In 1991, Stavro paid off a $20 million loan that had been made to Ballard in 1980 by Molson. Mr. McDermott, for one, remembers him differently. Bill Ballard died of cancer on March 13 at the age of 67. "He had an amazing ability to put away bowls and bowls of food," Mr. Finkelstein recounts. When she didnt travel with the team, she would arrange for suitable food to be sent to Harolds hotel room, ensuring the diabetic would eat well. Through the summer of 1980, Ballard insisted that Sittler would not be back with the Leafs. ''I thought we were both going to get arrested. Concert Productions International would become a hugely profitable enterprise and a game-changing innovator in full-service touring in North America. Many fans consider the Ballard era to be the darkest period in team history. Harold Vance Delk Jr., age 78, a resident of Bertrand, died Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, at the Charleston Manor. "When you get into the business at age 38, like I did, you're either crazy or you've got a great champion on your side. To order However, by the time the Toros played their first game at the Gardens, Ballard had been released from prison. [7], When the NHL finally did take in four WHA teams after the 197879 season, Ballard refused to support the deal. While touring Europe, the Nationals were involved in several fights, both on the ice and off. Although the Leafs were barely competitive for much Ballard's tenure, every game at Maple Leaf Gardens was sold out and he was well known for his charitable activities. In addition to sharing the Braves with Buffalo, he had notions of a second CFL franchise and big-league baseball, too. His father was Toronto Maple Leafs hockey mogul Harold Ballard. He won Stanley Cups in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967, all as part-owner. This is a carousel with slides. Other notable incidents and anecdotes during Ballard's time as majority owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens include:[1]. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). "Silent runner or not, an incident in 1989 put Mr. Ballard in the public arena, where the light was not always flattering. April 24, 1930 - February 27, 2023. I mean, he didn't get his law degree from a Cheerios box. There was a problem getting your location. and denied them access to the Leafs locker room. His acquisition of the Leafs, one of Canada's most revered properties, came shortly before Mr. Ballard served a year in jail on a fraud conviction for diverting money from the Gardens' accounts to his own. The Leafs barely made the playoffs in 1980, finishing five games below .500. Echovita is an archive of public obituaries and death notices to keep you. Canadian businessman and sportsman (19031990). He floated the idea of bringing in the NHL's California Golden Seals into the Toronto area and much later was a failed bidder for the expansion NBA Raptors.). Things changed when Mr. Ballard became president and governor of the Maple Leafs in 1972. He first gained attention in the late 1960s on the football gridiron of his alma mater, Waterloo Lutheran (now Wilfrid Laurier University). Mr. Finkelstein's True North record label and artist management company was taking off, and so he withdrew from the concert promotion game. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. She could dine with the Queen of England at night and the next morning be busting it with any kind of maintenance person, Gord Stellick recalled. "His own boat was called Midnight Mischief, and it was aptly named," says John McDermott, the successful Scottish-Canadian tenor. However, this was largely because Ballard was unwilling to increase the payroll in order to improve the on-ice product, despite playing in the fourth-largest market. 03/28/1925 - 11/15/2019 . Mr. Ballard opposed hockey games against teams from the Soviet Union, calling the Russians ''parasites and barnacles who steal our money.'' However, hostility to Ballard's overture from the Toronto Argonauts (then owned by Ballard's former partner John Bassett) ensured it never went anywhere. She fought with Ballard's family and partners over Ballard's estate following his death. Watson chose not to return the following season, and Ballard took over the coaching duties. "He fought for the underdog," Mr. McDermott says. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Ballard had once called Sittler "the son I never had", but relations between the two took a turn for the worse with Sittler's increasing prominence in the NHLPA. Ballard then partnered with long-time rival Alan Eagleson and Eagleson's client Bobby Orr to get the television rights to the series, which would be used to benefit Hockey Canada and the players' union. Born to Fred and Merleen Steele, David grew up in Pennsylvania and New Mexico. In 1940, he became a member of the Maple Leafs Hockey Team organization, was a senior executive in 1957, became part-owner of the team in 1961 and was majority owner from February 1972 until his death at age 86. She was led to the Lord by her grandfather at the age of 10 and dedicated her life to Christ at . A system error has occurred. The executors of Ballard's will were Steve Stavro, Don Giffin and Don