Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 2, 1993 TAG: 9308020039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KANSAS CITY, MO. LENGTH: Medium
Kauffman, known to most in baseball as "Mr. K," died at his home. Services and visitation will be private, but plans were being made for a memorial service.
"He was Mr. Kansas City," said Hal McRae, the Royals' manager. "He was a sharing, caring man."
"No one will ever know what he's meant to this town, the entire community and this ball team," said George Brett, a 19-year member of the Royals. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for the man and considered him a true friend."
Kauffman was too ill to attend a July 2 ceremony that renamed Royals Stadium as Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium. His wife, Muriel, attended in his place and said her husband was there in spirit.
"He said he never wanted anything named after him that had bricks and mortar," she said at the dedication. "I told him, `There's a baseball diamond there, dear.' "
At his wife's urging, Kauffman bought the expansion Royals, who began play in 1969, one season after the Athletics left town and moved to Oakland. The Royals won their first AL West title in 1976, and went on to win the 1980 AL pennant and the 1985 World Series.
"Owning the Royals has been more fun than anything I ever did in my life, next to being married to Mrs. K," Kauffman once said.
Kauffman was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in May, when he made one of his final public appearances.
"He waged his final battle in his usual fashion: with directness, intelligence and unbelievable courage," American League President Bobby Brown said. "As was his custom, he remained concerned about his family, his friends, his business associates, his Royals and his city. He wasted little time thinking about himself."
Ewing Marion Kauffman was born on a southern Missouri farm on Sept. 21, 1916, the son of John S. Kauffman and the former Effie May Winders. When Kauffman was 14 and the Depression hit, his family surrendered its land and moved to Kansas City, Mo.
"We weren't as bad off as some people, but there were a whole lot of people who had it a lot better than us," Kauffman said. "I remember walking back and forth in front of a candy store during the Depression without a cent in my pocket, trying to gather the courage to go in and steal something. Anybody who has ever been broke knows it's a feeling you never forget."
In 1950, gambling with wartime poker winnings and with the modest financial backing of a handful of friends, Kauffman began his own pharmaceutical company in his garage. He named it Marion Laboratories because "calling it Kauffman Laboratories just seemed too egotistical," and soon became a familiar figure in hospitals and doctors' offices, peddling his products.
When Marion merged with Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals in 1989 and Kauffman gave up control of the company, the value of his stock was estimated at $1.3 billion. In 1987, Forbes Magazine listed Kauffman among the nation's 400 richest persons, with a net worth of about $470 million.
In 1988, Kauffman went to Westport High School - where he graduated in 1934 - and promised the freshman class he would pay the entire cost of their college or vocational training if they agreed to avoid drugs, alcohol abuse and teen-age parenthood and graduate in good standing from high school. He later expanded the program to Kansas City, Kan., where it took in more than 1,000 students.
In April, Kauffman announced a unique arrangement for keeping the Royals in Kansas City after his death and selected five people, including his son, as the team's board of directors in a complicated succession plan. Once the succession plan takes effect, the five will become limited partners running the team for eight years while a permanent owner who will keep the team in Kansas City is sought.
by CNB