In November of 2009, a long-standing chapter in basketball history quietly closed, as Abe Pollin, the owner of the Washington Wizards, died at the age of 85. Although his team has only been known as the Wizards for a little more than ten years, Pollin’s basketball legacy goes back decades.

Abe Pollin presents Michael Jackson with a trophy for scoring more than 30,000 points in his NBA career

Abe Pollin, Basketball Owner
Pollin purchased the Baltimore Bullets way back in 1964. In 1973, he constructed a new arena, the Capital Centre, in the nearby Washington, D.C. suburbs, where he also placed his newly purchased hockey team, the Washington Capitals. In 1978, the Bullets won a championship, and Pollin vowed never to sell the team until they won another, a dream he was sadly not able to see realized. In 1997, Pollin moved to the Verizon Center in downtown Washington as part of an initiative to revitalize the area, and Pollin changed the name of his team to the Wizards, in order to avoid the negative connotations associated with bullets in an area plagued by crime. When the WNBA came to pass, Pollin added his own team, the Washington Mystics, to his sports empire. Pollin had the longest ownership length of any NBA team.

Abe Pollin Passing the Torch
Pollin suffered from a rare brain disease known as supranuclear palsy, which affects movement and balance. In 2005, he had bypass surgery and in 2007 needed to be treated for a broken pelvis. Pollin required a wheelchair or motorized cart to get around and see his team. Pollin had already sold the Washington Capitals and Mystics to a group led by AOL executive Ted Leonsis, who will now add the Wizards and reunite Pollin’s Washington Sports and Entertainment empire.

Abe Pollin’s Contributions
In addition to revitalizing downtown Washington, D.C. and winning that NBA Championship in 1978, Pollin is credited with bringing Michael Jordan out of retirement, first as President of Basketball Operations and then as a player, with paying for his stadium with his own money rather than demanding taxpayer subsidies and with being a popular community leader who devoted a great amount of time and money to various charities and causes, especially in the D.C. area.