Grace Elizabeth Reidy Comiskey was born on May 15, 1893 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. She was one of three daughters of Elizabeth and Thomas Reidy, a route supervisor for the Chicago Rapid Transit Company. All the daughters married executives of the Chicago White Sox.
She graduated from high school.
She worked as a dental technician until 1913. As heir apparent to the Comiskey franchise, Grace's husband long labored in the shadow of his famed father. His duties included running a soft-drink bottling plant under a wing of the grandstand at Comiskey Park and handling sales during games. From 1913 to 1920 the elder Comiskey ran the club, sharing administrative duties with Harry Grabiner. The White Sox were a power in the American League until the "Black Sox" scandal of 1920 ended their reign and, by banning players under suspicion, reduced them to second-rate status. From then until the elder Comiskey's death in 1931, the White Sox were a pinchpenny club of flagging fortunes. In 1931 J. Louis Comiskey became owner and attempted to restore the club's fortunes by purchasing star players. But he was corpulent and ailing and delegated decision-making to Grabiner and to the team manager, Jimmy Dykes. While her father-in-law and husband lived, Grace Comiskey had little to do with club operations. Keeping the team in the family was no easy task, since her husband had not authorized her to take over management. In 1940 she went to court to challenge the right of the First National Bank of Chicago, trustees of her husband's will, to sell the club, which it considered a poor investment. When Grace Comiskey blocked a forced sale, the bank withdrew, and in 1941 she gained control on behalf of her children. In 1945 Grace Comiskey ousted general manager Grabiner after he and Bill Veeck sought to purchase the club. When Grabiner's replacement resigned after a brief tenure, she brought in Frank Lane as general manager. Lane's successful trades boosted the team's performance and increased attendance. Although the White Sox won no championship during Grace Comiskey's tenure, hers was a profitable, contending franchise. And, unlike a new breed of baseball owners whose lucrative outside business interests supported their baseball ventures, she depended entirely on baseball income. During her tenure the club was valued at $3 million. Harassed by her son's impatient demands to take full control, Grace Comiskey determined to place the club in the hands of her daughter, Dorothy, who had twenty years' experience in its administration. This strategy was accomplished by her bequeathing 500 shares of club stock to Dorothy, before dividing the bulk of the stock equally between Dorothy and Charles. Grace Comiskey died in Chicago. Her will, which gave 54 percent ownership to her daughter, was contested by her son in a series of lawsuits. In 1958, wearied by her brother's continuing opposition, Dorothy sought to sell him the club, but his offer of $1. 7 million was exceeded by a $2. 7 million offer from a syndicate headed by Bill Veeck, Hank Greenberg, and Arthur Allyn, Jr. When Charles failed to match the higher offer, Dorothy sold her shares to the Veeck syndicate on March 10, 1959. That year, under Veeck's dynamic leadership, the White Sox won their first pennant in forty years. But it was not a Comiskey triumph. In 1962 Charles Comiskey sold his stock to an outsider, Arthur Allyn, Jr. , who earlier had bought out Veeck. Control of the White Sox then passed out of Comiskey hands.
Quotations: "There must always be a Comiskey at the head of the White Sox, " she said. "My son Charley, grandson of the founder of the White Sox, will be fully fitted to operate the franchise when he reaches the proper age. "
She married John Louis Comiskey, the son of Charles Albert Comiskey, a celebrated baseball player who owned the Chicago White Sox. She had three children, one of whom, Dorothy, served as club secretary beginning in 1937 and became club treasurer two years later. Dorothy married White Sox pitcher John Rigney, who retired from active play in 1947 and joined the front office, rising to vice-president. J. Louis Comiskey died in 1939, and Grace Comiskey became the first woman club owner in American league history and the second in major league baseball history.