Crump. Sunday, January 8, 2023 . An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Since it was a hot day, Mr. Ballard turned up the building's furnace, delayed both shows and ordered the concession stands to sell only large soft drinks. He was a lifetime resident of Gary and attended Wirt High School. BALLARD, Bura (WOOD); 88; Greenfield IN; 2006-Dec-27; Bura Ballard BALLARD, Dorothy L (CROWELL); ; Indianapolis IN; 2007-Jan-3; Dorothy Ballard Loving father of Alan McKee (Beverly) of Calgary, Nancy Buckham (David) of Burlington, Karen Charlebois (Del) of Newcastle and Brian McKee of St. Catharines. Nevertheless, they still qualified for the playoffs under the playoff format in use at the time. There were differences of opinion on how good a businessman Harold Ballard was "He couldn't promote the Second Coming with the original cast," cracked Toronto Star columnist Frank Orr but his son's reputation was solid in that respect. Robert A. Ballard, 82, of Mount Joy and formerly of Landisville, passed away on Thanksgiving, November 24, 2016, at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, VA. Robert was the loving husband. Echovita is an archive of public obituaries and death notices to keep you informed about people who have passed away in your. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the. On the night of the singer's first major concert at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, the plan was to put the spotlight on Mr. McDermott's father in the audience during the show. - Margaret Mae Hernandez, 85, of Dearborn, Missouri, passed away Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, at her home. Under Day and Ballard, the Nationals won the Memorial Cup at the end of the 193536 season. Review. He was 58. They returned to Toronto where his father, English-born Sidney Eustace Ballard, founded Ballard Machinery Supplies Co., a sewing machine manufacturer, which at one point was one of Canada's leading manufacturers of ice skates (it went out of the business in the early 1930s, when the Canadian skate market was dominated by CCM). The Leafs and North Stars both played in the Norris Division, which was extremely weak that year; the Red Wings were the only team with a winning record. Ballard was made president and general manager. And I had Billy on my side.". Please reset your password. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Ballard's application would have required the unanimous consent of the four Eastern Football Conference owners to have been approved under the rules in effect at the time. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Harold Ballard (10477)? "Look at what he did in that year he and Peter Larsen ran Maple Leaf Gardens," says Michael Cohl, the legendary concert promoter, who with Mr. Ballard and David Wolinsky formed Concert Productions International in 1973. Ballard remained as de facto general manager even when Imlach recovered. Three money-losing seasons later, in January 1978, DeGroote contacted Ballard and sold him the club for $1.3 million. You can search by first or last name, state and publication date. He could not get enough of his grandma's cooking. In 1969, painters doing over the Gardens' television booth used (perhaps unknowingly) a dozen or more of these banners to catch paint drips. William Owen Sydney Ballard (November 10, 1946 - March 14, 2014) was a businessman and concert promoter. Angry teammates trashed their dressing room in response. In 1969, Ballard and Stafford Smythe were charged with tax evasion and accused of using Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. to pay for their personal expenses. . Harold Ballard, the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League and a man described by his team's fact book as ''one of the most loved and hated men in Canada,'' died yesterday in Toronto. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Keon was forced to move to the WHA's Minnesota Fighting Saints. [14] Eagleson called the trade "a classless act."[12]. Benjamin Harold Ballard, 42, was shot and killed in a traffic altercation at SW 59 and Mustang Road about 6:45 p.m. Friday, June 5, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported. The WHA had insisted on bringing in all three of its surviving Canadian teams, meaning revenue from CBC telecasts now had to be split six ways rather than three. After Day became coach of the Leafs in 1940, he recommended Ballard to the Leaf organization to run the Toronto Marlboros, the senior and junior teams owned by the Leafs. She was. Toronto became a laughingstock of the. Sorry! One drunken, hollering student jumped into their front seat looking for a ride, scaring the kids in the back seat. Even after the NHL-WHA merger was finalized over Ballard's objections, it was only the intervention of NHL President John Ziegler that finally persuaded Ballard to not reclaim Keon's rights (which would have effectively ended his career) and allow him to play three more seasons with the mediocre Hartford Whalers. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. He competed in several regattas, and won the Toronto-Oakville marathon in 1929. Ballard famously had his hand and footprints etched onto a concrete slab and placed it at centre ice of Maple Leaf Gardens, which deteriorated the quality of the Gardens ice. