Campbell joined the Tigers organization in 1949 as the business manager of the Class D (equivalent to Rookie-level today)
Thomasville Tigers in
Thomasville, Georgia. The stadium in Thomasville burned to the ground after the first game of Campbell's tenure. Campbell gained praise for keeping the team playing with borrowed uniforms and overseeing the prompt reconstruction of the stadium. Campbell was promoted to business manager of the Tigers' farm system in 1952. In 1957, Campbell became the major-league team's business manager, and in 1959 he became a vice president. In September 1962, at age 38, he became the team's general manager. Notable moves and accomplishments during Campbell's tenure as the Tigers' general manager include the following: • In April 1963, Campbell claimed
Denny McLain off first-year
waivers from the
Chicago White Sox. McLain won 104 games for the Tigers from 1965 to 1969, including a 31-win season in 1968. • Campbell assembled the
1968 Tigers team that won the
1968 World Series. In November 1968, Campbell was selected by
The Sporting News as the Major League Baseball Executive of the Year following a poll of major league presidents and general managers. • In October 1970, Campbell negotiated an eight-player trade that sent
Denny McLain to the Washington Senators in exchange for pitcher
Joe Coleman, shortstop
Eddie Brinkman and third baseman
Aurelio Rodriguez. McLain and the other players sent to Washington fizzled, while Coleman won 62 games from 1971 to 1973 and Brinkman and Rodriguez anchored the left side of Detroit's infield for much of the 1970s. • In June 1978, Campbell selected
Kirk Gibson with the Tigers' first-round pick in the 1978 baseball draft. Gibson became a key player in the Detroit team that won the
1984 World Series. • In June 1979, Campbell hired
Sparky Anderson as the Tigers' manager. Campbell signed Anderson to a -year contract that was, at the time, "the longest, richest contract they have ever given any manager." Anderson remained the Tigers manager through the 1995 season and was selected as the AL Manager of the Year in 1984 and 1987. • In June 1980, Campbell announced that he was closing the bleachers at Tiger Stadium due to rowdyism. He said at the time: "I'm just goddamn fed up with them. I'm sick and tired. It's dangerous. It gives the city a bad name." In August 1978, he was promoted to team president. However, he had been operating head of the franchise for some time before then. Owner
John Fetzer had been nominal team president since 1961, but mostly left the team in Campbell's hands and rarely interfered. In February 1982, Campbell underwent heart bypass surgery, and he was hospitalized briefly in August 1983 after experiencing dizziness. In September 1983, and acting on his doctor's advice, Campbell stepped down as general manager, turning over that role to longtime assistant
Bill Lajoie. However, he remained as the club's president. In February 1985, Campbell was inducted into the
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. In January 1990, Campbell, at age 65, stepped down as the Tigers' president; former
Michigan Wolverines football coach
Bo Schembechler replaced him. (Schembechler had retired from Michigan weeks earlier.) Campbell remained as chairman and chief executive officer and continued to maintain an office at Tiger Stadium. After owner
Tom Monaghan agreed to sell the team to
Mike Ilitch, Monaghan fired both Campbell and Schembechler in August 1992. ==Family and later years==