List of professional sports team owners
This is a list of individuals, groups of individuals, and companies who have owned and operated a professional sports organization. The list is organized first by sport, then by franchise or team, then by Owner. If an organization has gone through a significant change (e.g. the team has moved and/or changed names), that information is noted after the years of ownership.
Auto racing owners & team principals
Formula One team principals
(Listed by Constructor)
- BMW Sauber
- Ferrari
- Force India-Ferrari
- Honda
- McLaren-Mercedes
- Mercedes Grand Prix
- Red Bull-Renault
- Renault
- Toro Rosso-Ferrari
- Super Aguri-Honda
- Toyota
- Williams-Toyota
NASCAR Sprint Cup team owners
- BAM Racing currently on hiatus
- Beth Ann Morgenthau - (2002–Present)
- Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates merger with Dale Earnhardt Inc.
- Dale Earnhardt Inc. merger with Chip Ganassi Racing
- Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
- Gillett Evernham Motorsports merger with Petty Enterprises in 2009
- Front Row Motorsports
- Brad Jenkins - (2005–Present)
- Furniture Row Racing
- Haas CNC Racing 50% business interest with Tony Stewart
- Hendrick Motorsports
- Joe Gibbs Racing
- Michael Waltrip Racing
- Morgan-McClure Motorsports currently on hiatus
- Penske Racing
- Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports
- Richard Childress Racing
- Richard Petty Motorsports
- Robby Gordon Motorsports
- Roush Fenway Racing
- Stewart Haas Racing
- Team Red Bull
- Wood Brothers Racing
- Yates Racing merged car No. 98 with Richard Petty Motorsports
Baseball franchise owners
Major League Baseball owners
- Angels of Anaheim
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Atlanta Braves
- Baltimore Orioles
- Boston Red Sox
- Chicago Cubs
- Chicago White Sox
- Cincinnati Reds
- Cleveland Indians
- Colorado Rockies
- Detroit Tigers
- Florida Marlins
- Houston Astros
- Kansas City Royals
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Charles Byrne, Ferdinand Abell - (1883–1890)
- Charles Byrne, Ferdinand Abell, George Chauncey - (1891–1897)
- Charles Ebbets, Ferdinand Abell - (1897–1898)
- Charles Ebbets, Ferdinand Abell, Harry Von der Horst, Ned Hanlon - (1899–1904)
- Charles Ebbets, Ferdinand Abell, Henry Medicus, Ned Hanlon - (1905–1906)
- Charles Ebbets, Henry Medicus - (1907–1912)
- Charles Ebbets, Ed McKeever, Stephen McKeever - (1912–1925)
- Stephen McKeever, heirs of Charles Ebbets and Brooklyn Trust Company - (1925–45)
- Branch Rickey [1], Walter O'Malley, Andrew J. Schmitz. [2] Other minority owners included: John A. Smith, and the heirs of Steve McKeever - (1945–1950)
- Walter O'Malley - (1950–1970), majority owner, at 75 percent, with the Mulvey family representing the McKeever interest
- Peter O'Malley - (1970–1997)
- News Corporation - (1998–2005)
- Frank McCourt - (2005–present)
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Minnesota Twins
- New York Mets
- New York Yankees
- William Devery and Frank Farrell, co-owners 1903-1915
- Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston and Jacob Ruppert, co-owners 1915-1922 [1]
- Jacob Ruppert, sole owner 1922-1939
- Heirs of Jacob Ruppert, 1939–1945
- Ed Barrow β, team president 1939-1944, chairman 1945
- Larry MacPhail β, co-owner, 1945–1947
- Dan Topping, co-owner, 1945–64
- Del Webb, co-owner, 1945–64
- Columbia Broadcasting System, 1964–1973
- George Steinbrenner, 1973-2010 (Principal Owner, Chairperson)
- YankeeNets, 1999-2004 (Formed after a merger of the business operations of the Yankees and New Jersey Nets.)
