21 Facts About Dan Topping

Daniel Reid Topping was a part owner and president of the New York Yankees baseball team from 1945 to 1964.

Dan Topping was born on June 11,1912, in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Rhea and Henry Junkins Dan Topping.

Henry Junkins Topping was the son of John A Topping, an industrialist and president of Republic Iron and Steel.

Dan Topping attended the Hun School and the University of Pennsylvania, and excelled in multiple sports.

Dan Topping was an excellent golfer, qualifying for the United States Amateur Championships three times.

Dan Topping worked in banking for a few years, opened and closed a small advertising agency, then purchased a partial interest in the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League in 1931.

Dan Topping became the majority owner of the club and improved the team, but the onset of World War II caused several players to join the military.

Dan Topping himself joined the Marines and served in the Pacific Theater for the majority of his tenure in the Corps.

Dan Topping left the Marine Corps as a major and later became a colonel in the Ready Reserve.

MacPhail, then the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, and Dan Topping were acquainted because both Dodgers athletic teams played at Ebbets Field.

MacPhail invited Dan Topping to join the syndicate attempting to purchase the team from the estate of Jacob Ruppert.

Dan Topping moved his team to Yankee Stadium anyway, joining the newly formed All-America Football Conference.

Dan Topping's team retained none of his players during the jump, in that the NFL ruled that the Yanks players remained under contract with Boston, but he was able to sign some of his former Brooklyn Dodger players to the football New York Yankees.

Webb became active in American League affairs, while Dan Topping directed team operations.

Webb and Dan Topping each retained a ten percent share of the club.

Dan Topping remained as team president until 1966, when he sold his remaining stake in the Yankees.

Dan Topping was married six times, five of which ended in divorce.

Dan Topping was then married to three-time Olympic figure skating gold medalist Sonja Henie from 1940 to 1946.

From 1954 to 1958, Dan Topping was married to Manhattan model Alice Lowthers.

Dan Topping died of complications from emphysema in Miami Beach, Florida, on May 18,1974, at age 61.

Dan Topping is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.