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Harold Ballard I found on Findagrave.com. When the group's manager objected, Mr. Ballard told him the fans would tear down the building with the Beatles in it if they didn't do two shows. Burke Mortuary of Maiden Inc. Learn . '', Mr. Ballard once called John Ziegler, the president of the National Hockey League, a ''know-nothing shrimp'' and described his own daughter as a ''reptile.''. Indeed, the one story about Mr. Ballard's excitable metabolism that has been recycled more than the others over the years involves a visit to New York, where a stunned matre d' witnessed the man's gustatory feats. Resend Activation Email. And so, at the age of 25, armed with a law degree from Osgoode, son Bill stepped in and became director and vice-president of Maple Leaf Gardens. Phone: (828) 428-2460 Fax: (828) 428-4154 1101 East Maiden Road, P.O. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? In August, just weeks before the series began, Ballard was convicted on 47 of the charges. Ballard pleaded not guilty to all charges. He tried to micromanage the team, interfering with coaches and players. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. At the time he was studying law, while she worked as a title searcher for a Toronto firm. Ballard booked The Beatles on each of their three North American tours from 19641966. Around that time, the Leafs had made it as far as the Stanley Cup semifinals in 1978, losing to the two-time defending champions Montreal Canadiens. He also was the owner of the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League (1978-89), which won the 1986 Grey Cup. Conn Smythe later claimed that he believed he was only selling his shares to his son, but it is very unlikely that Stafford could have acquired the millions he needed to buy the Leafs on his own. Ballard's desire to control players and their salaries also put him at odds with Alan Eagleson, executive director of the NHL Players' Association and a player agent whose clients included Keon's successor as captain, Darryl Sittler. Try again later. He would coach one more game, for the senior Marlies, during the 1950 Allan Cup final, after head coach Joe Primeau's father died. In 1990, Harold Ballard died, irascible and overripe at 86. In those days, the top four teams in each division made the playoffs, regardless of record. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Mr. McDermott was a pet project of Mr. Ballard's. Beloved husband of the late Joan McKee (nee Buss). You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Ballard's solution was to make the CBC pay for the upgrade. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. There, the Nationals lost 21 in overtime to a team from the U.S.the first loss for a Canadian team at the world championships. "There's not a remote chance I would have a career if not for Bill Ballard.". The singer was nearing 40 years old and working at The Toronto Sun when he embarked on a performing career. Growing up in Jordan, he went to St John's Catholic School for 8 years and graduated from Jordan High School in 1952. Obituary James Harold Ballard, of Sharpsburg, passed away Wednesday, December 23, 2020. ", (Indeed, Mr. Ballard was an enthusiastic chaser of properties to bring into Toronto. The storied arena fell into disrepair during Ballard's tenure. That deal closed in 1994, and shortly after Stavro bought Ballard's shares from the estate for $34 a share or $75 million. Harold never gave it another thought. Subsequent league expansions and format revisions make it impossible for a team so close to the bottom of the league standings to qualify for the playoffs today. His death set off a feeding frenzy that had already been begun over the iconic properties he controlled: the Toronto Maple Leafs and the building the team played in, Maple Leaf Gardens. cemeteries found in Toronto, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada will be saved to your photo volunteer list. She was 87. Burial Date: March 6, 2023. The biggest loss was goaltender Bernie Parent, a superstar in the making, who was offered a WHA contract with financial terms far beyond what Ballard was prepared to match. Verify and try again. Please include I Remember in the subject field. About a month later, Ballard and two friends from the Yacht club were hurled from a boat into a frigid Lake Ontario. Sittler will stay put at least this season," Ken McKee. Some information may no longer be current. HAROLD G BALLARD. [10] After the season, where the Maple Leafs were swept in the quarterfinals by the Canadiens, Ballard fired general manager Jim Gregory, replacing him with his predecessor, Punch Imlach. He is 1 of 7 names to be on both the Stanley Cup and Grey Cup. As a young man, he loved working with horses on his aunt and uncles farm. Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.21, Penguin Books. Harold Ballard Hurt Obituary Remember Harold Ballard Hurt. Police surround the vehicle, and gunfire is heard on the video. