Bill Wirtz

William Wadsworth "Bill" Wirtz (October 5 1929 – September 26 2007) was the chief executive officer and controlling shareholder of the family-owned Wirtz Corporation. He was best-known as the owner of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League, who are part of Wirtz Corp's holdings. Wirtz also served as the Blackhawks' team president for over four decades.

He was born in Detroit and attended Brown University.

Biography

Wealth

Wirtz (via his stake in Wirtz Corp) was most notable as owner of the Chicago Blackhawks; Wirtz Realty, a large real estate owner in Chicago; and Judge & Dolph Ltd., a major liquor distributor selling over 33 percent of all liquor in Illinois. Wirtz Corp. also has interests in banking and insurance, and co-owned the United Center with Jerry Reinsdorf. Crain's Chicago Business in 2004 estimated the company's 2003 revenues as US$1.3 billion. Overall, it is estimated that Bill Wirtz's personal holdings (including stock in several companies, including Alberto-Culver and Firstar Bank) were worth about US$3 to $4 billion.

Blackhawks ownership

Bill Wirtz was the team president of the Blackhawks for 41 years and served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the NHL for 18, helping to merge the NHL and the World Hockey Association during the 1970s. Wirtz had a lifelong love for hockey, and his team, the Chicago Blackhawks.

Criticism

Still, Wirtz had a reputation for stubbornness and frugality. He was vilified by Blackhawks fans for forbidding Blackhawks home games to be shown on TV unless they were picked up by national broadcasters, which only happened when the Blackhawks made the playoffs. As he explained it, he felt that broadcasting regular home games was unfair to season-ticket holders. For a short time during the 1992 and 1993 seasons, Wirtz introduced Hawkvision, a pay-per-view service that operated in conjunction with Chicago's local SportsChannel outfit, which cost $29.95 per month and broadcast Blackhawks home games.

Wirtz was also blamed for allowing Bobby Hull to leave the Blackhawks and the NHL for the World Hockey Association (although his father, Arthur Wirtz, was actually responsible for that decision). Wirtz was further blamed for the loss of both Dominik Hašek and Ed Belfour, for trading Denis Savard in 1990, for the trade of Chris Chelios to Detroit (in actuality, Chelios had asked to be traded and gave approval to then-General Manager Bob Murray when told Detroit was the most interested team), for the trading of Jeremy Roenick, and for the 1967 trade of Phil Esposito. Wirtz was also blamed for the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup drought, which is the longest in the NHL and the longest in team history. Under the ownership of Wirtz, the Chicago Blackhawks were named by ESPN in 2004 as the worst franchise in sports. Wirtz was also given the nickname "Dollar Bill" by Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Verdi as a sarcastic reference to his frugality in compensating his players. ESPN has ranked Wirtz as the 3rd greediest owner in all of sports.

Positive attributes

In spite of his vocal critics, Wirtz was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977 and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985. He was considered by many (including current Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon, retired hockey star Stan Mikita, and former Blackhawk Martin Lapointe) to be a generous and fiercely loyal man. He was also famous for his philanthopy. In 1993, he established Blackhawk Charities which has donated millions of dollars to the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois, among other groups.

Wirtz also served on the Olympic Committees for both the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympics.

"The Wirtz Law"

According to the Chicago Reader, in 1999 the Illinois State Legislature passed The Wine and Spirits Fair Dealing Act, ("The Wirtz Law"). The bill was passed after more than $700,000 was contributed to politicians by liquor distruibutors according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. According to the Chicago Reader

The law was on the books for less than three years before a U.S. district court judge struck it down on the grounds that it violated the commerce clause of the Constitution. Newspaper editorials at the time often called the Wirtz Law a corrupt document, and it has since become a case study for campaign finance reform. But what has gone largely unnoted is that it only applied the same strictures to wineries and distilleries that already apply to breweries.

Death

Wirtz died at Evanston Hospital on September 26 2007, following a brief battle with cancer. His son Peter Wirtz was initially named the new owner of the Blackhawks on September 27, 2007; Peter Wirtz passed the responsibility to his brother Rocky.

During a tribute and moment of silence for him during the Blackhawks home opener on October 8, 2007, the Chicago crowd displayed their displeasure with Wirtz's operation of the organization by booing the proceedings.

See also

• List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame

References