Bowie Kuhn: The Politics of Tragedy

Former New York Yankees PR director and author of the new book, Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, Marty Appel spoke recently in an interview for Jimmy Scott's High & Tight.  The focus of the interview was the death of Thurman Munson almost exactly 30 years ago.  At the time of Munson's tragic plane crash on August 2, 1979, Appel was working in the office of Bowie Kuhn, the commissioner of Major League Baseball at the time.  Once Munson died, Kuhn had a decision to make: Should he or should he not attend Munson's funeral.

On the surface, the answer is obvious.  Yes he should.  It's not every day that an active player dies mid-season.  But there was more to it than that.  This is where the politics of tragedy came in.

In 1978, there was another high-profile, mid-season death of an active player.  Lyman Bostock was murdered on September 24th of that season.  Bostock had been a free agent after the '77 season and left the Twins for the California Angels.  Kuhn did not attend his funeral.

Eleven months later, Munson died and there was a meeting.  Should Kuhn attend this funeral?  The decision was complicated by Kuhn's not going to Bostock's funeral.  Plus, since Bostock was a black player and Munson white, there were racial sensitivities as well.  The decision wasn't an easy one.

A baseball commissioner's role is comparable to the President of the United States.  The desire is to make policy and rules that help your country, or in Kuhn's case, the American Pastime.  There are constituents on both sides of either issue.  Any decision you make is dissected by your team, those constituents, the media, and the people/fans.  There are victories and there are failures.  In between, there are the daily decisions that round out your tenure as a leader.

The Munson funeral was one of those decisions for Kuhn, who was not loved by players or fans.  Free agency was still in its infancy, but nonetheless, player salaries were rising.  Tension between ownership and the Players Association was running high (and would lead to a strike less than 2 years later), and Kuhn was getting involved in club/player transactions, most notably blocking the former A's owner Charlie Finley's sale of Vida Blue to first the Yankees and then the Reds and another potential sale of Rollie Fingers & Joe Rudi to the Red Sox.  While Kuhn had invoked the "best interests of baseball" clause into those moves, there was no clause to determine how he should make his decision on the Munson funeral.

Appel made a good point when he said the decision, in his mind, was not as difficult as it should have been.  The Yankees were still the World Champions; repeat World Champions at that.  Munson was captain of the team.  And after the Yankees won the 1978 World Series, Kuhn had handed the World Series trophy directly to Thurman Munson.  There was a connection between the two men. 

These facts swayed Kuhn.  He flew out to Canton, Ohio for the funeral, which was attended by the entire 1979 Yankees roster as well, including Billy Martin, and Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage (Kuhn himself was inducted into the Hall posthumously in 2008).

After the funeral, were there any claims of racism?  Was Kuhn criticized for the decision he made?  No, Appel says.  There wasn't one negative word about it.

Sometimes a politician has a tough decision to make.  And sometimes potential problems never come to fruition.  In Bowie Kuhn's case, attending the Thurman Munson funeral was not only the right decision, it was the right thing to do.