David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin (March 17, 1907 - November 21, 1991) was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the
New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the Northeastern New Jersey part of the tri-state New York metropolitan area. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays its home games in East...
, Chairman of Madison Square Gardens, and who built and managed the
Meadowlands Sports ComplexThe Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority...
.
A graduate of
Rutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in the state of New Jersey. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766 and is the eighth-oldest college in the United States...
, Werblin went to work for
Music Corporation of AmericaMCA, Inc. was an American corporation in the music and television businesses. MCA published music, booked acts, ran a record company, and distributed television productions and home videos.-The Early Years:...
(MCA) in 1932 and was so successul that in 1951 he was made president of M.C.A.'s television division.
In 1938, he married
Leah Ray HubbardLeah Ray Hubbard was an American singer born in Norfolk, Virginia who performed in the Big Band era and who sang and acted in more than a dozen motion pictures....
(1915-1999) of
Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 234,403 as of the 2000 census, it is Virginia's second-largest incorporated city behind its eastern neighbor, Virginia Beach....
.
David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin (March 17, 1907 - November 21, 1991) was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the
New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the Northeastern New Jersey part of the tri-state New York metropolitan area. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays its home games in East...
, Chairman of Madison Square Gardens, and who built and managed the
Meadowlands Sports ComplexThe Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority...
.
A graduate of
Rutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in the state of New Jersey. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766 and is the eighth-oldest college in the United States...
, Werblin went to work for
Music Corporation of AmericaMCA, Inc. was an American corporation in the music and television businesses. MCA published music, booked acts, ran a record company, and distributed television productions and home videos.-The Early Years:...
(MCA) in 1932 and was so successul that in 1951 he was made president of M.C.A.'s television division.
In 1938, he married
Leah Ray HubbardLeah Ray Hubbard was an American singer born in Norfolk, Virginia who performed in the Big Band era and who sang and acted in more than a dozen motion pictures....
(1915-1999) of
Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 234,403 as of the 2000 census, it is Virginia's second-largest incorporated city behind its eastern neighbor, Virginia Beach....
. Performing as Leah Ray, she was a well known vocalist in the
Big BandA big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. Big bands evolved with the times and continue to today. A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 25 musicians and...
era. Ms. Ray sang with major orchestras such as those of
Tommy DorseyThomas Francis Dorsey was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing".. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey.". His lyrical trombone style became one of the signature sounds of his band...
and
Phil HarrisPhil Harris was an American singer, songwriter, jazz musician, actor and comedian...
, and acted in more than a dozen films. Among her film appearances, in 1936 she co-starred with Phil Harris in the Academy Award nominated short film titled,
Double or NothingDouble or Nothing is a 1936 short comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1936 for Best Short Subject . -Cast:* Phil Harris* Leah Ray* Harry Tyler* Vicki Joyce* Johnny Boyle...
. While performing with the Phil Harris orchestra she met Sonny Werbin. They married in 1938 and remained together for more than fifty years until his death in 1991.
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/23/sports/sonny-werblin-an-impresario-of-new-york-s-sports-extravaganza-is-dead-at-81.html
Sports business
In 1963, Sonny Werblin and his partners purchased the
American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when it merged with the established National Football League . The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
(AFL)
Titans of New YorkThe New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the Northeastern New Jersey part of the tri-state New York metropolitan area. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays its home games in East...
from original owner
Harry WismerHarry Wismer was a sports broadcaster and charter owner of the New York Titans franchise in the American Football League.-Early years:...
. Werblin changed the team's name to the Jets, and drafted
Matt SnellMatt Snell was the American Football League's New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin's first coup, prior to his 1965 acquisition of Joe Namath...
in the first round, signing him away from the crosstown NFL
GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The team plays its home games at Giants Stadium, which also serves as its headquarters, and trains at an adjacent practice facility within the Meadowlands Sports Complex...
. His biggest coup came in 1965, when for $400,000 he signed
University of AlabamaThe University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship university of the University of Alabama System. Within Alabama, it is often called "the Capstone"...
quarterback
Joe NamathJoseph William "Joe" Namath , also known as Broadway Joe or Joe Willie, is a former American football quarterback...
, who had been drafted by the NFL
St. Louis CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American Football team based in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals are members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Cardinals were founded in 1898, and are the oldest continuously run professional...
