By: Tim Kelly, Managing Editor 
Philadelphia Phillies part-owner John S. Middleton has been 'the most outspoken' Phillies owner since his father Herb passed away in 1998, yet never spoke publicly about the team until the team introduced president Andy MacPhail during a June 2015 press conference. The funny thing about him speaking is that it didn't see as though Middleton didn't speak publicly because he wasn't a good public speaker. In fact, he seemed all the part of the successful business man that he is.
Beyond just being a good speaker, Middleton showed at that press conference and the October 2015 one introducing Matt Klentak as general manager that he has the type of passion about the Philadelphia sports scene that would seem to make him eager to constantly speak to the fans of the team he is the closest to being the majority owner of.
Middleton spent a good portion of Klentak's introductory press conference discussing with Klentak, almost in a father-like tone, the passion that Philadelphia sports fans have and how great of a town that it is to win in. It appears Middleton is so aware of that passion because he himself has spent his entire life being a fan. In a recent profile of him done in Philadelphia Magazine, a story from the 2009 World Series showed his fan-like passion.
The beginning of the end was the World Series of 2009. The Phillies lost to the Yankees, and after the sixth and deciding game, John Middleton went into the visitors’ locker room in the Bronx. Ryan Howard was sitting alone, his head down. In a red Phillies windbreaker and hat, Middleton knelt before him, and put his hand on Howard’s leg.
“You okay?” Middleton said.
“Yeah.”
“Ryan, I want my ******* trophy back. It’s ****** ours.”
Though it's easy to imagine that this probably annoyed Howard in the present — he only batted .174 in the series — it's also easy to imagine that players appreciate this type of passion from an owner. It's probably among the things that prompted Jimmy Rollins to call Middleton the "George Steinbrenner of the South'' in a 2014 interview with Jim Salisbury of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.
The entire piece is a worth a read, as it sheds light on the only man who was close to being a majority owner for a professional sports team to win a title in Philadelphia on this side of 2000. It also continues to make you wonder why it took so long for Middleton to become the public face of the ownership group.
