Portland Trail Blazers founder and president emeritus Harry Glickman died Wednesday. He was 96.
Glickman is considered by many to be the father of professional sports in Oregon. It was Glickman who brought together the Blazers’ original ownership group of Herman Sarkowsky, Larry Weinberg and Robert Schmertz. The group paid a $3.7 million expansion fee in 1970 to secure an NBA franchise for Portland.
Glickman served as Blazers executive vice president from 1970-1987, general manager from 1976-1981 and president from 1987-1994. He was one of the shareholders who sold the club to Paul Allen in 1988.
During Glickman’s long and storied tenure with the team, the Blazers won the 1977 NBA championship and secured the 1990 and 1992 Western Conference championships.
“The Trail Blazers have long been the beneficiary of Harry’s vision, generosity, and inspiration,” Blazers chair Jody Allen said in a statement. “As the team’s founder and first general manager, his leadership was instrumental in igniting our city’s pride and passion for sports. I am grateful for Harry’s many contributions to the franchise over the years. He will be missed by many.”
Over the years, Glickman fondly recalled the story of landing the franchise for Portland.
As the story goes, Glickman flew to Los Angeles for an expansion committee meeting in February 1970, but left the meeting dejected after it became clear that several members were skeptical about Portland joining the league and Glickman’s current financing plan.
When he reached the lobby of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel after the meeting, Glickman realized that he had left his raincoat behind. When he returned to the meeting room, Washington owner Abe Pollin was on the phone. Sarkowsky had called trying to reach Glickman to tell him that Weinberg was ready to invest in the team, giving Portland the funds it needed to secure the franchise.
The next day, Glickman had a noon deadline to bring a letter of credit for $250,000 to another meeting with NBA owners in Los Angeles, but he got stuck in traffic on his way there. He showed up to the meeting late, but it didn’t matter. When Pollin realized that Glickman wasn’t going to make it in time, he stalled by locking himself in a bathroom, telling the rest of the group, "Don’t anyone disturb me until Harry gets back.”
“I walked in with the letter, and Abe came out of the longest bathroom break in history," Glickman recalled to The Oregonian/OregonLive last year.
A native of Portland, Glickman graduated from Lincoln High School in 1941 before going on to graduate with a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon in 1948. A well-known sports promoter in Portland, Glickman founded the Portland Buckaroos hockey team in 1960. He served as the club’s co-owner and president over 12 seasons as the Buckaroos advanced to the Lester Patrick Cup championship seven times, winning three titles.
Glickman tried to pitch Portland as a prime location for an NBA franchise in the 1950s, but the league wasn’t interested. In 1964, Glickman then tried to bring an NFL expansion franchise to Portland, but voters rejected the proposed 40,000-seat Delta Dome.
Six years later, Glickman finally managed to bring professional basketball to Portland instead.
“Harry was the definition of a true Trail Blazer,” Blazers President and CEO Chris McGowan said in a statement. “Through his dedication and persistence, Harry not only created a successful sports franchise in a small western market, but has united hundreds of thousands of people around the world through a shared love of basketball. Rip City will forever be thankful to Harry and his forgotten raincoat.”
Glickman is survived by his wife, Joanne, son Marshall, daughters Jennifer and Lynn, grandsons Joel and Laz, and granddaughter Sydney.
There will be a private burial service for Glickman. A public memorial service will be held at Congregation Beth Israel at a later date. The Blazers said they will announce a plan to honor Glickman at a later date.
In Glickman’s memory, the Blazers are asking that people consider making a donation to the Oregon Jewish Museum & Center for Holocaust Education, Congregation Beth Israel, or the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.
“Harry Glickman laid the foundation and established the benchmark for small market success in the NBA,” Blazers President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey said in a statement. “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. His contributions to the city of Portland and the Trail Blazers are immense and for that we all owe him a great debt of gratitude.”
Remembrances started coming in Wednesday evening.
“There would be no @trailblazers franchise in Portland without the foresight and dedication of my friend Harry Glickman,” tweeted Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “I join with everybody in #RipCity tonight in thanking this community icon for his vision and mourning his passing.”
-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com | @jamiebgoldberg
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