Jim Speros

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Jim Speros
Born (1959-02-17) February 17, 1959 (age 65)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materClemson University
SpouseEllen Speros
Children3
Parent(s)Leo and Linda Speros

Jim Speros (born February 17, 1959) is an American businessman and former

United Football League
.

Early career

Speros is an alumnus of

NFL
history.

Baltimore CFL Colts/Stallions ownership

He is best known for his ownership of, and presidency over, the

Larry Smith.[2]

The Stallions were a runaway success on the field as well. He knew that Canadian football was very different from the American game, and stocked the Stallions with CFL veterans. This approach paid off very well, as the Stallions advanced all the way to the Grey Cup final in both seasons, winning it in 1995–Baltimore's first major-sports title since the Orioles won the 1983 World Series.

However, Speros' ambitious ownership of the Stallions would not last long. During the 1995 Grey Cup playoffs, the Cleveland Browns under long-time owner Art Modell, announced plans to move to Baltimore. The resulting dispute ultimately resulted in the Browns' franchise being suspended for four years, while the Browns' players and personnel moved to Baltimore and were renamed as the Baltimore Ravens. Although the Stallions had been a hit, Speros knew that they could not even begin to compete with an NFL team. Rather than face being effectively reduced to "minor league" status (as he put it years later),[3] Speros moved the team to Montreal to become the current incarnation of the Alouettes.[4] However, the CFL refused to let Speros' team keep their legacy as the Stallions, though it allowed him to reclaim the history and records of the previous two incarnations of the Alouettes. According to official CFL records, Speros is reckoned as having canceled his franchise in Baltimore and "reactivated" the dormant 1946-86 Alouettes franchise. Speros kept the team for one more year before selling the team to Robert C. Wetenhall in early 1997, handing over the title of team president to Smith.

United Football League involvement

In May 2010, Speros rejected an overture to buy the

Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams as the team's general manager. In late August 2010, Speros backed out of negotiations due to multiple flaws in the contracts presented to him as well as the league structure.[6] Speros specifically cited the inability for him to acquire an entire franchise instead of investing in a single-entity league. However, Speros said he remained open to purchasing the team if terms changed, and that he continued to support the league's efforts in the region.[6][7] In January 2011, the league contracted the Tuskers and moved all of its staff to Virginia to form the Destroyers' core; in August 2012, the league contracted the Hartford Colonials and assigned that team's owner, Bill Mayer
, as the Destroyers' owner after failing to find an owner to replace Speros.

Restaurants

Speros, who grew up in the restaurant business, is the founder and owner of several upscale sports restaurants in the

Purcellville.[10]

In 2015, Velocity Wings launched its licensing programs in

District of Columbia
for its expansion.

Other

Speros served as Chairman, President and CEO of Chalk, Inc., a publicly traded company, from 2005 through 2008. He served on the Board of Directors from 2000 through 2008. Chalk, an industry leader in mobile learning management systems was sold to

Research in Motion (RIM)/Blackberry in January 2009. He also served for twelve years (1998-2010) as member of the Board of Directors of Braintech, Inc., a publicly traded vision guided robotics company.[11]

Prior to his affiliation with Chalk, Speros was President and Chief Executive Officer of Sideware Systems, Inc., a customer relationship management software company which traded publicly in the United States and Canada. Under Speros’ leadership, the company had twelve offices across North America and reached a market capitalization of $1.8 billion. Their customer list included several Fortune 500 companies.[12]

Speros is a founding partner, owner and served as Vice Chairman of National Capital Golf Ventures, LLC, a privately held golf and real estate development company with properties in the Mid Atlantic.

In addition to his other ventures, he served as President of Champions Sports, Inc., a publicly traded restaurant corporation, from 1989 to 1993. Champion’s Sports had 37 restaurant locations nationwide before being sold to the Marriott Corporation in 1993.[13]

Speros’ sports background also includes serving as a Partner and Chairman of the Ownership Committee for American Baseball Capital, a group vying to purchase a

Arlington, Virginia. The group was a finalist and was recognized for their long dedication to bringing the "great American pastime" back to the Washington Capital region. In 2005 Major League Baseball awarded the Washington Nationals to Washington, D.C.[14]

In August 2012, Speros was named to the Board of Directors for the Washington, D.C. based Military Bowl.[15]

Personal life

He and his wife, Ellen, have three children. Their son, Jimmy Speros, played football for the University of Richmond. Their youngest, Justin Speros, currently attends his father's alma mater Clemson University. Justin serves as a student assistant for the Tigers football team.[16]

Speros' father, Leo, played

1983 NFL Draft. George played linebacker at Temple. Speros' nephew, Chris, played alongside Jimmy at the University of Richmond
.

Speros graduated from

Roman Catholic high school in Washington, D.C.

References

  1. ^ Speros envisions a Norfolk pro football team that can be embraced by all of Hampton Roads. Daily Press. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  2. ^ United Football League Board Grants Conditional Approval for Norfolk, Virginia, To Host Sixth Team Archived 2010-06-23 at the Wayback Machine. UFL press release (2010-06-21). Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  3. ^ Baltimore's Forgotten Champions: An Oral History
  4. ^ BIRMINGHAM JOINS LIST OF HOMELESS BALTIMORE STALLIONS WEIGHING OPTIONS, TOO, AFTER BROWNS DROP BOMBSHELL. The Virginian-Pilot. 7 November 1995.
  5. ^ Author unstated (2010-07-02). Speros envisions a Norfolk pro football team that can be embraced by all of Hampton Roads. Daily Press. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  6. ^ a b Fairbank, Dave (2010-08-20). League office to take over prospective UFL franchise; Speros out as owner. Daily Press (Newport News, VA). Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  7. United Football League. 2010-08-20. Archived from the original
    on July 17, 2011. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
  8. ^ "'Courthaus Social' to Replace Velocity 5 This Spring". 12 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Purcellville's Velocity Wings to hold Sept grand opening". www.leesburgtoday.com. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  10. ^ "Velocity Five Plans Expansion to Lansdowne; Dock Not Returning - Leesburg Today : Business". Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  11. ^ "Jim Speros - University of Baltimore".
  12. ^ "James L. Speros Named CEO of Sideware". Archived from the original on 2016-10-05.
  13. ^ "The Business of Winning". 20 February 1994.
  14. ^ "JIM SPEROS, STARTING FAST IN BALTIMORE - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2016-10-05.
  15. ^ "Touchdown Club hosts luncheon with Maryland coach Randy Edsall". 3 October 2012.
  16. ^ "Justin Speros".
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