John Schuerholz has had a long and accomplished career in professional baseball, spending much of it here in Georgia with the Atlanta Braves. After a successful tenure with the Kansas City Royals, Schuerholz became general manager of the Atlanta Braves in 1990 and immediately helped the team go from worst to first, winning the National League pennant in 1991. The Braves established an American professional sports record by winning 14 consecutive division titles from 1991 to 2005. During his tenure the Braves played in the World Series as National League champions five times and won the Series in 1995.

In 2007, Schuerholz was named president of the Braves. As president and then as vice chairman, he was instrumental in the planning and building of SunTrust Park and the mixed-use development, The Battery Atlanta, which opened in April 2017. Schuerholz was named Vice Chairman Emeritus by the Braves in 2018.

Schuerholz’s many honors have included inductions into the Braves Hall of Fame (2017), the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (2015), and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame (2008); the Outstanding Achievement in Baseball Award from the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation (2014); the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Andrew “Rube” Foster Award (2001, 2002, and 2005); and Georgian of the Year by Georgia Trend Magazine (1991). Schuerholz received baseball’s highest honor when he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.

A native of Baltimore and a graduate of Towson University, Schuerholz and his wife Karen have two children and four grandchildren. They are active in community organizations, including having served on the advisory board of Camp Sunshine, an organization that provides opportunities to enrich the lives of children with cancer in Georgia, and the board of Yes!Atlanta which seeks to give at-risk teenagers a chance to experience personal success through voluntary programs based on long-term regular support by committed, caring and trained adults.