Hyman A. Pressman

Hyman A. Pressman (April 23, 1914 - March 15, 1996) served as the Comptroller of Baltimore City, Maryland, from 1963 - 1991. He ran for Governor of Maryland in 1966 as an Independent after the Democratic Party nominated conservative Democrat George P. Mahoney as its candidate.

It is likely that the approximate 10% of the vote received by Hyman Pressman (votes which may otherwise have gone to Mahoney) enabled Spiro Agnew's victory in the 1966 gubernatorial election, although assuming every vote for him would have gone to Mahoney the election would still have been tight. Had Agnew not been elected governor of Maryland in 1966, it is unlikely that he would have been chosen as Richard Nixon's vice-presidential running mate in 1968.

As the tight-fisted comptroller of Baltimore (inclined to say "no" when it came to spending money), it is possible that Hyman Pressman was the inspiration for Spiro Agnew's famous "nattering nabobs of negativity" complaint. Later in life, Hyman Pressman had a book of his poetry published. He may be the only comptroller of a large United State city to have done so.

Pressman lost his first bid for election in the 1963 Baltimore Democratic Primary election for City Comptroller to Henry R. Hergenroeder, Sr. by just over 1,200 votes (less than 1%). Following the election, the Republican Party candidate withdrew and Pressman accepted the Republican nomination as their candidate for City Comptroller. He won the General Election running on a 'ticket' with former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Governor Republican Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin, who was elected as Mayor the same year. Pressman returned to the Democratic Party following his victory and won six additional terms as Baltimore City Comptroller.

Involvement In The Departure Of The Colts

Some consider Hyman Pressman as one of the Baltimore City figures responsible for the move of the city's NFL franchise from Baltimore to Indianapolis. During the contentious 70s when then Colts owner Robert Irsay and then Orioles Owner Jerold Hoffberger were seeking major upgrades to the woefully outdated Memorial Stadium or a new Stadium altogether, Hyman Pressman was against the use of public funds to build a new complex. During the 1974 elections, Pressman had an amendment to the city's charter placed on the fall ballot. Known as Question P, the amendment called for declaring "the 33rd Street stadium as a memorial to war veterans and prohibiting use of city funds for construction of any other stadium." The measure passed 56 percent to 44 percent, effectively destroying any chance of a new, modern sports complex being built in Baltimore.

Eventually, the city's beloved NFL franchise left for Indianapolis. In the next elections, city voters repealed Question P by a measure of 62 percent to 38 percent. Thus paving the way for the construction of both Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Ravens Stadium (later renamed M&T Bank Stadium). However, Hyman Pressman remained as an elected City Comptroller for 28 years (7 terms in a row) until retiring in 1991.

Later John Moag, Jr., chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, stated in sworn testimony before the U.S. Senate subcommittee responsible for the Fan Freedom and Community Protection Act: "It was the failure of our local (Baltimore) and state elected officials in Maryland to provide the Colts with a firm proposal for a new stadium that led Mr. Irsay to accept an offer from Indianapolis to play in a new dome in that city."