Ed Snider

Ed Snider
Snider in 2010
Born	Edward Malcolm Snider January 6, 1933 Washington, D.C.,U.S.
Died	April 11, 2016(2016-04-11)(aged 83) Montecito, California,U.S.
Education	University of Maryland
Occupation	Chairman
Spouse(s)	Myrna Gordon (divorced) Martha McGeary (divorced) Christine Decroix (divorced) Lin Spivak (2013–2016; his death)
Children	4 with Myrna Snider 2 with Martha McGeary
Awards	Hockey Hall of Fame(1988) Philadelphia FlyersHall of Fame (1989) Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1997) Philadelphia's Greatest Mover and Shaker of the Millennium (Philadelphia Daily News) (1999) United States Hockey Hall of Fame(2011)

Edward Malcolm Snider(January 6, 1933 – April 11, 2016) was an American business executive. He was thechairmanofComcast Spectacor,aPhiladelphia-based sports and entertainment company that owns thePhiladelphia Flyersof theNational Hockey League;theWells Fargo Center;the regional sports networkComcast SportsNet;andGlobal Spectrum,an international facilities management company. He formerly owned thePhiladelphia 76ersof theNational Basketball Association,and ran thePhiladelphia Eaglesof theNational Football Leaguefor a few years in the 1960s.

Early life and education

Snider was born to aJewishfamily in theWashington, D.C.region, the son of a grocery-store chain owner.He attended theUniversity of Marylandand earned his bachelor's degree in accounting.

Business career

Snider started a record company, Edge Ltd., with his friend Jerry Lilienfield in the 1960s, which was moderately successful. They eventually shut down the company, giving Snider the opportunity to joinJerry Wolman(builder) and Snider's brother-in-lawEarl Foreman(attorney) as they purchased thePhiladelphia Eaglesin 1964. Snider was given an option to purchase a 7% stake in the team and eventually served as vice president and treasurer, running the day-to-day operations of the Eagles.

Upon learning that theNHLwas planning to expand, Snider and Wolman made plans for a new arena—theSpectrum—to house both a hockey team and the 76ers. On February 8, 1966, the NHL awarded Philadelphia a conditional franchise, one which would eventually be named thePhiladelphia Flyersand start playing in1967.In the summer of 1967, Snider and Wolman ended their business partnership and exchanged some of their business assets. Snider became the majority owner of the Flyers and Wolman became sole owner of the Spectrum. When Wolman placed the Spectrum in bankruptcy in 1971, Snider and Foreman took over the building, eventually paying off every creditor in full. In 1974 Snider createdSpectacoras a holding company for the executives that ran the Flyers and the Spectrum. The Flyers became the first NHL expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1974, and to repeat as champions in 1975.

Snider would found or acquire several businesses during his career, most notably a regional premium cable channel,PRISM,and the first all-sports radio station,WIP.Amidst a lengthy battle with 76ers owner Harold Katz, the city of Philadelphia, and the city of Camden, New Jersey, Snider privately-financed a new arena to keep the Flyers and 76ers in Philadelphia, what would become the CoreStates Center (now the Wells Fargo Center).

Prior to the Wells Fargo Center's opening in 1996, he sold a 66% stake of all of his businesses, including Spectacor, to Philadelphia-basedComcast,creating Comcast-Spectacor. However, Snider remained chairman of the venture, retaining a minority interest. As part of the deal, Comcast also purchased the 76ers, who had been Snider's tenants since 1971. Snider andComcastCEOBrian Robertsbecame very close friends and business partners, remaining each other's closest advisor until Snider's death.

Soon after, Comcast-Spectacor createdComcast SportsNetin 1996. Comcast-Spectacor was also granted an expansion franchise in theAHL,thePhiladelphia Phantoms.In a 1999Philadelphia Daily Newspoll, Snider was selected as the city's greatest sports mover and shaker, beating out legends such asConnie Mack,Sonny Hill,Bert Bell,andRoger Penske.

Nonprofit organizations

In 1985, Snider was one of the founding contributors of theAyn Rand Institute(ARI), which was established by the philosopherLeonard Peikoffto promote Rand's philosophy ofObjectivism.In 1990, after a dispute between ARI and philosopherDavid Kelley,Snider became a backer of Kelley's rival organization, the Institute for Objectivist Studies (now known asThe Atlas Society).

In 2003, Snider became a founding board member of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (now named Beyond Celiac.)He continued to support the organization until his death in 2016.

In 2005, Snider created the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation to provide a means to reach inner-city children in the Philadelphia area and provide them with the opportunity to learn to play hockey.

In 2014, Snider donated $5 million to theUniversity of Marylandto create the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets, a part of theRobert H. Smith School of Businessthat educates students about capitalism, markets, and enterprise.

Snider also created The Snider Foundation, a charitable family foundation, which continues to operate after his death. The foundation donates millions of dollars annually to causes he believed in, including Jewish causes, conservative political organizations, and educational programs.

Honors and awards

In 1988, Snider was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame.

In 1989, Snider was inducted into thePhiladelphia FlyersHall of Fame alongsideKeith AllenandBill Barber.

In 1997, Snider was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1999, Snider was named Philadelphia's "Greatest Mover and Shaker of the Millennium" by thePhiladelphia Daily News.

In 2005, Snider was inducted into thePhiladelphia Sports Hall of Fame.In 2011, Snider was inducted into theUnited States Hockey Hall of Fame.

In 2012, thePhiladelphia Sports Writers Associationrenamed its Humanitarian Award as the Ed Snider Lifetime Distinguished Humanitarian Award, with Ed Snider as the first recipient of the newly named award.

Personal life

Snider has six children. He had 15 grandchildren at the time of his death. Jay Snider served as president of thePhiladelphia Flyersfrom 1983 to 1994, and president of Spectacor, Inc. from 1987 to 94.Most of his children worked for Spectacor or Comcast-Spectacor at some point during their lives.

Snider was married four times. His first marriage was to Myrna Gordon.They had four children and divorced in 1981. In 1983, he married model Martha McGearywith whom he had two children. They later divorced.

In 2004, he marriedBelgianChristine Decroix (born 1957), a former singer for the Belgian girl-pop group the Lovelettes in the 1970s; they divorced in 2009.He married his fourth wife, Lin Spivak (born 1968), on February 14, 2013.

Snider was a brother of theSigma Alpha Mufraternity.

Death

Snider's grave atWest Laurel Hill Cemetery

In 2014, Snider was treated forbladder cancer.Although he announced in September 2014 that he was "cancer free", the cancer subsequently returned in 2015. After a months-long battle, Snider died on April 11, 2016, at his home inMontecito, Californiaand was interred atWest Laurel Hill Cemeteryin Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Ed Snider's statue is unveiled at the Wells Fargo Center

The Flyers wore a patch in his memory on the right shoulder, a black circle with "EMS" in white, for theirStanley Cup Playoffseries against the Washington Capitals. For the following season, they wore a patch on the same shoulder, this one having Snider's signature in a black circle, with a line and the Flyers logo under the signature.

In 2017, thePhiladelphia Flyersunveiled a statue of Snider below his old office outside theWells Fargo Center.

References

Bass, Alan (2022)."Ed Snider: The Last Sports Mogul".Triumph Books.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics fromLegends of Hockey
• Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation
• Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets
• The Snider Foundation
• Comcast-Spectacor