Worst Owner in Sports History?

If only he'd quit a couple decades earlier. The bizarro latter part of Davis' career he absolutely was one the worst owners in sports but, you're right, what preceded that keeps him out of this discussion.

And the Steinbrenner of the 80s and earlier 90s absolutely belongs--for god sakes, the guy was paying gamblers to dig up dirt on his own players and got banned from the sport. World Series rings and a willingness to pay far more than anyone could match is all that saves him from this club.

 

Davis was a visionary in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Then he went senile. I honestly wonder if he had some sort of mental illness the last 15 years or so.

 

Yeah, I didn't recall Tose being so bad an owner as succumbing to addictions. He did hire Vermeil, didn't he?

 

Sterling really stands out. He owns a team in a sport that is designed (lottery, salary cap) to make everyone even, and they always suck.
Marge Schott may not have been a wonderful human being, but she was not a bad baseball owner. Reds put good teams on the field almost every year she was in charge, and had the lowest ticket prices in baseball.

 

It absolutely amazes me that we're well into the third page without mention of Peter Angelos, who systematically disassembled the Baltimore Orioles franchise.

 

Not so fast.

http://sabr.org/bioproj/harry-frazee-and-the-red-sox

 

So the Stout piece is a falsehood?
Good throneroom reading - I will get to it later. Thanks.

 

Well, Ban Johnson certainly wanted Frazee out, by any means necessary. But mostly because of Johnson's egotistical desire for absolute power, IMO. Frazee was the first AL owner that Johnson didn't hand-pick. Johnson wanted a stooge he could control, and Frazee stood up to him ... at least until he (quickly) started running out of money.

 

The way the systems are now in some professional leagues, it pays more to be mediocre. Don't have the contract headaches and still bring in almost as much revenue as the elite franchises. Sure, holding the trophy may be nice, but I really think most owners are more focused on the business side.

 

In addition to many stated above, Peter Angelos. Truly a describable person. Since he fired Davey Johnson as he was being awarded Manager of the Year, his Orioles have had 14 straight losing seasons, an American League record for shit.He has turned one of the nicer ball parks, and taxpayer financed, into a ralative ghost town, except when the Yankees and Red Sox are in town. Their 3 month burst so far this season has much more to do with luck than any management skills. His list of GMs and Managers hired and fired rivals Steinbrenner, except the Yankees won 7 Worlds Series and 11 pennants? Angelos? 4 winning seasons in 20 years. Oh yeah, he backed Alomar after Alomar spit on Hirshbeck.

There's a reason Cal Ripken Jr and Brooks Robinson want nothing to do with the Orioles

 

We are closing in on a half century of Ford owning the Lions. In the 10 years before he bought the team they won three championships. Still waiting for them to win another.
He also gets bonus points for hiring football genius Matt Millen to run the team

 

I give credit to Buck Showalter. He is always capable of goosing a winning year or two out of a sad-sack franchise before his welcome wears out.