Drayton McLane

His grandfather came from Abbeville, South Carolina, to Cameron, Texas, in the late 1800s and worked as a farm laborer until about 1885, when he was able to buy and build a small retail grocery, and in 1894 went into the wholesale grocery business in a small way.

At age nine, Drayton went to work for his father's business.

McLane spent most Saturdays and summers during his teenage years sweeping floors and learning various aspects of the wholesale grocery business.

His father, Drayton McLane Sr., owned a wholesale grocery distribution center that had been established by his grandfather, Robert McLane, in 1894.

Drayton McLane Jr. (born July 22, 1936) is an American billionaire businessman.

He is chairman of the McLane Group, a holding company with a portfolio of various diverse enterprises.

He was born on July 22, 1936, in Cameron, Texas.

He graduated from C. H. Yoe High School in Cameron in 1954.

He earned his undergraduate degree at Baylor University in 1958 and his master of business administration degree in marketing at Michigan State University in 1959.

After graduation, McLane returned home to work for his father.

For the first 18 months, he worked the second (night) shift loading trucks.

Three years later, he moved into management as vice president of purchasing.

He then served 14 years as general manager of operations.

As president and CEO of McLane Company from 1965 to 1994, he added 16 distribution facilities across the US.

During that time, the company experienced an average yearly sales growth of 30 percent.

During those years, McLane served as president of the Texas Wholesale Grocers Association (1970–1971) and chairman of the National American Wholesale Grocers Association (1986–1988).

After the season, he fired Bill Wood and Art Howe on October 5 and replaced them with Bob Watson (promoted from assistant GM) and Terry Collins; Watson was the second African American general manager in Major League Baseball (first since Bill Lucas in the 1970s), and he served at the position until 1995, when he left to be the GM of the New York Yankees.

He became president and CEO of McLane Company in 1978 and chairman in 1992.

During his years with the company, McLane assisted his father in building an effective grocery distribution network that served convenience stores, supermarkets, and the fast-food industry nationwide.

He used computer-based technology to enhance the distribution system.

He was largely responsible for expanding the family business from a $3 million-a-year operation into a $19 billion enterprise.

The Astros had to rely on creativity to cultivate a club worthy of contention, as their minor-league system provided virtually nothing from 1986 to 1996, and McLane claimed to have lost $65 million by 1995 to the point where he implored the business community and fans to increase the season ticket base by at least 12,000 in the guise of being able to remain competitive, and rumors surfaced about the team possibly moving to Northern Virginia.

McLane, who had balked at the idea of building a new stadium by the County that wanted over $200 million contributed by the Astros, had approached Collins about a backup plan to sell the team to him for $150 million if the Harris County stadium referendum failed, which McLane apparently felt was going to not pass.

However, the referendum passed by 16,000 votes, which eventually led to the construction of Minute Maid Park.

The team went 84–78 and won the National League Central division title, their first title since 1986.

Dierker would lead the Astros to the postseason three more times over the next four seasons before Dierker was essentially pushed out by McLane and Hunsicker.

He was, until 1990, the CEO of the McLane Company, a grocery and food service warehouse, supply, and logistics firm, and was, from 1993 until 2011, the chairman and CEO of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros.

As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated at US $2.9 billion.

He sold the family business to tennis partner Sam Walton for cash and Wal-Mart shares in 1990.

He invested much of the profits in professional baseball's Houston Astros.

He continued as chairman of McLane Co. and was named vice chairman of Wal-Mart Corporation.

On July 24, 1992, it was announced that McLane had come to an agreement with John McMullen to purchase the team, which also included the lease on the Astrodome for a total of $117 million; approval by the league owners followed in the fall.

In 1993, he resigned from both of these positions to devote his full-time as chairman of McLane Group, which is a holding company founded in 1992.

In his first season as owner in 1993, the Astros went 85-77, with the free-agent acquisitions of Doug Drabek and Greg Swindell (each signed to four-year deals) making minimal contributions.

McLane and Tal Smith searched for a GM and came up with Gerry Hunsicker, hired in November 1995.

The 1995 team had a payroll of $32 million and finished one game off making the National League Wild Card.

A Swoon late in the 1996 season had McLane see enough of Collins as manager, replacing him with broadcaster Larry Dierker.

The 1997 team, built on a payroll of $33 million that ranked 19th in the majors, finally broke through.

The 2003 offseason brought the arrival of Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, each of whom played for three seasons, while longtime reliever Billy Wagner was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies reportedly due to his harsh comments about McLane.

A disappointing .500 record at the All-Star break, combined with jeers of manager Jimy Williams when announced as a coach of the 2004 All-Star Game held in Houston, led to him being fired one day later for Phil Garner.