Norman T. Gassette, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetNorman T. Gassette
Date of Birth: 21-Apr-1839
Place of Birth: Townshend, Vermont, United States
Date of Death: 26-Mar-1891
Profession: businessperson
Zodiac Sign: Taurus 
About Norman T. Gassette
- Norman Theodore Gassette (April 21, 1839 – March 26, 1891) was an American baseball executive, president of the Chicago White Stockings for the last part of 1870 and through 1871. Norman T.
- Gassette was born in Townshend, Vermont, and lived in Springfield, Massachusetts until age 10, when his family moved to Chicago, Illinois.
- He was the son of Silas B.
- Gassette and Susanna P.
- Martin.
- Norman attended Shurtleff College in Alton, and received further advanced education from private tutors.
- On June 17, 1861 he was mustered into the Union army as a private of Company A, 19th Illinois Infantry.
- Soon transferred to staff duty, by the Battle of Chickamauga he was a first lieutenant, and after that a brevet Lt.
- Col.
- After the war he served from 1868 to 1872 as clerk of the circuit court of Cook County.
- An active Republican, Gassette chaired several campaign committees, including that of Charles B.
- Farwell for Congress.
- He joined the masonic order in 1864, rising to the rank of Grand Commander in Illinois.
- At his death, he was charged as representative for the freemasons of the construction of Chicago's Masonic Temple building. On Aug.
- 9.
- 1870, the stockholders of the Chicago White Stockings baseball team elected Col.
- Gassette as president.
- Prominent Chicagoans had invested a large sum of their money to organize a professional baseball team in Chicago, but the new team, under the presidency of David Allen Gage, seemed to be directionless.
- Gassette, a prominent mason and government official, was chosen to right the ship.
- In the words of the local newspaper, he "commenced the work of weeding out the incompetent material." The White Stockings went on a tear the remainder of the season, defeating their hated rivals the Cincinnati Red Stockings, and claiming the (unofficial) title of best team in the nation.
- He served as president through 1871.
- Unfortunately, the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871 put the club out of business.
- This Chicago White Stockings club later became known as the Chicago Cubs.
- In 1872 Gassette, as president of the old White Stockings Club, chaired a meeting to revive the team, but after this turned his attention to his other business ventures.
Read more at Wikipedia