William C . Temple William Chase Temple ( December 28 , 1862 - January 9 , 1917 ) was a coal , citrus , and lumber baron during the late 19th and early 20th centuries . He was also a part owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from baseball ' s National League . He also established the Temple Cup , a trophy awarded to the winner of a best - of - seven , post - season Major League Baseball championship series that was conducted for four seasons in the National League , from 1894 – 1897 . He became the first sole owner of a professional American football team , in 1898 . Business career . Temple was born in Starke , Florida . After moving to Delaware , he attended public school in Wilmington , and graduated from Delaware State Normal School in 1879 . After graduation , he worked as an employee of Plankinton & Armour in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . In June 1880 , he worked as a bank clerk for Alexander Mitchell Bank in Milwaukee . By 1883 , Chase returned to Florida and became a lumber baron . Between 1885 and 1889 , he was a President and General Manager of the Metropolitan Electrical Service Company in New York City . He later became a manager of Babcock & Wilcox Steam Boiler Company in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania from 1890 thru 1895 . While in Pittsburgh , he was on the boards of directors of more than 20 industrial , mining and financial companies . Sports . From 1891 until 1893 Temple was the President and Owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates . In 1894 , he donated a 30 - inch - high silver cup , later called the Temple Cup to the National League . The first and second - place teams of the league would play in a seven game , post season , series to determine the winner . The revenue from the series was to be split 65 % to 35 % ; however , the players of the first series in 1894 decided to evenly split the money . However , after the series the New York Giants reportedly cheated some Oriole players out of their money , tainting the Cup and prompting Temple to sell the Pirates in disgust . In 1898 , Temple ' s interests expanded into football when he solely took over the team payments for the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club , a professional football team based in Pittsburgh from 1895 until 1900 , becoming the first known individual football club owner . The Duquesnes had become the best professional team in Pennsylvania and , almost certainly , in the country . In 1900 , A . C . Dinkey stole most of the Duquesne players , as well as Temple , for his rivial Homestead Library & Athletic Club . Over the next two seasons ( 1900 and 1901 ) , Homestead fielded the best professional football team in the country and did not lose a game . In 1902 , Temple and Pittsburgh Pirates majority owner , Barney Dreyfuss , were suspected of being the secret owners to the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League . Temple denied any connection to the Stars ' finances , as well as being the team ' s owner . The team ' s owner on paper , David Berry , insisted that he was the team ' s sole owner . However , it was impossible for him to afford the money to finance the team without the backing of Temple or Dreyfuss . The Star would go on to win the 1902 NFL championship . Foundings . In 1909 , Temple founded the Florida Citrus Exchange in 1909 and served as the organization ' s general manager from 1910 until 1913 . During that time , Temple helped increased the business of the exchange from $ 200 , 000 to $ 5 , 000 , 000 per year . In 1915 , he was named the first president of the South Florida Chamber of Commerce . He was also the first life member of the American Automobile Association . Death . Temple died in 1917 in Winter Park , Florida , and is buried in the local Palm Cemetery . Prior to his death , he served as the town ' s mayor . Legacy . Temple Terrace , a city in northeastern Hillsborough County , was named after Temple . The Temple orange was named after him as well . William Chase Temple would go on to marry Carrie Lee Wood , the daughter of major league baseball player , Jimmy Wood . The couple ' s daughter , Dorothy , would later marry major league pitcher , Del Mason .