Powel Crosley was a Cincinnati, Ohio industrialist. He manufactured a diverse line of products over the years, including refrigerators, radios, and even automobiles for a while, but was probably best known as the owner of the Cincinnati Reds for many years. Their former stadium, Crosley Field, was named for him.
Crosley was intimate and unpretentious, and its many stories and unique characteristics gave the average fan a lot of baseball to experience.
Crosley was one of the first millionaires whose fortunes came from the new medium of direct mail, and he turned that early fortune into a media empire that included 50,000-watt radio stationWLW ("the Nation's Station") and the first NBC affiliate.
Crosley was also the first parked leased to the Negro Leagues (the Cuban Stars of the 1920s, the Cincinnati Tigers in 1937, and the Cincinnati Clowns in the 1940s).
Crosley leapt into the gap, and even though his suppliers couldn't provide nameplates for the first cars off the line, he had the name painted in red on the front and rear bumpers, 3-ins.
Crosley was not having so much luck with the rest of the line, even though roll-up windows were now available, along with cloth upholstery on the sedans and wagons, and a more modern front end and dashboard.
Crosleys had a habit of wearing out fast, and beeing "disposable", in that they were thrown away rather than repaired.
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