Topic: John McHale

John Joseph McHale (September 21, 1921 – January 17, 2008) was an American first baseman and executive in Major League Baseball who served as the general manager of three teams: the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, and Montreal Expos. He served as the first president and executive director of the Expos during their maiden years in the National League, and owned ten percent of the team. His son John McHale, Jr. is the current MLB executive vice president (administration).

McHale was born in Detroit, Michigan, and attended Detroit Catholic Central High School (Class of 1938) and the University of Notre Dame. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg). He signed with his hometown Tigers in 1941 and two years later made his first MLB appearance. In five seasons and 64 games with the Tigers (1943–45, 1947–48), McHale compiled a batting average of .193 with 22 hits. He was hitless in three at bats in the 1945 World Series, in which Detroit defeated the Chicago Cubs.

He eventually became director of minor league operations for the Tigers and was named general manager in 1957 at the young age of 35. But he soon was recruited by the defending NL champion Braves, where he succeeded John Quinn as general manager in January 1959.