Hank Peters, Baseball Executive, Died January 4, 2015

Henry J. "Hank" Peters began his career after answering an ad from the St. Louis Browns, eventually working his way up to the scouting department. When the team moved to Baltimore after the 1953 season, Peters declined to make the move and subsequently joined the front office of the Kansas City Athletics.


During more than a decade with the franchise, Peters would eventually direct the team's scouting and minor league system in the mid-1960s under owner Charlie Finley. He held the title of general manager of the Athletics during the 1965 season.

Peters joined the Cleveland Indians following the 1965 campaign as director of player personnel and assistant general manager to Gabe Paul for the remainder of the 1960s through 1971. He then served as the sixth president in the history of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the umbrella group that governs minor league baseball, from 1972 to 1975, president and general manager of the Orioles from 1975 to 1987, and president of the Indians from 1987 to 1991.

As Orioles' general manager, he kept the team competitive in the tough American League East Division, and won AL pennants in 1979 and 1983, as well as the 1983 World Series.
Prior to his baseball career, Peters served in the United States Army during World War II. He died of complications from a stroke in Boca Raton, Florida on January 4, 2015, aged 90.

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