Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

Peter Magowan, who with a last effort kept in 1992 kept the San Francisco Giants from moving to Tampa, Florida died on Sunday from complications from Cancer, he was 76 years old.

Magowan, who grew up watching the Giants in New York, where he was born and then as fate would have it, Magowan and his family moved to San Francisco, just months after the Giants moved to the Bay Area.

It was Magowan, who formed a group of people to buy the team from then owner Bob Lurie for $100 million. That winter, Magowan signed Barry Bonds to a contract worth $43.5 million over a six-year period.

After the 2008 season, and 16 years at the helm, Magowan stepped down as President and Chief Executive Officer.

Just two years later, the Giants won the first World Championship since 1954, and within a five-year period, the team would win the World Series in both 2012 and 2014.

“Peter’s mark on the Giants and the San Francisco community can be felt throughout the ballpark, in which he was intimately involved in the design and planning and throughout the daily operations of the organization,” Giants president and CEO Larry Baer said. “He set forth a Giants vision to create a winning culture and to serve our fans and the community. Over the past 25 years, we have followed through on his vision and his impact on our community will be felt for decades to come.”

Prior to the coming to the Giants, Magowan worked for Safeway Inc., and was the chairman and CEO from 1980-1993 before he stepped down after he took over the Giants.

Magowan was a big fan of Willie Mays, as he gave the Hall of Famer a lifetime contract after he took over the team. He also brought back to the organization the late Willie McCovey, who passed away on October 31 at the age of 80 and Orlando Cepeda, and the two were named Special Advisers.

Peter Magowan has been a part of my life for a long, long time, first as a fan watching me play in New York and then, remaining a fan when we moved to San Francisco,” Mays said. “Along the way, he became my friend. Peter would call me often to check in. He and Debby cared about me and it was so easy to care about them in return. It’s hard to find the right words just now, but in losing Peter, I’ve lost a great, great friend. He was like my godfather. No one can replace him.

Magowan will be inducted into the Giants Wall of Fame at the team’s annual Fanfest on February 9.

He is survived by wife Debby, five children and 12 grandchildren.