Raymond Albert Patterson, Jr. (January 15, 1922 – August 3, 2011) was general manager of the NBA's Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

 from 1972 to 1990. He was named NBA Executive of the Year in 1977, and his Rockets appeared in the NBA Finals

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....

 in 1981

1981 NBA Finals

The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1980-81 NBA season, pitting the Boston Celtics against the Houston Rockets.-Houston Rockets:...

 and 1986

1986 NBA Finals

The 1986 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1985-86 NBA season. It pitted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. The Celtics defeated the Rockets four games to two to win their 16th NBA championship. The championship would...

. Among his most notable player acquisitions were Ralph Sampson

Ralph Sampson

Ralph Lee Sampson, Jr. is a retired American college and professional basketball player.A 7-foot-4 phenom, three-time College Player of the Year, and No...

 in 1983 and Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008,...

 in 1984. He left the Rockets in 1990 with hopes of becoming co-owner of an NHL team in Houston, and was succeed by his son, Steve

Steve Patterson (sports executive)

Steve Patterson is an American sports executive and the former president and general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers National Basketball Association franchise.Patterson joined the Trail Blazers as the team president in June 2003...

. Ray Patterson's NHL dreams never materialized, but he helped found an International Hockey League franchise, the Houston Aeros

Houston Aeros

The Houston Aeros are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team plays in Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Center. They are the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.- History :...

, in 1994.

During the 1940s, Patterson played professional basketball for the Flint Dow A.C.'s of the NBL

National Basketball League (United States)

Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America  to form the National Basketball Association  in 1949.- League history :The...

.

He died on August 3, 2011 at age 89.