commissionership on April 1, 1989, following Peter Ueberroth. His most famous act was the investigation into gambling allegations against Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose. After an extensive inquiry led by lawyer John M. Dowd, Giamatti permanently banned Rose from Major League Baseball on August 24, 1989, in accordance with Rule 21. His passionate defense of the game's integrity, famously stating that baseball is designed to "break your heart," became a defining moment for the office.

Personal life and legacy

Giamatti married Toni Smith in 1960, and they had three children, including the actor Paul Giamatti. An avid Boston Red Sox fan, he wrote eloquently about baseball for publications like The Boston Globe and Harper's Magazine; his essays were posthumously collected in the book *A Great and Glorious Game*. He died of a heart attack at his vacation home on Martha's Vineyard just eight days after banning Pete Rose. His legacy endures in the Bart Giamatti Award given by Minor League Baseball for community service, and he is remembered as a unique figure whose intellectual gravitas and profound love for baseball left an indelible mark on both higher education and American sports.

Category:American academics Category:Commissioners of Baseball Category:Yale University alumni Category:1938 births Category:1989 deaths