John T . Brush John Tomlinson Brush ( June 15 , 1845 – November 26 , 1912 ) was an American sports executive who was the owner of the New York Giants franchise in Major League Baseball from 1890 until his death . He also owned the Indianapolis Hoosiers in the late 1880s , and the Cincinnati Reds from 1891 to 1902 . Under his leadership , the Giants were revived as a franchise after a decline during the 1890s . Brush was also a leader in the formation of the rules that govern the modern World Series . He was one of 11 executives who were honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame on a Roll of Honor in 1946 . Biography . Born in Clintonville , New York , Brush was orphaned at age 4 and was raised by his grandfather until he left to enter business college at age 17 . During the Civil War he enlisted in the First New York Artillery in 1863 , and after the war ' s end he went into business running clothing stores in Albany , Troy and Lockport , New York . He moved to Indianapolis in 1875 , eventually opening a department store , and became involved in local baseball as a means of promoting his store . He built a ballpark in 1882 , and it became home to the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the American Association for their only major league season in 1884 ; they played in the Western League before that circuit folded after the 1885 campaign . When the National League put the St . Louis Maroons franchise up for sale after the 1886 season , Brush bought it and relocated the team to Indianapolis . He renovated his ballpark , adding a special celebrity box which attracted such figures as President Benjamin Harrison , poet James Whitcomb Riley , and future novelist Booth Tarkington . In 1888 he offered a tryout to Bud Fowler , but ultimately decided not to challenge the sport ' s color line . Brush also devised a salary scale system which was designed to curtail player salaries , a move which helped contribute to the breakaway Players ' League in 1890 . When the Indianapolis team folded after the 1889 season , Brush was compensated with $ 67 , 000 and a share of the Giants franchise , along with a promise of the next available team ; he quickly acquired the Reds club after its financial collapse during the three - league competition of 1890 . Instead of relocating , he kept the team in Cincinnati , and survived a challenge from a short - lived American Association competitor , the Cincinnati Kelly ' s Killers . Brush frequently was at odds with sportswriter Ban Johnson of the city ' s " Commercial Gazette " , and in an attempt to reduce the writer ' s local influence he helped Johnson become president of the new Western League – a move which eventually backfired when the league achieved major status as the American League in , with Johnson remaining as president . As chairman of the NL ' s executive committee , Brush took a lead role in combating the AL , joining with Giants majority owner Andrew Freedman to sabotage the AL ' s Baltimore club by offering the managing jobs of the New York and Cincinnati teams to John McGraw and Joe Kelley respectively ; Baltimore was forced to relocate to New York after 1902 , eventually becoming the New York Yankees . The acrimony also contributed to controversy in the selection of a new NL president in , as the Giants supported incumbent president Nicholas Young against Albert Spalding , who favored better relations with the AL ; in the deadlock , both candidates were forced to withdraw , with Harry Pulliam being selected as a compromise choice . Freedman left baseball shortly thereafter , with Brush taking over as majority owner and team president , selling his interest in the Reds for $ 180 , 000 to a group headed by Garry Herrmann . When the Giants won the NL pennant , Brush refused to allow the team to meet Boston ' s defending champions in the World Series due to his animosity toward Johnson ; a permanent agreement between the leagues was eventually made after meeting some of Brush ' s conditions , and the Giants won the 1905 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics . However , Brush ' s health deteriorated quickly after becoming majority owner in 1902 , as he suffered from locomotor ataxia , a nervous system affliction , as well as rheumatism . The Giants won another pennant in 1911 , the same year in which he oversaw the reconstruction of the Polo Grounds . Brush attended World Series games as the team again advanced in 1912 , but his failing health was apparent , particularly in the aftermath of an auto accident that September 11 in which his car was struck by a truck and overturned , causing two broken ribs . After the Series he left by train to recuperate in California , but died in his private car near Louisiana , Missouri ; his car was detached and rerouted to St . Louis , and his body was returned to Indianapolis . His funeral was held at St . Paul ' s Episcopal Church , with accompanying Masonic rites . He was succeeded as Giants president by his son - in - law , Harry Hempstead . In 1913 , the Giants opened a stairway leading to the Polo Grounds in his honor , called the " John T . Brush Stairway . " The stairway still stands today .