- Yankee Global Enterprises LLC, 2004–present (New name for YankeeNets after the Nets were sold to Bruce Ratner. Company owns the Yankees and the YES Network. Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, acting principal owners since 2007, principal owners since 2010)
- Oakland Athletics
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- San Diego Padres
- San Francisco Giants
- Seattle Mariners
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Texas Rangers
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Washington Nationals
Nippon Professional Baseball owners
In Japanese baseball, teams are traditionally owned by companies and bear that company's name. The only team that does not currently bear a corporate name is the Yokohama BayStars, whose owner has chosen not to attach its name to the team. The company identifier is indicated in bold type in the owner list.
- Chiba Lotte Marines
- Chunichi Dragons
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- Hanshin Tigers
- Hiroshima Toyo Carp
- Matsuda family (the founding family of Mazda — about 60%); Mazda (34.2%); other minority shareholders
- The "Toyo" name comes from the former corporate name of Mazda, Toyo Kogyo.
- Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
- Senators (1946) – Did not use a corporate name. Owned by retired Japanese statesman Kinkazu Saionji.
- Tokyu Flyers (1947) – Tokyu Corporation (100%)
- Kyuei Flyers (1948) – Tokyu and Daiei (50-50)
- Tokyu Flyers (1949–1953) – Tokyu (100%)
- Toei Flyers (1954–1972) – Toei Company
- Nittaku Home Flyers (1973) – Not directly owned by a corporation, but bore a corporate name nonetheless. The team was owned that season by Akitaka Nishimura, owner of Nittaku Home.
- Nippon-Ham Fighters (1974–2003), Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (2004–present) – Nippon Ham
- Orix Buffaloes
- Saitama Seibu Lions
- Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
- Tokyo Yakult Swallows
- Kokutetsu Swallows (1950–1965) – Japanese National Railways, known as Kokutetsu in Japanese
- Sankei Swallows (brief period in 1965) – Sankei Shimbun
- Sankei Atoms (1965–1968) – Sankei Shimbun
- Atoms (1969) – Sankei Shimbun (chose to drop its corporate name from the team)
- Yakult Atoms (1970–1973), Yakult Swallows (1974–2005), Tokyo Yakult Swallows (2006–present) – Yakult
- Yokohama BayStars
- Taiyō Whales (1950–52) – Taiyō Fishing Company (100%)
- Taiyō-Shōchiku Robins (1953) – Taiyō and Shōchiku (50-50)
- Yō-Shō Robins (1954) – Taiyō and Shōchiku (50-50)
- Taiyō Whales (1954–1977), Yokohama Taiyō Whales (1978–1992) – Taiyō (100%)
- Yokohama BayStars (1993–present) – Taiyō changed its name to Maruha Corporation, and chose to drop its corporate name from the team.
- Yomiuri Giants
Basketball team owners
Continental Basketball Association owners
National Basketball Association owners
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics
- Walter A. Brown, team founder and original owner (1946–September 7, 1964)
- Lou Pieri and Marjorie Brown, wife of team founder (September 7, 1964– June 24, 1965)
- Marvin Kratter/Knickerbocker Brewing Company, subsidiary of National Equities (June 24, 1965–1968)
- Ballantine Brewery, subsidiary of Investors Funding Corporation (1968–1969)
- Trans-National Communications (1969–1971)
- Ballantine Brewery, subsidiary of Investors Funding Corporation (1971–1972)
- Irv Levin and Harold Lipton (April 1972-May 1972) Sale not approved by NBA [2]
- Robert Schmertz/Leisure Technology (May 1972–January 1975)
- Robert Schmertz/Leisure Technology, Irv Levin, and Harold Lipton (January 1975–November 1975) [3]
- Irv Levin and Harold Lipton (November 1975-1978)
- John Y. Brown, Jr. and Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. (1978–1979)
- Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. (1979–1983)
- Don Gaston, Alan N. Cohen, Paul Dupee (1983–1993)
- Paul Gaston (1993–2002)
- Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C. — consisting of Wycliffe Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca, and H. Irving Grousbeck (2002–present)
- Charlotte Bobcats
- Chicago Bulls
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Denver Nuggets
- Stan Kroenke
- Kroenke, previously a minority owner of the NFL's St. Louis Rams, acquired full ownership in 2010. Under the NFL's cross-ownership rules, principal team owners are prohibited from owning teams in any other professional sport (except soccer) in a different NFL market. In keeping with NFL rules, he transferred operational control to his son Josh Kroenke in late 2010, and has until December 2014 to divest his interest in the Nuggets.
- Detroit Pistons
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Miami Heat
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (aka Milwaukee Pro), headed by Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman (1968–76)
- Jim Fitzgerald (principal owner, 1976–85)
- U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (1985–present)
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Jersey Nets
- New Orleans Hornets
- George Shinn (100%, 1988–2007; Charlotte/New Orleans)
- Shinn (75%) and Gary Chouest (25%) (2007–2010)
- National Basketball Association (2010–present) — The NBA purchased the team in December 2010 after a planned sale of Shinn's interest to Chouest fell through.
- New York Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Herman Sarkowsky, Robert Schmertz, and Larry Weinberg (1970–1972)
- Herman Sarkowsky & Larry Weinberg (1972–1975)
- Larry Weinberg (1975–1988)
- Paul Allen (1988–present)
- Allen is the principal owner of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. At the time he purchased the Seahawks in 1997, the NFL had a blanket prohibition of cross-ownership (apart from soccer), but the league soon modified the rule to allow NFL owners to own teams in other leagues under either of the following conditions:
- The other team is in the same market as the owner's NFL team.
- The other team is in a market without an NFL team, as is the case with Portland.
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs
- Toronto Raptors
- Utah Jazz
- Sam Battistone (1970–1985), New Orleans/Utah Jazz
- Battistone and Larry Miller (50-50, 1985–1986)
- Miller (100%, 1986–2009)
- Estate of Larry Miller (2009–present)
- Washington Wizards
- David Trager (1961–1964) — Chicago Packers/Zephyrs, Baltimore Bullets
- Abe Pollin (majority owner), Earl Foreman, Arnold Heft (1964–68) — Baltimore Bullets
- Pollin (100%, 1968–1999) — Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets, Washington Wizards
- Pollin (56%) and Ted Leonsis (44%) (1999–2009)
- Estate of Abe Pollin and Ted Leonsis (2009–2010)
- Ted Leonsis (2010–present)
- Arizona Cardinals
- Chris O'Brien (1898–1929) — Morgan Athletic Club (Chicago, 1898–1899?), Racine Normals (still in Chicago, 1899?–1901), Racine Cardinals (1901–1921), Chicago Cardinals (1922–1959)
- Dr. David Jones (1929–1933)
- Charles Bidwill (1933–1947)
- Violet Bidwill, later Violet Bidwill Wolfner (1947–1962) — Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals
- Bill Bidwill and Charles Bidwill, Jr. (1962–1972)
- Bill Bidwill (1972–present) — St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Baltimore Ravens
- Buffalo Bills
- Carolina Panthers
- Chicago Bears
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Dallas Cowboys
- Denver Broncos
- Detroit Lions
- George A. Richards (1934–1940)
- Fred Mandel (1940–1948)
- Edwin J. Anderson (1948–1964)
- William Clay Ford, Sr. (1964–present)
- Green Bay Packers
- Houston Texans
- Indianapolis Colts
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Lamar Hunt (1960–2006) — Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs
- Hunt family, led by Clark Hunt (2006–present)
- Miami Dolphins
- Minnesota Vikings
- Bill Boyer, H. P. Skoglund, Max Winter, Bernie Ridder, and Ole Haugsrud (1961–1972)
- Skoglund, Winter, Ridder, and Haugsrud (1972–1976)
- Skoglund, Winter, and Ridder (1976–1988)
- Skoglund, Winter, Ridder, Carl Pohlad, and Irwin Jacobs (1988–1991)
- Roger Headrick (1991–1998)
- Red McCombs (1998–2005)
- Zygi Wilf and family, and Reggie Fowler (2005–present)
- New England Patriots
- New Orleans Saints
- John W. Mecom, Jr. (1967–1985)
- Tom Benson (1985–present)
- New York Giants
- The Mara Family (1925–present; 100 percent ownership, 1925–1991, 50 percent ownership since 1991)
- The Tisch Family (1991–present; 50 percent ownership)
- New York Jets
- Oakland Raiders
