Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 42
By This is the grave of A. Bartlett Giamatti.
Giamatti was born in 1935 and became an literature professor at Yale. In 1978, he became president of Yale, serving in that role until 1986. His tenure as president was marked by a bitter strike among Yale employees and his refusal to divest Yale investments from South Africa. He left Yale in 1986 to become president of the National League and then replaced Peter Uberroth in 1988 as commissioner because of strong reputation as a unionbuster while at Yale. He is also responsible for the crazy jump in balks in 1988. Giamatti, a heavy smoker, would die of a heart attack a year later, but before he did, he made his largest contribution to the game, which was banning Pete Rose for life.
Bart Giamatti is buried in Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut.