Today in Wheeling History: September 16--Allen Harvey Woodward, businessperson and baseball team owner, was born in Wheeling (1876).
Allen Harvey Woodward, born on September 16, 1876, in Wheeling, West Virginia, was a prominent businessperson and baseball team owner. He was the son of Joseph Hersey Woodward and Martha Burt Metcalfe Woodward. In 1881, his father and uncle founded the Woodward Iron Company in Bessemer, Alabama. Woodward attended the University of the South from 1892 to 1895, where he played as a catcher for the school's baseball team. Due to his focus on baseball, his father made him leave the school when his grades began to fall. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1896 to 1899, earning a degree in mining engineering. Woodward gained significant business training by working with his father at the Woodward Iron Company. He served in various capacities within the company, becoming the general superintendent in 1899 and president in 1918. Woodward also served as vice-chairman of Wheeling Steel Corporation and as a director of the Wheeling Steel & Iron Company, the Whitaker-Glessner Company, and the LaBelle Iron Works. During World War I, Woodward served on the Pig Iron, Iron Ore, and Lake Transportation subcommittee of the War Industries Board. In 1909, he bought the Birmingham Barons, a minor-league baseball team, and constructed Rickwood Field in 1910. Woodward passed away on November 23, 1950, in Birmingham, Alabama.
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://shorturl.at/GVWIN), Wikiwand (https://shorturl.at/QGm9q)
Photo credits: Men of the South: A Work for the Newspaper Reference Library, Sothern Biographical Association
Allen Harvey Woodward, born on September 16, 1876, in Wheeling, West Virginia, was a prominent businessperson and baseball team owner. He was the son of Joseph Hersey Woodward and Martha Burt Metcalfe Woodward. In 1881, his father and uncle founded the Woodward Iron Company in Bessemer, Alabama. Woodward attended the University of the South from 1892 to 1895, where he played as a catcher for the school's baseball team. Due to his focus on baseball, his father made him leave the school when his grades began to fall. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1896 to 1899, earning a degree in mining engineering. Woodward gained significant business training by working with his father at the Woodward Iron Company. He served in various capacities within the company, becoming the general superintendent in 1899 and president in 1918. Woodward also served as vice-chairman of Wheeling Steel Corporation and as a director of the Wheeling Steel & Iron Company, the Whitaker-Glessner Company, and the LaBelle Iron Works. During World War I, Woodward served on the Pig Iron, Iron Ore, and Lake Transportation subcommittee of the War Industries Board. In 1909, he bought the Birmingham Barons, a minor-league baseball team, and constructed Rickwood Field in 1910. Woodward passed away on November 23, 1950, in Birmingham, Alabama.
To learn more: Wikipedia (https://shorturl.at/GVWIN), Wikiwand (https://shorturl.at/QGm9q)
Photo credits: Men of the South: A Work for the Newspaper Reference Library, Sothern Biographical Association
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