Louis Jacobs (businessman)

Last updated
Louis Jacobs
Personal details
Born
Louis Melvin Jacobs

April 6, 1900
Manhattan, New York, United States
DiedAugust 8, 1968
Eggertsville, New York, United States
Children2
OccupationFounder of Delaware North
Known forFounder of Delaware North, Owner of the Cincinnati Royals

Louis Melvin Jacobs (April 6, 1900 - August 8, 1968), was an American businessman and sports team owner. Notable for starting the SportService empire that ended up becoming Delaware North. He also was an owner of the Cincinnati Royals of the National Basketball League, as well as the Buffalo Bisons and the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League and was an operating manager of the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

Contents

Life

Jacobs was born to Polish-Jewish immigrants Moisha "Max" Jacobs, and Anna Blachmann in New York City in 1900, before the move to America, the original surname of his family's paternal side was Yakobovitch. [1] [2] He had two brothers, Marvin and Charles Jacobs who founded Jacobs Brothers together in 1915 when Louis was 15 years old. [3] Its name was changed first to Emprise Corp.and then Sportsystems Inc. before adopting its current one in 1980. [4]

Jacobs Brothers initially operated theater concessions. When the establishments closed down in the hot summer months, the three men turned their attention to ballparks, the first being Offermann Stadium in Buffalo, New York, and the creation of the sports concession industry. In 1919, the brothers got their break when they started to sell concessions for the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. In 1926, Jacobs Brothers was renamed "Sportservice". Sportservice is Delaware North's largest operating company. In 1927, the company entered into its first major-league deal by signing an agreement with the Detroit Tigers to handle food service at Navin Field. The Jacobs brothers expanded their business in 1939 by acquiring a racetrack, marking the beginning of Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment. In 1941, the company entered the airport arena with a contract to provide food service in Washington National Airport. In 1952, his brothers Marvin and Charles sold the remaining shares of the company to retire, leaving Louis as the sole owner of Sportservice. In 1960, the company was awarded the contract to operate the concessions at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Louis died at his desk on August 8, 1968; after his death, his sons Max and Jeremy Jacobs took over sole control of Sportservice.

Sports Ownership

Louis began his sports ownership in 1939 when he became a partner of the Syracuse Stars after being the concessions vendor to New York State Fair Coliseum. One by one the owners dropped out and Louis became the sole owner. In 1940 in his home town of Buffalo, the brand new Memorial Auditorium opened up and relocated the Stars to Buffalo to play as the Bisons. He later sold the team to Arthur Wirtz who owned the Chicago Black Hawks and was the farm team for a few years until the team was sold to local interests in 1956.

In 1951, Jacobs gave Connie Mack, the owner of the Philadelphia Athletics for over 50 years at that time was going under, especially with the rise of the "Whiz Kids" of the crosstown rival Philadelphia Phillies, Jacobs gave Mack a loan of $250,000.00 with no interest to keep the Athletics from having financial difficulty. In October 1954, he helped broker the deal between the Mack and businessman Arnold Johnson who moved the team to Kansas City in 1955. [5]

Louis purchased the Cincinnati Royals in 1963 from the estate of Thomas E. Wood. [6] After he died, his sons Jeremy and Max Jacobs ran the team until 1972 when the brothers sold the team to a consortium of Kansas City and Omaha businessmen to rename move them to those cities where they became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

Related Research Articles

Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from 1915 to 1917, Buffalo Niagaras in 1918, the Buffalo Prospects in 1919, Buffalo All-Americans from 1920 to 1923, Buffalo Bisons from 1924 to 1925 and in 1927 and 1929, and the Buffalo Rangers in 1926. The franchise, which was experiencing financial problems in 1928, did not participate in league play that season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal League</span> American professional baseball league

The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the established National and American Leagues, from 1914 to 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahlen Field</span> Baseball stadium in Buffalo, New York

Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, it opened on April 14, 1988, and can seat up to 16,600 people, making it the highest-capacity Triple-A ballpark in the United States. It replaced the Bisons' former home, War Memorial Stadium, where the team played from 1979 to 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Mack</span> American baseball manager and owner (1862–1956)

