Former Pirates President, CEO Dies
PITTSBURGH — A former member of the Pittsburgh Pirates front office passed away recently.
Mark Sauer, who served as the Pirates president and chief executive officer (CEO) for six seasons, died at the age of 78 on May 22.
Sauer worked for the Pirates in that role from 1991-96, which saw early success of back-to-back NL East Division Titles and NLCS appearances, before four straight losing seasons to end his tenure.
That losing came about as the Pirates slashed payroll in 1993, and both NL MVP in outfielder Barry Bonds and right-handed starting pitcher Doug Drabek left as free agents
The Pirates would go extend that losing for 20 straight seasons until 2013, which stands as the longest streak of consecutive seasons below .500 in North American Professional Sports history.
Pirates play-by-play announcer on both SportsNet Pittsburgh and 93.7 The Fan in Greg Brown honored Sauer with a Twitter post, thanking Sauer for hiring him and Bob Walk, who works as a color commentator for the Pirates on both TV and radio.
We’re sorry to learn of the passing of former Pirates executive Mark Sauer.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 26, 2025
Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time. https://t.co/jmEYxKDNYf
Sauer would leave the Pirates after 1996 when Kevin McClatchy bought the team from Pittsburgh Associates, who owned the team for 11 seasons and consistend of the City of Pittsburgh and local businesses who ran the team.
He took over as the president and CEO of the St. Louis Blues in the NHL for 10 seasons from 1996 to 2006.
Sauer was born on Nov. 17, 1946 in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Ralph Sauer, a U.S. Navy officer, and Betty Foley. He would live with his older sister, Christine, in many different cities and places like, northern Virginia, Chicago, Hawaii and Kansas City.
He would graduate from the University of Illinois, majoring in accounting as he started in the business world.
Sauer earned his Master's of Businesss Administration (MBA) from Columbia University and would serve as the chief financial officer (CFO) of 7 Up International.
He also worked as the vice president of finance for Anheuser- Busch’s entertainment division, overseeing the company's theme parks and the everyday operations.
Sauer earned an appointment as the chief operating officer (COO) of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1988 and stayed there for three seasons before taking over as president and CEO of the Pirates.
He would retire to Delray Beach, Fla. also started a nonprofit named Delray Students First, now known as Bound For College.
Bound For College provides ACT and SAT Prep tutoring for high school students in Palm Beach County.
Sauer's son, Mark Sauer, starred in basketball at Shady Side Academy and played for Stanford, leading them to the 1998 Final Four.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.