Overview
James Robert Crane (born January 17, 1954) is an American businessman from Houston, Texas. Crane is chairman and chief executive of Crane Capital Group, Crane Worldwide Logistics, and Crane Freight and Shipping. He is also the owner and chairman of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball; under his ownership, the Astros have won two World Series championships (2017, 2022).
Early life and education
Crane, who grew up in the north St. Louis suburb of Dellwood, Missouri, attended Lutheran High School North and graduated in 1972. He gave the school a donation of $1 million to improve their athletic facilities and enlarge the size of the campus from 40 acres to 67 in 2004. The school named the James R. Crane Athletic Complex for his contribution.
Crane earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial safety from Central Missouri State University (CMSU) (now the University of Central Missouri) in 1976, where he became a member of the fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon. Crane pitched for the Central Missouri Mules baseball team. He was an honorable mention Division II All-American going 21–8 with a 2.42 ERA for UCM. His father died between his freshman and sophomore years, and Crane seriously thought about dropping out of college; however, his coach, Robert N. Tompkins, drove to his home in north St. Louis and talked Crane into returning to school.
Career
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
