Worst Owner in Sports History?

[3OctaveFart]

I am going to say Victor Kiam, in New England.
He ran a carnival on and off the field.
Would like to hear thoughts from the gallery.

 

[Starman]

Andrew Freedman, All-Time Division.

Ted Stepien, in relatively recent decades.

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

Starman beat me to Stepien.

Donald Sterling and Bill Wirtz are up there.

 

[Azrael]

Caligula.

 

[Stoney]

There may've been worse over short periods of time (Stepien, John Y. Brown), but Donald Sterling has to be the worst to stay in the game for three decades. Most epically incompetent owners at least have the good sense to get out after a few years, Sterling never goes away.

 

[MTM]

I'd like to say Frank McCourt, but the Dodgers had relative success on the field under his stewardship and he made a buttload of money.

He is, however, a sleazy robber barron.

 

[HejiraHenry]

Here's a vote for Donald Sterling.

 

[Cyrus]

Tom Monaghan (Sup Starman?)
William Clay Ford
Ted Leonsis (skyrocketing up the rankings at a fever pitch)
Donald Sterling
Kevin McClatchy
David Galss
Jeremy Jacobs (pre 2011)

 

[Stoney]

he made a buttload of money.

Which is one of the more galling things about this topic--no matter how horrifyingly incompetent these guys are, they always seem to come out way ahead when they sell.

 

[Boom_70]

Fred Wilpon deserves mention but with one vote mine goes to
Jim Dolan.

 

[exmediahack]

Probably not the worst but definitely on that end of the spectrum:

Bill Bidwill in St. Louis. He was famous for changing the locks to the locker room whenever he would fire another hapless Cardinals coach.

 

[Brian]

Another vote for Stepien. When you have a rule named after you to stop teams from committing franchise suicide, you're bad.

 

[MTM]

Marge Schott

 

[RickStain]

Bill Wirtz, who went to his grave a few years ago insisting that televising home games was unfair to the season-ticket holders?

P.K. Wrigley, who turned the Cubs into the laughingstock they are now always going to be known as? Introduced the College of Coaches and other horrible stunts?

 

[Baron Scicluna]

John Spano "owner" of the Islanders

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Spano

What a fraud.

 

[Stoney]

Marge Schott

But she won a World Series. I think there might be an automatic exclusion for titleholders.

 

[Beef03]

The NHL's history is littered with criminals like Peter Pocklington (Who the hell forces the trade of Wayne Gretzky and continues to defend it 20 years later???), but the one that takes the cake for me right now would be Charles Wang on Long Island. Has no idea what he's doing and proves it over and over and over again.

Also, the Marlins Jeffrey Loria definitely deserves a spot here too.

 

[amraeder]

Marge Schott

But she won a World Series. I think there might be an automatic exclusion for titleholders.

She was the first name I thought of when I saw the thread title, but I figured the team's success would keep her off any short lists.

Although it also gives me an excuse to post this: http://www.hulu.com/watch/4987

 

[Beef03]

Also, how has Harold Ballard not come up yet?

 

[Football_Bat]

Danny Snyder. Has no clue of how to build a winning franchise. They've made two playoff appearances since 1999 when he bought the team and one of those was his first year. His meddling makes Jerry Jones look like an absentee.