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Priestley, the narrator and director of "Offside: the Harold Ballard Story, wants Canadians to draw their own conclusions on the irascible sports magnate who also owned the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Under coach Harry Watson, the team won the Allan Cup in 1932. Angered that the WHA was literally in his backyard, the elder Ballard made the Toros' lease terms as onerous as possible. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. In 1973, the WHA moved the Ottawa Nationals to Toronto as the Toronto Toros. '', Mr. Ballard never let high position inhibit his tongue or his behavior. U.S. Shortly after taking control of the Leafs, Ballard stood trial on 49 counts of fraud, theft and tax evasion involving $205,000. A social media post showed video of what appears to be the shooting. HAROLD BALLARD OBITUARY Harold G. Ballard, born November 20, 1932 in New Orleans and a resident of the Central Community since 1960, died Sunday July 1, 2018. In his graduating year, Mr. Ballard was a student union president who helped convince the school's governors to build an athletic facility. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. You thought it couldnt get any more colourful under Harold Ballard. ABBOTT, Harold M; 85; Indianapolis IN; 2007-May-6; Harold Abbott . Yolanda was born Jan. 3, 1933 in Fort William, Ont. She was born November 5, 1922, in Cedar Springs MI to Harold and Cora (Miller) Ballard. February 28, 1945 - October 12, 2021. When the Fighting Saints folded, Keon received an offer from the soon-to-be dynasty New York Islanders, but Ballard still owned Keon's NHL rights and effectively blocked that deal, forcing Keon to move to the relatively stable New England Whalers. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Harold Ballard, hockey executive (born 30 July 1903 in Toronto, ON; died 11 April 1990 in To-ronto, ON). The elder Ballard, shrewd and unshockable, approved of the slaughter, seeing it as allegorical. He would entertain at his Thunder Beach cottage on Georgian Bay, where annually he would lead a trail of boats to Killarney, Ont. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. He negotiated lucrative deals to place advertising throughout the building, and greatly increased the number of seats in the Gardens. Mr. Ballard married a minister's daughter, Dorothy Higgs, who died in 1969. After being fined, he backed down and put the names in the opposite colours. It's probably also true that few managers would have gone to the lengths that Mr. Ballard did to serve a client. When Hockey Night in Canadas president, Ted Hough, balked at Ballard's demands just before a broadcast, Ballard grabbed a fireman's ax and threatened to cut the TV cable unless Hough agreed to pay. Born in Drain, Ore., she was a visitor to Spring Hill. Facing an untenable situation, Bassett resigned as chairman and sold his shares to Ballard and Stafford Smythe in September 1971. McKee, Harold Alexander (Reverend) Passed away peacefully at Henley House, St. Catharines, on Monday February 18, 2019 at the age of 86. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Learn more about managing a memorial . "He would eat enough fried calamari for four people, and then order something else.". However, Bassett didn't force Smythe and Ballard to sell their shares, and both men remained on the board. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Following the 1930 racing season, the Yacht Club sponsored a senior team in the Ontario Hockey Association called the Toronto National Sea Fleas. Mr. Ballard disputed the accusation, telling her at one point that if he ever did assault her, "there won't be enough left to put in a hot dog.". "[4], He also expanded the number of concerts, entertainment acts, and conventions booked in the building. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. James Harold Ballard (1934 - 2019) from Charlotte, NC. Latest Obituaries. When Day was busy with the Leafs and unavailable for games, Ballard would step behind the bench as acting coach. ''She never gave me anything. Shelvie "Jeannie" Workman Ballard, 85, of Newton, passed away on Friday, January 6, 2023 at Carolina Caring in Newton. Find the obituary of Rev. "They loved each other deeply," Mr. Cohl says. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. The Leafs defeated the Red Wings in the final game of the season, and backed into the playoffs when the Stars lost their final game hours later. According to Globe columnist Dick Beddoes, the young Mr. Ballard played a "static but well-meaning game" as an undersized lineman. Even though the Leafs were barely competitive for much of the latter part of Ballard's tenure, every game at Maple Leaf Gardens was sold out. Your suggestions have been submitted and will be reviewed by the memorial manager. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. The players who stayed could use the threat of joining the WHA to negotiate better contracts, and Ballard always blamed the WHA for inflating players' salaries. More recently, as president of Orion Capital, he ventured into mining interests. By the time Yolanda walked into Harolds life in 1983, she had done jail time for perjury and been married once to a lawyer, then divorced.
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