Chargers’ owner gave extensively
Alex Spanos, the son of Greek immigrants who used a self-made fortune from construction and real estate to buy the San Diego Chargers in 1984, died Tuesday. He was 95.
The Chargers announced Spanos’ death. Faye Spanos, his wife, died in August at 92.
After building a nationwide construction empire based in Stockton, his hometown, Spanos realized a dream of owning an NFL franchise when he bought controlling interest in the Chargers from Gene Klein in 1984 for about $50 million. Spanos eventually bought all but 3 percent of the team.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hailed Spanos as “an American success story, driven by a tireless work ethic inspired by his humble beginnings.”
“Alex became one of the country’s most successful businessmen, but he never forgot his roots and the call to help others,” Goodell added in a statement.
Spanos and his wife were generous philanthropists, giving to many causes related to hospitals, universities and youth programs. He gave extensively to the University of the Pacific, his alma mater in Stockton, where the Alex G. Spanos Center houses the Tigers’ basketball and volleyball teams.
The Chargers announced in 2008 that Alex Spanos was suffering from dementia, and he eventually stopped attending games.
Born in Stockton on Sept. 28, 1923, Spanos took an unlikely road to NFL ownership. After working in his father’s bakery and serving in the Air Force during World War II, Spanos borrowed $800 from a banker to buy a truck from which he sold sandwiches to migrant farm workers in the San Joaquin Valley. He began investing in real estate and started a construction company that built apartment buildings, eventually expanding its footprint across the Sunbelt and Midwest.
He was an avid golfer and counted among friends Bob Hope, Gerald Ford and many prominent politicians. Hope sometimes attended the Chargers’ home games, sitting in Spanos’ box.
Spanos is survived by four children, 15 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.