Manchester United and Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer died Wednesday, the NFL team announced.
Glazer had been in poor health in recent years and his sons Joel, Bryan and Ed had taken over the day-to-day operations of the Bucs, with Avram and Joel are Executive co-Chairmen and directors on Manchester United Board, while Kevin, Bryan, Darcie and Ed serve as directors. Glazer had owned the soccer club since 2005, But a pair of strokes in April 2006 left the sports lover with impaired speech and limited mobility in his right arm and leg.
Under Glazer ownership, since 2005, the team has won five League championships (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013), three League Cups, five FA Community Shields, one UEFA Champions League, and a FIFA Club World Cup.
His NFL team, The Bucs went to the playoffs seven times since Malcolm Glazer bought them in 1995, winning the Super Bowl in the 2002 season.
“Malcolm Glazer was the guiding force behind the building of a Super Bowl-champion organization. His dedication to the community was evident in all he did, including his leadership in bringing Super Bowls to Tampa Bay,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
“Malcolm’s commitment to the Bucs, the NFL and the people of the Tampa Bay region are the hallmarks of his legacy. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Linda, their six children and the entire Glazer family.”
A private funeral service will be held, and a celebration of his life will be announced at a later date.
Born in Rochester, New York, the son of a watch-parts salesman, Glazer began working for the family business when he was 8 and took over the operation as a teenager when his father died in 1943.
As president and CEO of First Allied Corp., the holding company for the family business interests, he invested in mobile-home parks, restaurants, food service equipment, marine protein, television stations, real estate, natural gas and oil production and other ventures.
Malcom Glazer died three days after his 86th birthday (although some sources quoted his birthday to be August 15 and not May 25).
May the soul of this great man rest in peace.