John Moores (baseball)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John J. Moores (1944–) is an American businessman.
Moores was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas and grew up poor. He left Texas A&M University before graduating and became a programmer for IBM. Later, he received a BS degree in economics and law degree from the University of Houston. Moores considers his decision to attend law school "a boneheaded move" since he never wanted to practice law in the first place.
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[edit] Business
He co-founded BMC Software in Texas in 1980 and acquired Peregrine Systems in California in 1981. He served as a director of Peregrine from March 1989 to March 2003 and as Chairman of the Board from March 1990 through July 2000 and from May 2002 through March 2003. He resigned as Peregrine chairman in February 2003 as part of the company's Chapter 11 reorganization. He also founded Neon Systems and JMI Equity. In 1994 Moores purchased the San Diego Padres professional baseball team from Tom Werner. Moores' purchase of the Padres has turned out to be quite a raw deal for San Diego Padres fans, as Moores has proven himself to be an owner who will not spend money to improve the team and who cares very little about the fans or baseball in general. Essentially, the Padres baseball team is a money resource for Moores that allows him to buy more food for his obese wife and children. He cares very little about Padres fans or the team's performance on the field.
[edit] Philanthropy and activism
Moores and his wife Rebecca, who he met in college, have four grown children, two biological and two adoptive. They live in San Diego, California and have contributed to several philanthropic and political organizations.
Organizations that Moores has supported include the ACLU, the San Diego Zoo, San Diego State University, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Center for Children, St. Vincent de Paul Villages, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and The Scripps Research Institute for Childhood and Neglected Diseases where Moores sits on the board.
His 1991 contribution of $51 million to the University of Houston was the largest in U.S. history to a public university. He served on the Board of Regents of the University of Houston from 1991 to 1994. Moores also gave $21 million to the University of California San Diego and over $20 million to San Diego State University. In 1999 he was appointed Regent of the University of California by Governor Gray Davis. As UC regent, he has worked to make sure Proposition 209 (passed in 1996) is implemented. In 2005 he was elected chair of the Carter Center at Emory University, succeeding Jimmy Carter.
Moores is also the founder of the River Blindness Foundation.
[edit] Awards
- 1996: Donor of the Year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors
- 1997: San Diego Jackie Robinson YMCA Human Dignity Award
[edit] External links
- University of Houston - biography
- "Batting Cleanup", San Diego Metropolitan (Sept. 1996) by Ron Donoho Cover story about John Moores
- Alan Zarembo, "Putting Them to the Test", Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2004. Retrieved July 23, 2006.
