Louis Jacobs (businessman)

Louis Jacobs
Louis Jacobs
Personal details
Born	Louis Melvin Jacobs; April 6, 1900; Cincinnati Royals

Louis Melvin Jacobs (April 6, 1900 - August 8, 1968), was an American businessman and sports team owner. Notable for starting the SportService empire that ended up becoming

Cincinnati Royals of the National Basketball League, as well as the Buffalo Bisons and the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League and was an operating manager of the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium

.

Life

Jacobs was born to Polish-Jewish immigrants Moisha "Max" Jacobs, and Anna Blachmann in New York City in 1900. Before the move to America the original surname of his family's paternal side was Yakobovitch.^[1]^[2] He had two brothers, Marvin and Charles Jacobs who founded Jacobs Brothers together in 1915 when Louis was 15 years old.^[3] Its name was changed first to Emprise Corp.and then Sportsystems Inc. before adopting its current one in 1980.^[4]

Jacobs Brothers initially operated theater concessions. When the establishments closed down in the hot summer months, the three men turned their attention to ballparks, the first being

Washington National Airport. In 1952, his brothers Marvin and Charles sold the remaining shares of the company to retire, leaving Louis as the sole owner of Sportservice. In 1960, the company was awarded the contract to operate the concessions at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Louis died at his desk on August 8, 1968; after his death, his sons Max and Jeremy Jacobs

took over sole control of Sportservice.

Sports Ownership

Louis began his sports ownership in 1939 when he became a partner of the

Chicago Black Hawks

and was the farm team for a few years until the team was sold to local interests in 1956.

In 1951, Jacobs gave Connie Mack, the owner of the Philadelphia Athletics for over 50 years at that time, a no-interest loan of $250,000 to keep the Athletics from having financial difficulty. In October 1954, he helped broker the deal between the Mack and businessman Arnold Johnson who moved the team to Kansas City in 1955.^[5]

Louis purchased the

Kansas City-Omaha Kings

.

References

^ Ocala Star Banner: "Fan-tastic Food - Delaware North to Dish Up Treats at New Arena" by John Affleck September 20, 1996
^ Kornheiser, Tony. "The Past Haunts Brothers Who Own Convicted Sports Empire," The New York Times, Friday, October 7, 1977. Retrieved October 21, 2021
^ Schwartz, Jason. "Jeremy Jacobs Looks Like a Saint Compared To His Father," Boston (magazine), March 27, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2021
^ "TW Services loses bid for Yosemite, Sportservice wins concessions contract," GoUpstate.com, Friday, December 18, 1992. Retrieved October 21, 2021
^ United States Congress. "Professional Basketball: Hearing, Ninety-second Congress, First Session" ,1972. Retrieved April 1, 2022
^ Robertson, Oscar. "The Big O: My Life, My Times, My Game" ,2003. Retrieved October 21, 2021

[Ocala-1] Ocala Star Banner: "Fan-tastic Food - Delaware North to Dish Up Treats at New Arena" by John Affleck September 20, 1996

[2] Kornheiser, Tony. "The Past Haunts Brothers Who Own Convicted Sports Empire," The New York Times, Friday, October 7, 1977. Retrieved October 21, 2021

[3] Schwartz, Jason. "Jeremy Jacobs Looks Like a Saint Compared To His Father," Boston (magazine), March 27, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2021

[4] "TW Services loses bid for Yosemite, Sportservice wins concessions contract," GoUpstate.com, Friday, December 18, 1992. Retrieved October 21, 2021

[5] United States Congress. "Professional Basketball: Hearing, Ninety-second Congress, First Session" ,1972. Retrieved April 1, 2022

[6] Robertson, Oscar. "The Big O: My Life, My Times, My Game" ,2003. Retrieved October 21, 2021

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