Hall of Fame
An All-Conference selection in both baseball and soccer at Towson, John Schuerholz parlayed his passion for the game of baseball into one of the most successful careers ever by any major league general manager.
A Baltimore native, he graduated from Towson in 1962 when he was named Athlete of the Year. He was inducted into the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame in 1974. In 2017 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
After graduation, Schuerholz spent three years as a junior high teacher before joining the Baltimore Orioles organization in 1966 as a personal assistant to Orioles director of player development Lou Gorman.
Schuerholz would follow Gorman to the expansion Kansas City Royals two years later. He would be promoted to farm director in 1975. The following year he was promoted to director of scouting and player development before being named Vice President of Player Personnel in 1979.
In 1981, at the age of 41, Schuerholz became major league baseball’s youngest general manager. He guided Kansas City to the 1985 World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Following the season, Schuerholz was named the Executive of the Year by the Sporting News.
Schuerholz, who was named Towson’s Alumnus of the Year in 1986, took over as general manager of the Atlanta Braves in 1990. That’s when the Braves embarked on an unprecedented run of 14 straight division titles, finishing first in their division in every completed season. Atlanta made appearances in four World Series, winning it in 1995 as Schuerholz became the first baseball executive to be the general manager of world championship teams in both the American League and National League.
After 17 years as the Braves general manager, Schuerholz took over as the team's president following the 2007 season. He held that position until 2016 when he transitioned into his role as vice chairman of the organization.
On April 29, 2001, the John B. Schuerholz Park, the official home of Tiger Baseball on the university’s campus, was dedicated in honor of John and his father.
