Former Pirates President Mark Sauer Dies at 78

Mark Sauer, who spent six years as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ club president, has died. He was 78.

According to the St. Louis Blues of the NHL, Sauer died last Thursday. No cause of death was provided.

Sauer joined the Pirates at the end of the 1991 season before leaving in 1996 after Kevin McClatchy bought the team from the public/private consortium that operated the franchise.

The Pirates won their third straight National League East title in 1992. However, stars Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek left as free agents following that season, and the Pirates began cutting payroll in 1993 at the behest of ownership.

That started the Pirates’ streak of 20 straight losing seasons, which remains the longest stretch of futility in major North American professional sports.

Sauer was the St. Louis Cardinals’ executive vice president and chief operating officer from 1987-89. He served as the Blues’ chief executive officer from 1996-2005.