Wellington Mara, Giants Co-Owner Dead At 89
DirtyDog48
Posts: 298
in Sports Talk
His dad, Tim Mara bought the New York NFL franchise....Wellington started as a ballboy at age 9 and became one of the most influential owners in the NFL. Rest in peace.
Link To Mara Obit
Link To Mara Obit
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ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
<< <i>What a great humble man who put the fate of the league and its fans before his own teams success. >>
So he was the anti-Steinbrenner?
<< <i>
<< <i>What a great humble man who put the fate of the league and its fans before his own teams success. >>
So he was the anti-Steinbrenner? >>
Yes. Read an article about him in the paper today -- he had the foresight to make the league strong and not line his pockets at the expense of other teams. In the long run, it made the pie bigger for everyone, and made pro football more popular than MLB.
His dad bought the team for $500. Current market value: $806 million
when did that happen?
<< <i>made pro football more popular than MLB
when did that happen? >>
In terms of TV ratings, sometime the the 70s probably.
<< <i>made pro football more popular than MLB
when did that happen? >>
The current TV deal for football I heard today is worth more than the NBA, NHL, MLB and Olympic deals *combined*.
I'd say it's more popular.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
But for another thread (someone feel free to fire it up).
For now, here's a funny rant on the subject of football and baseball by George Carlin (actually relevant to this thread since I learned this morning in an interview with Buster Olney that Mara was actually a HUGE baseball fan who followed the Mets, Yankees and Braves - particularly facinated with how the Braves have been competitive and successful for so long). I also heard stories about how he used to stay in the dorm rooms with the players during minicamps and such (rather than in a fancy hotel) to be closer to the team and his kids and grandkids who were all there. By all accounts a great guy:
--------------------
Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball & football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values.
I enjoy comparing baseball and football:
Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game.
Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.
Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park!
Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.
Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything's dying.
In football you wear a helmet.
In baseball you wear a cap.
Football is concerned with downs - what down is it?
Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up?
In football you receive a penalty.
In baseball you make an error.
In football the specialist comes in to kick.
In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.
Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness.
Baseball has the sacrifice.
Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...
In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.
Baseball has the seventh inning stretch.
Football has the two minute warning.
Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.
Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.
In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness.
In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.
And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:
In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!
I love both baseball and football, but I have no problem realizing that football has surpassed baseball as the most popular sport in this country - now you can say it's due to gambling (partially true), but the regularity of football, every sunday, makes it a special experience. Baseball suffers from it being on ALL the time, for months and months on end. There's a symmetry that people can relate to with football - sunday and monday games.
Mara didn't have to.
"Wellington knew the business," said Crennel, speaking fondly of Mara, the longtime New York owner, who died on Tuesday of cancer at 89. "He knew football in and out. He knew good coaches and bad coaches, good players and bad players, and he always had an affection for coaches and players."
Some of the game's best and brightest, including Crennel, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, Carolina Panthers coach John Fox, Notre Dame's Charlie Weis and Tom Coughlin and the entire Giants team are expected to attend Mara's funeral on Friday at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. Parcells is a former Giants head coach and Crennel, Fox and Weis were all assistants with the team.
Crennel is skipping practice to pay his respects to the man who gave him his first job in the NFL.
After one year as a defensive line coach at Georgia Tech, Crennel joined the Giants in 1981 as their special teams coach and stayed with the club for 12 years, winning two Super Bowl titles.
During his time with the Giants, Crennel grew close to Mara, a father of 11 and one of pro football's most influential owners for more than a half century.
"He was a solid, down-to-earth person," Crennel said Thursday. "If you didn't know that he was the owner of an NFL team, you couldn't tell by his actions. He had no ego about him."
Crennel recalled Mara walking laps around the track and quietly watching practice, never bothering to interfere while the coaching staff instructed players. He knew his place, a trait some current sports owners could take a lesson from.
"He never said anything and he never complained," Crennel said. "I'm very respectful of what he has done for the NFL and for the Giants."
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
<< <i>I love both baseball and football, but I have no problem realizing that football has surpassed baseball as the most popular sport in this country - now you can say it's due to gambling (partially true), but the regularity of football, every sunday, makes it a special experience. Baseball suffers from it being on ALL the time, for months and months on end. >>
It took a month or so, but I finally agree with Axtell on something
Football is so much more exciting than baseball. Baseball regular season can literally put you to sleep with their 4 hour games, pitchers taking forever to throw, etc... If you ask your average kid today what their favorite sport is, baseball is dead last. The sport is dieing a slow death.
