Portland Trail Blazers founder Glickman dead
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Harry Glickman, the founder of the Portland Trail Blazers and general manager of the franchise’s only NBA title-winning team in 1977, died Wednesday. He was 96.
The team announced Glickman’s death; no cause was given. In their tweet, the Trail Blazers described Glickman as: “The father of professional sports in Oregon, a true Trail Blazer.”
Portland was granted an expansion franchise in 1970. Glickman was part of the original ownership team, along with Herman Sarkowsky, Larry Weinberg and Robert Schmertz, that paid the league’s $3.7 million expansion fee, according to the team’s website. Glickman was one of the shareholders who sold the club to Paul Allen in 1988.
Glickman held a number of positions with the team, including general manager, before he retired in 1994.
He then became president emeritus.
Under Glickman, the Trail Blazers reached the NBA Finals three times, winning their lone title in 1977. Portland also won the Western
Conference championship in 1990 and 1992.
“Harry Glickman laid the foundation and established the benchmark for small-market success in the NBA,” said Neil Olshey, the president of basketball operations for the Blazers. “He was the driving force that set the stage for the 1977 NBA championship, a seminal moment that elevated Portland and allowed it to join the elite of professional sports franchises.”
Also while under Glickman, the Trail Blazers set an American sports record with 814 consecutive home sellouts, a feat later surpassed by the Boston Red Sox.