FORMER A.L. PRESIDENT GENE BUDIG HAD BEEN HEAD OF ILLINOIS STATE

Last Man to Serve as A.L. President Had Led Illinois State from 1973-77

By Tom Emery

Photo courtesy of Dr. Jo Ann Rayfield Archives, Illinois State University

In 1999, Major League Baseball owners voted to abolish the position of presidents of the National and American League.  It wiped out the dream job of one man.

That was the A.L. President at the time, Gene Budig, who previously had served as President of Illinois State University from 1973-77.

His ascent to the American League presidency had been a long and unusual path, as Budig combined a love of academia and baseball into a remarkably successful career.

His achievements came after a sad beginning to life. Born in Lincoln, Neb. on May 25, 1939, Budig was placed into an orphanage by his birth parents, and later adopted.

In 1962, Budig earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He subsequently earned a master’s in English from Nebraska in 1963, followed by a Ph.D. in education from the same institution in 1967.



 

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As an undergrad, he also served as bureau chief for a major Lincoln newspaper, one of three Nebraska papers he worked on from 1956-64. He later was an administrative assistant to the governor of Nebraska. 

In January 1967, he returned to the University of Nebraska as an administrator, variously serving as vice-chairman and director of Public Affairs, assistant vice-chancellor, and assistant vice-president. In June 1972, he left Lincoln to become vice-president at Illinois State.

After David Berlo resigned the ISU presidency in 1973, Budig was appointed to the position first on an interim basis, then permanently. Budig was on active military duty with the International Guard at the time of the Board of Regents meeting to appoint him as President, and used a weekend pass to be able to attend the meeting. An active member of the Air National Guard, Budig retired with the rank of major general in 1992.



 

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Budig rebuilt communication and trust across the campus, and secured approval from the Board of Regents for many new degree programs, including a master of business administration, master’s programs in art and theatre, and four doctorate programs in the arts. Budig also created 80 new faculty positions.

Budig resigned at ISU in January 1977 to become President of West Virginia University. In 1981, he left to become chancellor of the University of Kansas, a position he held until 1994. Under Budig, the Kansas campus grew exponentially, as did endowed professorships. A lecture hall at KU is named for him.

A lifelong baseball fan, Budig sat on the board of the Kansas City Royals during his time at KU. On June 8, 1994, he was named President of the American League, a position in which he performed admirably.

Budig took steps to increase diversity in the game, hiring Larry Doby, the first black player in American League history, as a special assistant in 1995. He also stressed discipline for on-field transgressions while keeping critics, such as mercurial Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, at bay.

In 1999, the owners chose to abolish the positions of league presidents and consolidate power in the commissioner’s office, ending Budig’s run.

He then worked briefly in an advisory role to the MLB commissioner, Bud Selig, and taught at Princeton University. Budig also was on the advisory board of the Pinstripe Bowl, an annual college football game at Yankee Stadium. In 2007, he became a minority owner in a minor-league baseball team.

Budig died of liver disease at his home in Charleston, S.C. on Sept. 8, 2020.

Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Ill. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.



 

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