Cornelius McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins (3,731), losses (3,948), and games managed (7,755). Mack's victory total is 829 more than the second highest total, 2,902 wins by Tony La Russa. Mack's lead in career losses is even greater, 1,433 higher than the second highest total, La Russa's 2,515.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Memorial Auditorium</span> Former multipurpose arena in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons (AHL), the Buffalo Bisons (NBL), the Buffalo Braves (NBA), the Buffalo Sabres (NHL), the Toronto-Buffalo Royals (WTT), the Buffalo Stallions (MSL), the Buffalo Bandits (MILL), the Buffalo Blizzard (NPSL) and the Buffalo Stampede (RHI). It also hosted events such as college basketball, concerts, professional wrestling and boxing. The venue was closed in 1996 after the construction of the venue now known as KeyBank Center, and remained vacant until being demolished in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Rowe</span> American baseball player, manager, and owner (1856–1911)

John Charles Rowe was an American professional baseball player, manager and team owner from 1877 to 1898. He played 12 years in Major League Baseball, as a shortstop, catcher, and outfielder, for four major league clubs. His longest stretches were in the National League with the Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885) and Detroit Wolverines (1886–1888). He was also a player-manager and part owner of the Buffalo Bisons of the Players' League in 1890, and the manager of the Buffalo Bisons from 1896 to 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware North</span> American food service and hospitality company

Delaware North is an American multinational food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 55,000 people worldwide and has over $3.2 billion in annual revenues.

The Western League was the name of several minor league baseball leagues that operated between 1885 and 1900. These leagues were focused mainly in the Midwestern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Johnson (industrialist)</span>

Arnold M. Johnson was an American industrialist, businessman and sportsman, who purchased the Philadelphia Athletics baseball club and moved it to Kansas City, Missouri in the autumn of 1954. He had a son, Jeffery and a daughter, Wendy.

Jeremy Maurice Jacobs Sr. is an American billionaire businessman, the owner of the Boston Bruins and chairman of Delaware North. Forbes magazine ranks him as 481st richest person in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bisons (AHL)</span> Ice hockey team in Buffalo, New York

The Buffalo Bisons were an American Hockey League ice hockey franchise that played from 1940 to 1970 in Buffalo, New York. They replaced the original Buffalo Bisons hockey team, which left the area in 1936 after its arena collapsed. They were the second professional hockey team to play their games in the Buffalo city proper, after the short-lived Buffalo Majors of the early 1930s; the previous Bisons team had played across the border at an arena in Fort Erie, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syracuse Stars (ice hockey)</span> Ice hockey team in Syracuse, New York

The Syracuse Stars were a minor professional ice hockey team from Syracuse, New York, for ten seasons from 1930–31 to 1939–40. The Stars name had previously been used by sports teams, including several Syracuse Stars baseball teams from the 19th century. The team played at the New York State Fair Coliseum on the New York State Fairgrounds. The Stars were affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Americans.

The Central Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league that operated in the United States from 1963 to 1984. Named the Central Hockey League for the 1968–69 season and forward, it was owned and operated by the National Hockey League and served as a successor to the Eastern Professional Hockey League, which had folded after the 1962–63 season. Four of the CHL's initial franchises were, in fact, relocations of the previous year's EPHL teams, while the fifth came from the International Hockey League. Its founding president was Jack Adams, who served in the role until his death in 1968. The CHL's championship trophy was called the Adams Cup in his honor.

The American Hockey Association (AHA) was a minor professional hockey league that operated between 1926 and 1942. It had previously operated as the Central Hockey League, and before that as part of the United States Amateur Hockey Association. The AHA was the first professional hockey league to field teams in the Southern United States. The founding president was Alvin Warren, who also owned the St. Paul Saints.

Carl David "Winky" Smith was an ice hockey winger who played in seven games in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings in 1943. Smith picked up his nickname when he played on the same line as Ray Powell for the Omaha Knights following World War II. His brother Dalton "Nakina" Smith, played with him on many occasions throughout his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Omaha, Nebraska</span>

Sports in Omaha, Nebraska are supported by a high attendance at events and tax support from the City of Omaha. Omaha, Nebraska is home to several professional sports teams and modern sports venues.

Joseph A. Axelson was an American sports executive who served as general manager of Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City Kings/Sacramento Kings from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1982 to 1988. He played a role in the franchise's relocation from Cincinnati to Kansas City–Omaha, and then on to Sacramento, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Athletics</span> History of Major League Baseball team

The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakland Athletics, their current identity and location.

Jeremy Maurice Jacobs Jr. is an American businessman who serves as the co-chief executive officer of Delaware North and an alternate governor for the Boston Bruins.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.