William Eckert William Dole " Spike " Eckert ( January 20 , 1909 – April 16 , 1971 ) was a Lieutenant general in the United States Air Force , and later the fourth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1968 . Biography . Before baseball . William Eckert was born on January 20 , 1909 in Freeport , Illinois . Eckert , who grew up in Madison , Indiana , graduated from the United States Military Academy in June 1930 . It was there that Eckert earned the nickname " Spike " while playing football . He then attended the Air Corps Flying Schools at Brooks and Kelly Fields in San Antonio , Texas , graduating in October 1931 . In 1938 , he was selected as one of two officers for advanced education at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and graduated with a Master ' s Degree in June 1940 . In 1957 , at the age of 48 , Eckert was commissioned lieutenant general , making him the youngest three - star officer in the United States Armed Forces . When he retired , he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal . Just before becoming the commissioner of Major League Baseball , Eckert worked as a management consultant to the aviation industry . During this period , he served on the boards of directors of several corporations . Tenure as Commissioner of Major League Baseball . More than 150 names appeared on the original list of nominees for the commissionership following Ford Frick ' s retirement . The club owners initially were unable to decide if the next commissioner should come from the ranks of the game ( e . g . , the president of the American or National League s ) , or elsewhere . They finally decided that the new commissioner should have a strong business background to deal with the problems that were confronting the game at the time . Eckert had not appeared on any lists of prospective candidates at first . He only became a serious candidate for the commissionership after fellow officer Curtis LeMay gave Major League Baseball a recommendation for him . On November 17 , 1965 , by a unanimous vote of the then - 20 major league club owners , William Eckert became the fourth Commissioner of Major League Baseball . When he became commissioner , Eckert had not seen a game in person in over 10 years . He was almost completely unknown to the public , leading sportswriters to nickname him " the Unknown Soldier . " He incurred the public ' s ire by refusing to cancel games after the assassinations of Sen . Robert F . Kennedy and Rev . Martin Luther King , Jr . , and team owners ' disdain because he refused to deal forcefully with substantive business issues . By 1968 , the owners anticipated a players ' strike , and had long since lost confidence in Eckert ' s ability to handle the situation . For this reason , Eckert was forced to resign at the end of the season , although he still had three years on his contract . In spite of his much publicized failures and shortcomings , Eckert also developed more effective committee actions , streamlined business methods and helped stabilize franchises with bigger stadiums and long - term leases . In addition , Eckert worked hard toward promoting the game internationally , including a 1966 tour of Japan by the Los Angeles Dodgers . Death . Eckert died two years after leaving the commissionership , while playing tennis in the Bahamas . References in popular culture . Los Angeles sports columnist Jim Murray ended a column with a hypothetical quote from Eckert : " I wish everyone a happy and prosperous 1897 ! " In a 1966 " Peanuts " comic strip , Charlie Brown ' s pitcher ' s mound gets washed away by a heavy rainstorm . Lucy then suggests , " Why don ' t you send a letter to Commissioner Eckert , and have him send you a new one ? " Charlie Brown thinks little of this idea .