May Member Luncheon featuring Tom Whaley

At the Saints, “fun is good” but so much goes into making the fun. A recovering attorney, Tom Whaley has a story about taking chances, being creative, and doing what’s right. Learn from him the tips of what makes a job rewarding and how to have fun when you attend the May 21 monthly member luncheon.


Speaker Bio
Tom Whaley, Executive Vice-President Business Affairs
St. Paul Saints Baseball Club

The St. Louis, Missouri native is a recovering attorney who began a career in baseball accidentally in 1992 when he sold a team sponsorship package to a client on the courthouse steps in St. Paul.

In their 33rd season, the Saints are the AAA affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins, playing home games at CHS Field in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood. 

From 1993 through 1998, Whaley served as the Saints’ director of operations and assistant general manager. During 1999 and 2000, he was corporate sales director for MLB’s Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He returned to St. Paul in 2002 in his current capacity, acquired an ownership interest in the Saints, and was principally involved with the team’s effort to secure funding for and develop CHS Field. In 2023, the team was sold by its founders to Diamond Baseball Holdings, an ownership group that owns 46 minor league baseball teams across the country.

Whaley is past Board Chair of the Midway Chamber of Commerce, St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, and current board member of the Science Museum of Minnesota. In 2018, he was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame.

He received his undergraduate degree from St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota (1985) and a J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law (1988).

He and his wife, Kathleen, reside in Lino Lakes, Minnesota and have three grown children, Ruth, Tom, and Jack. They own a small hobby farm in Piper City, Illinois where chickens, bees, and sundry crops are raised.