- Limited partnership led by Y. Charles (Chet) Soda (1960)
- F. Wayne Valley and Ed McGah (1961–1966)
- Valley, McGah and Al Davis (1966–1976)
- Davis and McGah (1976–1983) - Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
- Davis (1983–present) — Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- St. Louis Rams
- San Diego Chargers
- San Francisco 49ers
- Tony Morabito, Victor Morabito, Allen E. Sorrell and E.J. Turre (1946)
- Tony and Victor Morabito (1947–1953)
- Morabito, Morabito, and Al Ruffo (1953–1957)
- Josephine Morabito, Victor Morabito, and Ruffo (1957–1964)
- Josephine Morabito, Elizabeth Morabito, and Ruffo (1964–1977)
- Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. and Denise DeBartolo York (1977–2000)
- Denise DeBartolo York and John York (2000–present)
- Seattle Seahawks
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Tennessee Titans
- Bud Adams (1960–present) — Houston/Tennessee Oilers, Tennessee Titans
- Washington Redskins
Hockey franchise owners
National Hockey League owners
- Anaheim Ducks
- Boston Bruins
- Buffalo Sabres
- Calgary Flames
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Colorado Avalanche
- Charlie Lyons – 1995–2000
- E. Stanley Kroenke – 2000–present
- As noted in the NBA section, Kroenke must now divest his interest in the Avalanche by December 2014 under NFL rules, as he became the full owner of the St. Louis Rams in 2010. As with the Nuggets, he transferred operational control of the Avalanche to his son Josh Kroenke in late 2010.
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Dallas Stars
- Detroit Red Wings
- Edmonton Oilers
- Florida Panthers
- Los Angeles Kings
- Minnesota Wild
- Montreal Canadiens
- Nashville Predators
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Islanders
- New York Rangers
- Ottawa Senators
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Phoenix Coyotes
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Jack McGregor and Peter Block – 1965–1968
- Donald Parsons – 1968–1971
- Peter Block, Elmore Keener, and Peter Burchfield – 1971–1975
- National Hockey League – 1975
- Al Savill, Otto Frenzel, and Wren Blair – 1975–1976
- Al Savill and Otto Frenzel – 1976–1977
- Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. – 1977–1991
- Howard Baldwin, Morris Belzberg, and Thomas Ruta – 1991–1997
- Howard Baldwin, Morris Belzberg, Thomas Ruta, and Roger Marino – 1997–1999
- Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle – 1999–present
- San Jose Sharks
- St. Louis Blues
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Vancouver Canucks
- Washington Capitals
- Winnipeg Jets (formerly Atlanta Thrashers)
-
- Thrashers
- Jets
England
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Owned by a large number of shareholders until 1968. Since that time:
- Doug Ellis (largest single shareholder 1968–1975; majority shareholder 1982–2006)
- Randy Lerner (2006–present)
- Birmingham City
- Birmingham City Football Club plc (largest owner: Carson Yeung)
- Blackburn Rovers
- Bolton Wanderers
- Burnley
- Chelsea
- Everton
- Fulham
- Hull City
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Manchester City Limited — The club's holding company; owned by a large number of shareholders until 2007 (see Ownership of Manchester City F.C.). Since then, the holding company has been owned by:
- Manchester United
- Portsmouth
- Stoke City
- Sunderland
- Tottenham Hotspur
- West Ham United
- Wigan Athletic
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Middlesbrough
- Steve Gibson (1986–1993 as head of consortium; 1993–present as majority owner)
- Newcastle United
- Reading
- Chicago Fire
- Chivas USA
- Colorado Rapids
- Columbus Crew
- Lamar Hunt - (1995–2006)
- Clark Hunt - (2006–Present)
- Because soccer is exempt from the NFL's cross-ownership rules, Clark Hunt can hold his interest in the Crew.
