Peter Ueberroth

Peter Ueberroth is one of the United States more enduring and world-renowned sport business leaders and entrepreneurs who also served as both the Commissioner of Major League Baseball and president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Ueberroth played football, baseball and swam in high school before attending San Jose State University where he was a member of the water polo team. Ueberroth went into the travel industry upon graduating college and became a vice president and shareholder of Trans International Airlines at just 22 years old. Ueberroth then founded his own travel company, First Travel Corporation, and remained within the sports community as the president and chief executive officer of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984. Ueberroth formed the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games Organizing Committee and set an unprecedented price of $4 million for sponsorship as he sold personally to companies like Coca-Cola. Ueberroth was named Time Magazine’s Man of the Year and then accepted the position of Major League Baseball commissioner the same year where he doubled national television revenues, increased baseball’s attendance and increased its income from merchandising 16 times. Despite attempting to go into government, Ueberroth backed out and authored a best-selling book entitled, “Made in America.”