<< <i>
Football is so much more exciting than baseball. Baseball regular season can literally put you to sleep with their 4 hour games, pitchers taking forever to throw, etc... If you ask your average kid today what their favorite sport is, baseball is dead last. The sport is dieing a slow death. >>
And it doesn't help how MLB markets it's postseason...what was up with that world series game that had it's start delayed an hour due to pregame singing and performances? Why couldn't that take place BEFORE first pitch time, instead of after?
I think Selig was so desperate for viewers that he undertook any tactic possible to get more viewers and delaying the start of the game...but all he's done is alienate them.
Why can't we have afternoon postseason game(s)? Why can't we have the Astros choose to have their dome open or closed? Why can't we go back to alternating homes for the world series teams between AL and NL? Why can't we have instant replay?
Looking at all the problems facing MLB, it's no wonder the NFL has jumped in and is dominating.
<< <i>Why can't we have afternoon postseason game(s)? Why can't we have the Astros choose to have their dome open or closed? Why can't we go back to alternating homes for the world series teams between AL and NL? Why can't we have instant replay? >>
Instant replay would slow down more an already intolerably slow game. I would like to see some afternoon postseason games, but it won't happen because of the money. Why can't they start these games say first pitch 7:00? At least the kids would be able to watch the whole thing, and maybe develop into real fans. MLB doesn't view the long term picture, and that's what is killing them. As far as alternating World Series that's fine. I'm ok with either method.
And my final suggestion: Take two games off of the regular season, and make it 160 games. Add those two games to the first playoff round so it's a 7 game series instead of 5.
The Chicago White Sox's first world championship in 88 years was also the lowest-rated World Series ever.
Chicago's four-game sweep of the Houston Astros averaged an 11.1 national rating with a 19 share on Fox. That's down about 7 percent from the previous low, an 11.9 with a 20 share for the 2002 World Series between the Anaheim Angels and the San Francisco Giants.
While the 2002 World Series, which went seven games, rated higher overall, it was only averaging an 11.0 through four games.
This year was a drop of almost 30 percent from last year's series, in which the Boston Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals for their first title in 86 years. That had a 15.8 rating with a 25 share.
Wednesday night's 1-0 Chicago win had a 13.0 preliminary national rating with a 21 share. It was the highest-rated prime-time show on Fox since the final of "American Idol" in May, but still not enough to save the series from being the lowest-rated.
Despite rating so low in comparison to other World Series, the four games of this series were each the highest rated prime-time network programs on their respective nights.
And I can't help but feel the bad ratings were due primarily to the bad times the games were played/started at.
An overflow crowd packed St. Patrick's Cathedral for the funeral Mass honoring Mara, who died Tuesday at 89. Mara, elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997, died of cancer at his home in Rye.
Giants players and office staffers arrived in seven charter buses led by a New Jersey State Police cruiser on a crisp, fall morning perfect for Mara's beloved football.
Former Giants great Frank Gifford spoke during the 1-hour, 45-minute service before an assemblage of NFL celebrities usually reserved for a Hall of Fame ceremony.
"I'm so honored to stand here and say a few words about this man that I love," Gifford said. "I had three stages of knowing Wellington Mara. He was my boss for a long time, and he was a father figure. And finally, as we got older, he was my friend."
The alter was simply decorated with four bouquets of red flowers, two on either side. Mara's casket was brought into the cathedral accompanied by a bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace."
Running back Tiki Barber, a Mara favorite, led the team into the cathedral, followed by a parade of somber teammates that included quarterback Eli Manning and tight end Jeremy Shockey.
Among the other mourners were Phil Simms, Phil McConkey and Harry Carson, members of the Giants' 1986 Super Bowl team.
"Giant fans from all around the country wish they could be here," Carson said. "It is sad, but we also know his spirit will be with us no matter what."
Other former players arriving early included tight end Mark Bavaro and quarterback Dave Brown.
Among those in the crowd were former Giants coach Bill Parcells, who came with his current boss, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones; Carolina Panthers coach John Fox, a former Giants assistant; and Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel, another ex-Giants assistant.
The presence of NFL coaches from around the league, just two days before their Sunday games spoke volumes about the level of regard for Mara.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240