John Augustus Zeller (September 11, 1883[2] – February 18, 1969) was an American baseball executive and minor league player.
He served as General Manager (GM) of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball from 1938 through 1945.
After attending the Officers Training Camp, he was promoted to sergeant and then commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in 1918.
He did not see action but served as a bayonet instructor before being discharged in 1919, when he moved to Texas to work in the oil fields.
[7] Following an investigation,[9] the Tigers were found to be in violation of the minor league working agreement in 1940, resulting in 91 players being declared free agents by Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
[12] In 1944, he proposed a new draft that would end the minor league system,[13] replacing it with "baseball schools".