William Dole Eckert (1909 - April 16, 1971) was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force, and later the commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1968. When he became commissioner, Eckert had not seen a game in person in over 10 years. He was a compromise choice for the job.
He incurred the public's ire by refusing to cancel games after the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and team owners' disdain because he refused to deal forcefully with substantive business issues. Anticipating a players' strike and having no ownership confidence in his ability to handle the situation, Eckert was forced to resign at the end of the 1968 season although he still had three years on his contract.
Last updated: 05-02-2005 19:56:12
