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Originally Posted by M2
That was the Carpenter family (with DuPont money, Dow's from Michigan) and they certainly did right by the franchise. Bob Carpenter proved to be the one bona fide white knight in Philly around that time. It probably helped that WWII was being fought and the Phillies were about to go up in flames as part of betting scandal involving the owner. It was a case of solid citizen stepping in to smooth things over during wartime.
The Mack family wouldn't sell the A's for another decade. By that time the Phillies had gone through a talent Renaissance and you probably can't overestimate the DuPont influence in the Philly area. They are royalty in that city. My guess is general opinion was that Philly was going to be a one team town and the DuPonts already owned one of the teams. Perhaps someone with some Scott Paper or Baldwin Locomotive money would have stepped in to buy the A's had the Phillies not just spent a decade establishing themselves with a DuPont heir at the helm. In fact, perhaps someone with DuPont money would have done it.
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DuPont, duh.... one of the A's major issues in Mack's waning years was the battle between his son Earl and his second marriage son Connie Jr. But the worst battle was the one that Earl had with his other brother Roy, both took over the club the year after the Phillies won the NL, and attendance dwindled and they fought about what to do and eventually they had one choice, sell.