Former Reds Outfielder Shares Interesting Story About Former Owner Marge Schott

He played one season with the Reds.

October 10, 1995: Reds owner Marge Schott walks through the team's dugout prior to the league championship game Tuesday night against Atlanta. Title | The Enquirer/Phaedra Singelis via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Cincinnati Reds acquired outfielder Greg Vaughn on February 2, 1999, from the San Diego Padres in a five-player trade with the San Diego Padres. He was the first player to be traded after having a 50-home-run season. The Reds sent Reggie Sanders, Damian Jackson, and minor leaguer Josh Harris to San Diego in exchange for Mark Sweeney and Greg Vaughn.

Vaughn was recently on the Eddie Mata Show and shared a story on how former Reds owner Marge Schott demanded he shave his goatee early in the morning the day he was traded for.

"I just got traded." Vaughn said. "Then she said 'we've got a problem. We have a no facial hair policy. You have to shave your goatee, so we have a problem'. I said, ‘We don't have a problem. You have a problem. I'm not coming.’"

"I was angry at San Diego. Not the fans, not the city, but at the organization. I did what I was supposed to do. This is how I get rewarded, right? I still had another year on my contract, and I probably would've taken less to stay there. So I said 'I'm not coming. My kids have never seen me without a goatee. You traded for me with a goatee.' She called back two days later, and somehow they changed the rule. After that phone call, everyone on that 40-man called me, thanking me."

He later added:

"I didn't understand why, in 1999, haven't we done this long enough? But at the same time, owning a business now, and being the guy in charge, rules are in place for a reason. As many guys as I could have reached out to or seen from the Big Red Machine, I apologized to every single one of them I've come in contact with because I did not want to disrespect them."

Vaugh played one season with the Reds in 1999. The 33-year-old slashed .245/.347/.535 with 45 home runs and 118 RBIs. The Reds finished that season 97-77, good for second place in the National League Central and played in a game 163 against the New York Mets, losing 5-0.

Schott was forced to sell her controlling interest in the Reds on April 20, 1999. The team would sell for $67 million to a group led by Carl Lindner Jr. after she was suspended from 1996 to 1998 for racist comments and other derogatory remarks. The team did not have another winning season until 2010 and hasn't advanced in a playoff series since 1995.

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