. Werblin and the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team in the NFL based in the city of Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
'
Al DavisAllen "Al" Davis is an American football executive, who currently serves as the principal owner of the NFL's Oakland Raiders.-Early life:Davis was born in Brockton, Massachusetts...
resisted the indemnity the NFL demanded, which was $100,000 per year for twenty years. Other AFL owners agreed to the terms, along with stripping the name and logo from the AFL.
Werblin was bought out by Jets management prior to the 1968 season, which concluded with the team winning
Super Bowl IIISuper Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl" . This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
over the
Baltimore ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are 2006 champions of the American Football Conference and the National Football League ....
in one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
NewarkBrick City redirects here. For the township in Ocean County, see Brick Township, New Jersey.Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it the largest municipality in New Jersey and the 65th largest city in the U.S...
Star-Ledger sports columnist Jerry Izenberg would later speculate that, because the Jets fired Werblin, there was a "Curse of Sonny Werblin" on the team. By an unusual coincidence, Werblin and Izenberg were elected to the
Sports Hall of Fame of New JerseyThe Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey was established in 1988 to honor athletes, teams, events and contributors associated with the state of New Jersey...
in the same year, 1997.
Sonny Werblin built the
Meadowlands Sports ComplexThe Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority...
in
East Rutherford, New JerseyEast Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 8,716. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located 7 miles west of Midtown Manhattan....
which he ran from 1971 to 1977.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/626128032.html?dids=626128032:626128032&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+24%2C+1979&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Star+system+works+well+in+Werblin's+sports+empire&pqatl=google http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/23/sports/sonny-werblin-an-impresario-of-new-york-s-sports-extravaganza-is-dead-at-81.html
When it was announced that the
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The team plays its home games at Giants Stadium, which also serves as its headquarters, and trains at an adjacent practice facility within the Meadowlands Sports Complex...
would begin playing at the new
Giants StadiumGiants Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. It primarily serves as the home stadium for the New York Giants and New York Jets American football teams of the NFL, and the New York Red Bulls soccer team of MLS...
in 1976, a reporter ask Werblin about the New York Giants playing in New Jersey, he explained the geography in the New York City Metro area by saying "If You pave the
Hudson RiverThe Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. It rises at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, flows past Albany, and finally forms the border between New York City and New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into...
it becomes 13th Avenue." In 1978 Werblin took over as head of
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
and its properties, including the
New York RangersThe New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and
New York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, known familiarly as the Knicks, are a professional National Basketball Association team based in New York City, and the most valuable franchise in the league, valued at $608 million...
. In 1984 he gave up day-to-day control of Madison Square Garden but remained Chairman of its
Board of DirectorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
.
Thoroughbred racing
Sonny and Leah Werblin raced
ThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word "thoroughbred" is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horses under the
nom de course, Elberon Farm. Among their racing successes, their colt,
Silent ScreenSilent Screen was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was trained by J. Bowes Bond for owners Sonny and Leah Ray Werbin who raced under the nom de course, Elberon Farm....
, earned 1969 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors. In addition, Sonny Werblin was a major shareholder and member of the Board of Directors of
Monmouth Park RacetrackMonmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey.-History:The original track opened July 30, 1870 in Long Branch, New Jersey. It was later bought by David D. Withers, George L. Lorillard, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., and George P...
in
Oceanport, New JerseyOceanport is a Borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 5,807.Oceanport was formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1920, from portions of Eatontown Township , based on the results of a...
.
Philanthropy
Sonny Werblin and his wife established the David and Leah Ray Werblin Foundation which provides financial support for Rutgers University, charitable causes, and cultural activities.
http://ur.rutgers.edu/focus/article/Gift%20honors%20memory%20of%20%22Sonny%22%20Werblin/339/ Rutgers University built the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center on its Busch Campus, near
Rutgers StadiumRutgers Stadium is the home stadium for the football program at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. It is located in the Busch Campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, USA, and overlooks the Raritan River. Rutgers Stadium was opened on 3 September 1994 when the Rutgers...
in Piscataway,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, across the
Raritan RiverThe Raritan River is a major river of central New Jersey in the United States. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.-Description:...
from its main campus in
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is a city and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is 31 miles southwest of New York City on the southern bank of the Raritan River about 15 miles from its mouth. The 2006 United States Census Bureau population estimate of New Brunswick was 50,172...
. The Center is home to weight-training facilities and the University's main venues for water-sports competition.
See also
External links