Worst Owner in Sports History?

[Liut]

Horn Chen. Now there's a name I haven't thought of in quite some time.

John Y. didn't last in Boston a year before Mangurian bought him out, but it was long enough for Auerbach to nearly join Sonny Werblin in New York. MacAdoo trade was Brown's all the way.

Another vote for Stepien and his bizarre ideas of promotion (Fat Man eating beer cans, Fan Mat eating glass), but Scott Wedman probably begs to differ.

I don't get Modell's nomination and no explanation was offered. Don't see that he was asking for more than what the Indians and Cavs got.

Bill Bidwell: Earned his wealth the old-fashioned way - was born into it, and adopted, no less.

Beef, I agree on Ballard but a trip nonetheless. BTW, best of luck on the family issue (cross thread).

 

[linotype]

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)

McClatchy was nothing more than the face of that clown show, with the Nuttings owning the controlling interest since about 2002.

My nominees go to the Nuttings, Howard Baldwin, Tose, Stepien (mother****er has a rule named after him) and Georgia Frontiere.

It is absolutely criminal that the first mention of the Nutting family didn't come until the second page.

Reminds me of an old joke among Pirates fans.

Question: What is the Bucs' ownership going to do to make this team better?

The answer, obviously: Nutting.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

The final owners of Glasgow Rangers. That's an impressive feat to allow a global brand to go completely tits up.

 

[Starman]

I am actually surprised a movie has never been made of the Andrew Freedman story.

Think Al Pacino's Col. Frank Slade crossed with Dennis Hopper's Frank Booth owning the biggest franchise in sports (as about the turn of the century, the baseball Giants were).

HOO-AHHH!!!

 

[Jake_Taylor]

Are we judging owners on how good the teams are or their business model, because Donald Sterling bought a franchise, put next to no effort into running it for decades and still made a ton money. Sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I am actually surprised a movie has never been made of the Andrew Freedman story.

Think Al Pacino's Col. Frank Slade crossed with Dennis Hopper's Frank Booth owning the biggest franchise in sports (as about the turn of the century, the baseball Giants were).

HOO-AHHH!!!

What's the story on this guy?

 

[Starman]

What's the story on this guy?

The reasonably short version:

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/51545e58

 

[buckweaver]

Freedman was a Tammany Hall guy who, in his first year as Giants owner after taking control of the defending league champions, eliminated what we would now call the GM's position and then fired THREE managers during that same season. The next year, he sat on the bench during a July game (a la Ted Turner) and got into an argument with an umpire. The opposing team's captain told him to shove off, and Freedman immediately ordered the police to escort him from the park. Freedman wouldn't let him in the next day, either, and the Giants forfeited that game. It only got worse from there.

Great read on Freedman here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/51545e58. EDIT: Starman beat me to it.

Chroniclers of the game have rarely been kind to Andrew Freedman, principal owner of the New York Giants from January 1895 to September 1902. According to one team historian, Freedman was “naturally arrogant (with) a bad temper at the end of a very short fuse.”[1] In much the same vein, Bill James memorably described him as “George Steinbrenner on Quaaludes with a touch of Al Capone” and “just this side of a madman”[2] while another commentator has awarded Freedman the distinction of being “the most loathsome team owner in baseball history.”[3]

 

[Mark2010]

George Steinbrenner and Al Davis not on the list? Sure they won a lot of games, but it seems they treated their people terribly.

 

[Stoney]

Are we judging owners on how good the teams are or their business model, because Donald Sterling bought a franchise, put next to no effort into running it for decades and still made a ton money. Sounds pretty good to me.

Definitely NOT based on business model. All these guys end up making out like bandits in the end. For example, Frank McCourts ran the Dodgers about as ineptly and embarrassingly as imaginably possible, and then sold them a few years later for far more than a BILLION dollars more than he'd paid for them. Go figure.

If we excluded the ones who came out way ahead business-wise, we'd have damn near nothin to talk about. That would eliminate all the biggest douchebags.

 

[Beef03]

Beef, I agree on Ballard but a trip nonetheless. BTW, best of luck on the family issue (cross thread).

Thanks man.

 

[Colton]

Gotta go with Stepien. To live through that era in these parts was staggering.

Quick story: Once, T.S. (for "Too Stupid," as Pete Franklin dubbed him) was plotting to move the Cavaliers to Toronto. While denying it (he was a compulsive liar, on top of everything else) in Northeast Ohio, he went on a Toronto radio show and admitted it. Well, Franklin got word of it and telephoned the show. He began his all with, "I'd like to have a few words with your esteemed guest," then proceeded to rip T.S. a new one on live radio. Somewhere, I have a recording of that on a cassette.

Anyway, me and a few buddies (we were in high school) went to a game at the Coliseum soon after. I wore a Cavaliers shirt and a bag over my head, but was also armed with a big poster-board sign that read, "Sell T.S., keep the Cavs!" As I held up the sign, it began to be noticed, including by T.S., who sent a pair of his goons after me. When I saw them coming at me, I took off, running all over the Coliseum as they gave chase. Finally, I was able to pitch the sign and the bag and blend back into what little crowd was on hand that night.

The best part? The late Casey Coleman's camera man (Coleman was a TV sports anchorman in town then) caught the whole thing on camera and Coleman featured it on his sportscast that night.

Too Stupid... asshat.

 

[Gehrig]

Surprised there was no mention of Harry Frazee who sold the greatest player of all-time to finance his Broadway play.

 

[93Devil]

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.

Weekly press passes. No season press passes, IIRC.

 

[jackfinarelli]

Leonard Tose.

Tose's predecessor as the Eagles' owner, Jerry Wolman, deserves to be in the discussion here too.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Harry Wismer. Owned the NY Titans before they became the Jets. Didn't pay his players at one point and threatened to waive them all if they complained, and also forbade his coaches to actually coach for a week when the players complained about their checks.

 

[3OctaveFart]

Surprised there was no mention of Harry Frazee who sold the greatest player of all-time to finance his Broadway play.

Frazee was a victim of bigotry.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2004/news/story?page=Curse041005

 

[3OctaveFart]

George Steinbrenner and Al Davis not on the list? Sure they won a lot of games, but it seems they treated their people terribly.

It is impossible to imagine his sport without the many contributions of Al Davis.
That is not just in light of his late passing.
He doesn't belong on a thread for jackwagons.

 

[3OctaveFart]

Caligula.

Thanks for blessing us once again with one of your "quips".
The only thing missing is the cymbal roll.
Sad thing is you really do fancy yourself a humorist.
Don't you.

 

[Drip]

Leonard Tose.

Tose's predecessor as the Eagles' owner, Jerry Wolman, deserves to be in the discussion here too.

Wolman yes. Tose no. George Shinn should definitely be on here along with John Y. Brown.