- D.C. United
- FC Dallas
(Dallas Burn from 1996–2004)
- Houston Dynamo
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- Montreal Impact
(Joining in 2012)
- New England Revolution
- New York Red Bulls
- Philadelphia Union
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Sporting Kansas City
(Kansas City Wizards from 1996–2010)
- Toronto FC
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Olympiacos Piraeus
- Panathinaikos FC
- Panionios
Rugby union club owners
- Bath
- Gloucester
- Owned by a large number of investors until 1997
- Tom Walkinshaw (1997–2010)
- Ryan Walkinshaw (December 2010–present)
- London Wasps
- Newcastle Falcons
- John Hall (1996–1999)
- Dave Thompson (1999–present)
- Aironi
- Benetton Treviso
- Cardiff Blues
- Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster
- All are owned and operated by the respective provincial branches of the Irish Rugby Football Union, the sport's governing body throughout the island of Ireland.
- Newport Gwent Dragons
- Ospreys
- Scarlets
- Brive
- Daniel Derichebourg[10]
- Derichebourg has put the club up for sale.
- Perpignan
- Racing Métro
- Stade Français
- Max Guazzini (majority owner, 1992–June 2011); unknown percentage also owned by Christophe Dominici in the last years of Guazzini's ownership
- Jean-Pierre Savare (majority owner, June 2011–)[12]
- Toulon
References
- ^ "Yankees Timeline". Major League Baseball. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/history/timeline1.jsp. Retrieved 2007-06-18. "May 21, 1922: Col. Ruppert buys out Col. Huston for $1.5 million."
- ^ "Celtics' owner dispute is more confused than ever". The Tuscaloosa News. July 22, 1974. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QUYgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RpwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7195,4210919&dq. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
- ^ "New Owner But Red Is Still Boss of Celts". Lewiston Evening Journal. Jan 14, 1975. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JaMgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mGgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5462,1797882&dq. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
- ^ a b "Magic Johnson sells Lakers shares". ESPN.com. 2010-10-18. http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5700193. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
- ^ Yasinskas, Pat (2009-12-17). "Dunn to own piece of Falcons". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4750819. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
- ^ http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_6010504,00.html
- ^ http://rugby1823.blogosfere.it/2010/06/super-10-e-alla-fine-fu-granducato-parma-rugby.html
- ^ http://www.sportparma.com/rugby_sport_parma/5924-Rugby-Parma-Noceto-storia-infinita.html
- ^ http://guide.supereva.it/rugby/interventi/2010/06/la-fusione-tra-rugby-parma-e-noceto-sintomo-di-unepoca
- ^ a b c Moriarty, Ian (2009-11-11). "French rugby heading for crisis". Scrum.com. http://www.scrum.com/france/rugby/story/105248.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
- ^ Moriarty, Ian (2010-07-06). "Time to hit the panic button?". Scrum.com. http://www.scrum.com/france/rugby/story/118977.html. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ "Stade Francais secure top flight status". ESPN Scrum. 27 June 2011. http://www.espnscrum.com/francetop14-2010-11/rugby/story/142372.html?e=headline. Retrieved 27 June 2011.