September 25, 2026
Jeff Curry/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Philadelphia Phillies owner Bill Giles at a press conference during media day the day before the 2014 MLB All Star Game at Hyatt Regency.
Bill Giles, a former Phillies business executive who later became executive vice president and then CEO, died Friday, the club announced. He passed away at his home in Gladwyne. He was 92.
Giles, the son of former National League president Warren C. Giles, joined the Phillies in 1969 in the business department as vice president and was promoted to executive vice president three years later. In 1981, he was part of a group that purchased the team, serving as president until 1997 and then chairman. In 2015, he was named chairman emeritus.
Bill Giles, Phillies chairman emeritus and long-time club executive, passed away at his home in Gladwyne, Pa., this afternoon. He was 92 years old.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 25, 2026
Known for his immense contributions to the Phillies, City of Philadelphia and Major League Baseball, Giles began his Phillies… pic.twitter.com/5zT9ALmcOz
Giles was also instrumental in opening Veterans Stadium, and later Citizens Bank Park, and was known for catchy marketing tactics. Under his supervision, the Phillies introduced the Phillie Phanatic as their mascot. The Phillies won won two National League East titles and National League pennants when he was president.
"The Phillies family lost an icon today," current CEO and Managing Partner John Middleton said in a statement. "Bill helped reshape our franchise from a traditional baseball club into a highly visible entertainment and business operation. His profound impact in overseeing one of the greatest eras in franchise history, both on and off the field, will forever be his legacy."
Giles also served on several boards for various organizations, including the Philadelphia Convention and Tourism Bureau, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia Sports Congress, Police Athletic League and Salvation Army. He was also once president of the Boy Scouts of America and Corporate Alliance for Drug Education.
In 2001, Giles was named honorary president of the NL and in 2010 received the Bud Selig Executive Leadership Award for lifetime achievement. Giles also belonged to a council that expanded MLB to 30 teams, incorporated interleague play, and restructured the playoff format to include a Wild Card.
The Rochester, N.Y., native began his baseball career as a teenager working various jobs in the Cincinnati Reds’ public relations department before going to Houston to serve as traveling secretary, publicity director and promotions director and then joining the Phillies following the 1969 season.
We are saddened by the passing of longtime Phillies executive Bill Giles.
— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2026
Giles spent more than half a century in the Phillies front office and ownership groups and was instrumental to both of the franchise’s World Series championships in 1980 and 2008.
His eight decades in… pic.twitter.com/sFZWTcNnSG
Giles authored the book "Pouring Six Beers at a Time: And Other Stories from a Lifetime in Baseball" and co-authored another on the business of baseball, titled, "Bill Giles and Baseball."
In 1999, the Phillies established the Bill Giles Award to honor minor league players who display a love and respect for the game of baseball, an outstanding work ethic and pride in being a member of the Phillies organization.
Giles was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy, and is survived by his three sons, Michael, Joseph and Christopher, and eight grandchildren, Lowell, Will, Caroline, Dana, Molly, Max, Eliza and Warren.
SIGN UP HERE to receive PhillyVoice's Sports newsletters.
Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
