Peter Magowan

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For the lawyer and politician on Prince Edward Island, see Peter Magowan (lawyer).

Peter Magowan

Born	1942
Education	Stanford University
Occupation	President, Managing General Partner
Employers	San Francisco Giants
Term	1993 — present
Website Giants Bio

Peter A. Magowan (born 1942 ^[1]) is the managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball franchise. Magowan, along with a group of investors, purchased the franchise on January 12, 1993, from the previous owner, Bob Lurie. Before Magowan's consortium stepped in with its offer to buy the team, Lurie had planned to sell the team to a group from St. Petersburg, now home to the Tampa Bay Rays. Magowan made his mark on the team immediately, signing free agent superstar Barry Bonds, a San Francisco Bay Area-native whose father began his career as a Giant.

Magowan is also noted for spearheading the construction of the Giants' current home, AT&T Park (previously SBC Park and Pacific Bell Park). Previously, several initiatives to build tax-supported stadiums had been rejected by San Francisco voters. In December 1995, Magowan unveiled his plan for 41,000 seat ballpark in China Basin, which would be privately funded - the first privately funded in over 30 years. The plan was passed easily by San Francisco voters, by a 2 to 1 margin.^[2] Pacific Bell Park opened in 2000, replacing the oft-criticized Candlestick Park. Magowan also famously owned a cat of the same name 'Magowan', as reported by the San Francisco Post during an interview with Magowan.

In late 2007 and early 2008, Peter Magowan and Giants general manager Brian Sabean drew some criticism in the Mitchell Report when it was reveal Giants trainer Stan Conte came to Sabean and told him he suspected Bonds trainer Greg Anderson was distributing steroids and Giants management didn't investigate or tell Major League Baseball.^[3] Conte had been approached by a player.^[3] In the January 2007 Congressional hearings on performance enhancing drugs, Congressman Henry Waxman asked Commissioner Bud Selig to discipline Sabean and Magowan for their culpability.^[4] Some sports insiders argued that Magowan and Sabean actions on steroids was not any different from other clubs at the time.^[3] When Magowan was interviewed for the Mitchell Report, Magowan told Senator George Mitchell that Barry Bonds told him he had used steroids; he withdrew that assertion a few days later.^[5]

On May 16, 2008, Magowan announced he would be stepping down as managing partner of the Giants effective October 1, 2008.^[6]

Prior to purchasing the Giants, Magowan served as chairman and CEO of the Bay Area-based supermarket chain Safeway. He is also a director of Caterpillar, Inc., DaimlerChrysler, W5 Networks, Inc., Slugfarms LTD Slugfarmerand Spring Group, PLC.

Magowan's grandfather was Charles Merrill (1885-1956), co-founder of Merrill Lynch & Company and an early investor in Safeway. Magowan's father, Robert Anderson Magowan, was chairman and CEO of Safeway; Magowan's mother, Doris Merrill Magowan (1914-2001), was a prominent San Francisco philanthropist. Magowan is the nephew of celebrated poet James Merrill (1926-1995). He is a graduate of Stanford University.