Bob Lurie
Encyclopedia
Robert Alfred Lurie is a real estate magnate, philanthropist, and former owner of the San Francisco Giants
franchise of Major League Baseball
from March 2, 1976 until January 12, 1993.
for $8 million, thereby saving the team from potentially being sold to a Canadian brewery and moved to Toronto
. Although Toronto was awarded its own expansion team, the Blue Jays
, in 1977, it would not be the last time that San Francisco's baseball
fans would fear the possibility of losing their team.
The 1970s was a generally disappointing decade for the Giants and the trend continued throughout Lurie’s ownership. In 1985, a year which saw the Giants lose 100 games (the most in franchise history), Lurie responded by hiring Al Rosen
as general manager. Under Rosen's tenure, the Giants promoted promising rookies such as Will Clark
and Robby Thompson
, and made canny trades to acquire such players as Kevin Mitchell
, Dave Dravecky
, Candy Maldonado
, and Rick Reuschel
. The Giants would not have a better influx of young position players since that period until the mid 2000's.
Meanwhile, in both 1987 and 1989, San Francisco voters rejected two stadium referendums to replace the notoriously unaccommodating Candlestick Park as the home of the Giants, despite the franchise's offer to pick up most of the tab for a new downtown park. Worse still, a plan to improve the existing stadium failed by an even wider margin. Frustrated, Lurie looked south toward Silicon Valley
, only to see San Jose
and Santa Clara
voters reject three more proposals to build a Giants ballpark.
Finally, in October 1992, Lurie announced that he would sell the Giants, claiming that he could no longer sustain the financial losses (averaging about $2–7 million annually) that had accumulated over the last few years. During his announcement, Lurie appeared visibly emotional, his voice breaking as he explained his hopes for turning the business side around when he bought the team in 1976. Nonetheless, losing teams and poor weather conditions at Candlestick Park kept many fans away, and at the time of Lurie's announcement, the team had finished with a 72-90 record.
Originally, Lurie had agreed to sell the Giants for $115 million to an ownership group headed by Vince Naimoli
(original owner of the Tampa Bay Rays
) with plans to move the club to St. Petersburg, Florida
. However, the National League
nixed the deal, pressuring Lurie to sell the club to Bay Area investors. In an 11th hour effort to save the team from moving, a group of local investors headed by ex-Safeway
magnate, Peter Magowan
, offered Lurie $100 million for the Giants.
(known as "Flogton").
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
franchise of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
from March 2, 1976 until January 12, 1993.
Giants Ownership
In 1976, Lurie led a group to buy the Giants from Horace StonehamHorace Stoneham
Horace C. Stoneham was the principal owner of Major League Baseball's New York/San Francisco Giants from the death of his father, Charles Stoneham, in 1936 until 1976. During his ownership, the team won National League pennants in 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954 and 1962, a division title in 1971, and a...
for $8 million, thereby saving the team from potentially being sold to a Canadian brewery and moved to Toronto
Exhibition Stadium
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
. Although Toronto was awarded its own expansion team, the Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
, in 1977, it would not be the last time that San Francisco's baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
fans would fear the possibility of losing their team.
The 1970s was a generally disappointing decade for the Giants and the trend continued throughout Lurie’s ownership. In 1985, a year which saw the Giants lose 100 games (the most in franchise history), Lurie responded by hiring Al Rosen
Al Rosen
Albert Leonard Rosen , nicknamed "Al", "Flip", and the "Hebrew Hammer", is a former American professional baseball player who was a third baseman and right-handed slugger in the Major Leagues for ten seasons in tthe 1940s and 1950s.He played his entire 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians in...
as general manager. Under Rosen's tenure, the Giants promoted promising rookies such as Will Clark
Will Clark
William Nuschler Clark, Jr. is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the San Francisco Giants from to .Will was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill"...
and Robby Thompson
Robby Thompson
Robert Randall "Robby" Thompson is an American professional baseball coach and former college and professional player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as the second baseman for the San Francisco Giants from to . Thompson is the current bench coach for the Seattle Mariners...
, and made canny trades to acquire such players as Kevin Mitchell
Kevin Mitchell (baseball player)
Kevin Darnell Mitchell is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder. He became widely known not only for his occasional brilliance on the field, but also for his unpredictable and sometimes volatile behavior off the field.-New York Mets:In Amazin, Peter Golenbock's oral history of the...
, Dave Dravecky
Dave Dravecky
David Francis Dravecky is a Christian motivational speaker, author, and former Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants...
, Candy Maldonado
Candy Maldonado
Candido Maldonado Guadarrama is a former Major League Baseball outfielder from to for the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. Chris Berman, a fellow ESPN analyst, called him the "Candyman"...
, and Rick Reuschel
Rick Reuschel
Rickey Eugene Reuschel is a former professional baseball pitcher from the early 1970s into the early 1990s. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because of his portly physique...
. The Giants would not have a better influx of young position players since that period until the mid 2000's.
