Gene Budig

Gene Arthur Budig was born on May 25, 1939, and was placed in an orphanage and adopted shortly thereafter. He went on to serve as president of Illinois State University from 1973 to 1977 and of West Virginia University from 1977 to 1981. He was also chancellor of the University of Kansas from 1981 until 1994. A lecture hall at KU, Budig Hall, was named in his honor. One of Budig's first actions was to restore the academic colleges and Student Services eliminated by the prior president, David Berlo. Under Budig, several new degrees were added at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, ranging from agribusiness to curriculum and instruction. Also during his presidency, Budig had to contend with the "Rites of Spring". In 1977, a rock concert on campus saw thousands of dollars in property damage and dozens of students requiring medical attention, some for drug overdoses. ==Baseball==

Budig was named president of the American League on June 8, 1994. He served in that role for six seasons, before the position was officially abolished. From 1992 through 1998, the office of Commissioner of Baseball was officially vacant, with Bud Selig exercising the Commissioner's power as Chairman of the Executive Council, therefore during those years the league president of the winning team presented the Commissioner's Trophy. Budig presented New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner with the Commissioner's Trophy after the Yankees won the first World Series to be telecast by Fox in 1996, 4 games to 2. The trophy presentation was made in the Yankees' locker room at Yankee Stadium following Game 6. He also presented the trophy to the Yankees following their victories in 1998 and 1999. During Budig's tenure as president, he brought in Larry Doby – the AL's first African-American player – to be his special assistant in 1995, observing how "few have done more for Major League Baseball than Larry Doby." In January 2007, Budig became part-owner of the Charleston RiverDogs, a minor-league affiliate of the New York Yankees who play in the South Atlantic League. ==Death==

Budig died on September 8, 2020. He was 81 and in hospice care at his home in Charleston, South Carolina in the time leading up to his death. ==References==