Harry Glickman is a retired journalist, promoter, and sports executive. He was one of the founders of the Portland Trail Blazers

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...

, and was the team's president from 1987 to 1994.

Early career

Glickman grew up in Portland, and graduated from the University of Oregon

University of Oregon

-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

 with a degree in journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

. When a job offer at The Oregonian

The Oregonian

The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...

newspaper fell through, Glickman took to promoting sporting events. In 1960, he was one of the founders of the Portland Buckaroos

Portland Buckaroos

The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon.-PCHL/NWHL era :The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena. The Buckaroos initially played in the four-team Pacific Coast Hockey League from...

 of the Western Hockey League

Western Hockey League (minor pro)

The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League...

, a now-defunct minor hockey league (and one of several leagues

Western Hockey League (disambiguation)

There have been four ice hockey leagues that have used the name Western Hockey League:* For the 1921-26 professional league, see Western Canada Hockey League* For the 1932-33 minor pro league, see Western Canada Hockey League...

 to bear that name). The Buckaroos were one of the most successful franchises in minor league hockey history, winning three WHL championships, and playing in three others, during their 13 years in the Western Hockey League. (The WHL would fold in 1974, largely as a result of losing major market teams in Los Angeles and Vancouver to the National Hockey League and others, including Denver and Phoenix, to the World Hockey Association (which later merged with the NHL). The Buckaroos ultimately folded in 1975, after moving to a different league.

Portland Trail Blazers

In 1970, Glickman, working without any investor support, won an expansion franchise with the National Basketball Association, subject to coming up with $3.8 million in a matter of days. Glickman soon rounded up 3 wealthy real estate developers led by Herman Sarkowsky of Seattle, who then brought in Larry Weinberg of Los Angeles and Robert Schmertz of Boston. Later, Sarkowskly and Schmertz sold their shares to Weinberg, who was the teams majority owner until the club was sold to Paul Allen in 1988. Glickman oversaw all business and basketball operations as the General Manager of the franchise from its inception in 1970 until his retirement in 1987, and continues as the Blazers' president emeritus. After Paul Allen brought the club, Glickman's son, Marshall, was promoted to Senior Vice-President and was ultimately named president in 1994.

After his Blazer career, Glickman served his son Marshall's Portland Family Entertainment, a business venture which promotes baseball and soccer in Portland, and which managed a $38 million renovation of 30,000-seat Civic Stadium (now Jeld-Wen Field) on behalf of the City of Portland.

In 1977, Glickman authored his autobiography Promoter Ain't a Dirty Word. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame

The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall...

in 1986 for his contribution to sports in Oregon. He was cited as Portland, Oregon's First Citizen of the Year in 1992.

Glickman is considered as the "father" of professional sports in Oregon.