Home » Joseph Hayden, Jr.
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Celebrating the leadership, vision, tenacity, and love of community shared by the recipients of the Great Living Cincinnatian Award, presented annually by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber since 1967.
1930 – 2014
Cincinnati native Joseph Hayden Jr. went to Withrow High School and Miami University. He was CEO of the Midland Co. for 38 years, taking a company that was started in the 1930s as an auto finance firm and growing it as a niche insurer of property that other insurance companies didn’t want to cover: mobile homes, motorcycles, pleasure boats and antique cars. Midland further diversified with a river transportation business, M/G Transport, which ferries grain, corn and other dry goods over the inland waterways.
Hayden also founded the Midland youth baseball program nearly 50 years ago, and his teams are perennially among the best in the nation in amateur competition, frequently making trips to the Connie Mack World Series of the American Amateur Baseball Congress.
Midland has become the best-known name in Cincinnati amateur baseball and has been a stop for many local stars, including Barry Larkin, Ken Griffey Jr., Ron Oester and Bill Doran, who all played for the Cincinnati Reds.The Midland program boasts nearly 40 alums who became major-leaguers.
Hayden’s business success has been substantial, and his sons still operate the business, even after it was sold to insurance giant Munich Re. He served on the board of US Bancorp and its predecessors, Firstar and Star Banc Corp., for 29 years and also on the board of the Federal National Mortgage Association, Fannie Mae, for 22 years.
Hayden was still active with the program at age 79, but said: “I can’t pitch batting practice anymore.”
Hayden died on November 29, 2014. He was 85.
Recipients are selected from candidates by the Cincinnati Chamber’s senior council based on the following criteria: – Community service – Business and civic attainment on a local, state and national or international level – Leadership – Awareness of the needs of others – Distinctive accomplishments that have brought favorable attention to their community, institution or organization
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s mission is to grow the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the Cincinnati region. The Chamber team is working on behalf of member businesses to ignite business resiliency and inclusive growth, to invest in the people who call this region home, to lead regional connectivity through collaboration, and to champion the region’s unique advantages.
Discover all a Cincinnati Chamber membership offers you, your business, and your team.