Meanwhile, in both 1987 and 1989, San Francisco voters rejected two stadium referendums to replace the notoriously unaccommodating Candlestick Park as the home of the Giants, despite the franchise's offer to pick up most of the tab for a new downtown park. Worse still, a plan to improve the existing stadium failed by an even wider margin. Frustrated, Lurie looked south toward Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, only to see San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
and Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
voters reject three more proposals to build a Giants ballpark.
Finally, in October 1992, Lurie announced that he would sell the Giants, claiming that he could no longer sustain the financial losses (averaging about $2–7 million annually) that had accumulated over the last few years. During his announcement, Lurie appeared visibly emotional, his voice breaking as he explained his hopes for turning the business side around when he bought the team in 1976. Nonetheless, losing teams and poor weather conditions at Candlestick Park kept many fans away, and at the time of Lurie's announcement, the team had finished with a 72-90 record.
Originally, Lurie had agreed to sell the Giants for $115 million to an ownership group headed by Vince Naimoli
Vince Naimoli
Vincent J. Naimoli is a businessman, and the first owner of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. -Biography:...
(original owner of the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
) with plans to move the club to St. Petersburg, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. However, the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
nixed the deal, pressuring Lurie to sell the club to Bay Area investors. In an 11th hour effort to save the team from moving, a group of local investors headed by ex-Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
magnate, Peter Magowan
Peter Magowan
Peter A. Magowan is the former managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball franchise.-Early life and career:...
, offered Lurie $100 million for the Giants.
Post-Giants Ownership
Since selling the Giants, Lurie has focused his efforts on his real estate firm, the Lurie Co., buying and selling properties and branching out beyond its core office holdings totalling over 4000000 square feet (371,612.2 m²), not including two hotels, a theater and a parking facility it owns. He is also involved in various philanthropic activities, which include the $20 million Louis R. Lurie Foundation. Lurie is an adviser of the Alternative Golf AssociationAlternative Golf Association
The Alternative Golf Association, also known as Flogton , is a group of Silicon Valley executives that encourages golf participation by relaxing or ignoring traditional rules to reduce player frustration. According to the National Golf Foundation, there were declines in golfers and rounds played...
(known as "Flogton").
Miscellaneous
- In June 2001, the San Francisco ZooSan Francisco ZooThe San Francisco Zoo, housing more than 260 animal species, is a zoo located in the southwestern corner of San Francisco, California, between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway...
proudly opened its new 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) Connie and Bob Lurie Education Center.
- Bob Lurie was once asked about the proverbial 'complete player'. "A complete player today," Lurie remarked, "is one who can hit, field, run, throw - and pick the right agent." [Source: Glenn Liebman, Grand Slams! : The Ultimate Collection of Baseball's Best Quips, Quotes, and Cutting Remarks]
- The real estate company currently headed by Lurie was founded in 1922 by his father, Louis Lurie, a family whose name is synonymous with San Francisco real estate development during the middle part of the 20th century. The company built a number of properties along Montgomery StreetMontgomery StreetMontgomery Street is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, in the United States.It runs about 16 blocks from the Telegraph Hill neighborhood south through downtown, terminating at Market Street. South of Columbus Avenue, Montgomery Street runs through the heart of San Francisco's...
over the years, including a building Bank of America bought and tore down for its world headquarters at 555 California St., and it still owns many of them. Other notable local properties owned by Lurie are the Mark Hopkins Hotel and the Curran Theatre.
- Lurie's real estate company has also upgraded some older properties in San Francisco. For example, Lurie invested $20 million in 901 Market St. and brought in retailers Copeland's Sports and Marshalls, transforming the 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) mid-Market Street eyesore into a winner.
- Both owners of the World Series teams in 1989 belonged to the Jewish synagogue Temple Emannuel in San Francisco, Bob Lurie was one; Walter A. Haas, Jr.Walter A. Haas, Jr.Walter A. Haas, Jr. was a president and CEO and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co, succeeding his father Walter A. Haas. He led the company in its growth from a regional manufacturer and wholesaler of work clothes to one of the world’s leading apparel companies...
, owner of the Oakland AthleticsOakland AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
was the other.
- Through the Louis R. Lurie Foundation, a philanthropic fund established by his father, Lurie has made a significant number of charitable contributions to many non-profits in San Francisco, the greater Bay Area, and Chicago.
External links
- Lurie for Selling Giants — New York Times article
- San Jose mayor seeks major league team — ESPN.com
- Giants to Open Stadium Talks — New York Times article
- Giants Will Stay Put — New York Times article
- Giants history and timeline — Official Giants website
- Bob Lurie ownership chronology — Baseball America Executive Database
- Bob Lurie trades Giants for new real estate lineup — San Francisco Business Times
- Bye-Bye, Baby, Lurie's speech to the Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaCommonwealth Club of CaliforniaThe Commonwealth Club of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States...
in 1976 on keeping the Giants in San Francisco. - http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/ffindershow.cgi?id=LURI001 - Foundation Center profile