Best owners in sports (past and present)

Perfect upper management, in other words.

 

With their money, I doubt very much that they need your respect.

Besides, not only were the Spirits not going to get into the NBA no way, no how, because only four clubs were invited to the party, the team would not have survived in St. Louis even if the ABA had continued. They were slated to move to Salt Lake City and become the Utah Rockies.

Here's something else you need to know. The Silnas actually thought up the scheme for the owners of the Virginia Squires, assuming six ABA teams would get into the NBA and one would be left out - ostensibly the faltering Squires. They wanted to be fair to the team that wouldn't get to go to the dance. But when the Squires folded prior to the merger and then the Spirits found out they wouldn't be admitted to the NBA after all, the Silnas took the deal for themselves. Pretty damn smart......and pretty skillful, too.

 

That's the thing, the NHL has had more than its fair share of scumbags as owners.

I'm coming up with the Molsons who have owned the Canadiens off and on over the past 50 or 60 years, and Lemieux definitely deserves to be on the list.

Although they were more short term, I would of course say the Edmonton Investors Group - composed of 30 some owners, mostly small-time millionares from all over central and northern Alberta - who stepped in at the last minute and bought the team to keep it in Edmonton, they recently sold the franchise to a local billionare, Katz, who is now trying to build a new arena downtown. The Flames have a similar ownership consortium, but on a much smaller scale (Nine I think?), and from what I understand they have been excellent owners as well.

Eugene Melnyk, love him or hate him, has also been very good for the Senators.

 

Jet fans took Leon Hess for granted. He wanted to keep ticket prices low so the working man could attend games.

 

Conn Smythe was by far the best owner the Toronto Maple Leafs ever had, and pretty much every move he made was designed for what he felt was the betterment of his team.

His final move as owner, though, proved to be the franchise's undoing - selling out to a new ownership group headed by his son, but which included Harold Ballard, who eventually won control of the empire.

 

Jerry Buss and the Rooney family, would have to be at the top of this list.

I don't know how much credit I'm willing to give Bob Kraft. I think he's been more lucky than good and he's done a good job, but I could see that franchise going into the shitter the second Belichick walks away.

As I said on the other thread, forget how it ended, Eddie D. had an amazing run in San Fran.

 

Kraft kept the team in New England, has built a stadium with his own money....turned the rest of the real estate around the stadium into restaurants and shops, and has made every other owner a lot of money because of his work with the tv contracts, and he's been "lucky"?

You're just blinded by your hatred of all things New England. Before Kraft bought the team......the Patriots were a worse franchise than the Detriot Lions!

 

I'm a pretty big Celtics fan, always have been. I hate the Red Sox and have always been indifferent to the Pats... So much for that theory.

 

Probably not great in terms of how he treated his players, but Jacob Ruppert.

Took a floundering franchise in New York, and built it up (with the help of Col. Huston).

 

I was referring to all things New England Patriots....shoulda been more clear. In any case, your opinion about whether Bob Kraft is a good owner is about as smart as your Brady analysis, both are just "lucky".

 

Just about everybody loves Arte Moreno. The exceptions are those still pissed off because he changed the name from Anaheim Angels to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

 

He's done an excellent job. Changing the name was just smart business and he knew if he was patient, he would eventually get his way.