Ed Snider facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ed Snider
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Ed Snider in 2010 (photograph by Michael Alan Goldberg)
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Edward Malcolm Snider
January 6, 1933 Washington, D.C., United States
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| Died | April 11, 2016 (aged 83) Montecito, California, United States
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| Education | University of Maryland |
| Occupation | Chairman |
| Spouse(s) | Myrna Gordon (divorced) Martha McGeary (divorced) Christine Decroix (divorced) Lin Spivak (2013–2016; his death) |
| Children | 4 with Myrna Snider 2 with Martha McGeary |
| Awards | Hockey Hall of Fame (1988) Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame (1989) Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1997) Philadelphia's Greatest Mover and Shaker of the Millennium (Philadelphia Daily News) (1999) United States Hockey Hall of Fame (2011) |
Edward Malcolm Snider (January 6, 1933 – April 11, 2016) was an American businessman. He was best known for creating the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. He also helped build the Wells Fargo Center and led Comcast Spectacor, a big sports and entertainment company.
Snider was a key figure in Philadelphia sports for many years. He owned and managed several professional sports teams. He also started important charities, including one that helps kids learn to play hockey.
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Early Life and Education
Ed Snider was born in Washington, D.C. in 1933. His family was Jewish, and his father owned a chain of grocery stores.
He went to the University of Maryland. There, he studied accounting and earned his bachelor's degree.
Building a Sports Empire
In the 1960s, Snider started a record company with a friend. It did pretty well for a while. Later, he joined Jerry Wolman and Earl Foreman to buy the Philadelphia Eagles football team in 1964. Ed Snider helped run the Eagles' daily operations.
Snider soon learned that the NHL wanted to add more teams. He and Wolman planned to build a new arena called the Spectrum. This arena would host both a new hockey team and the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team.
On February 8, 1966, Philadelphia was given an NHL team. This team became known as the Philadelphia Flyers. They started playing in 1967. Snider became the main owner of the Flyers.
The Flyers made history by becoming the first NHL expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1974. They won it again in 1975!
Snider continued to grow his businesses. He created a regional TV channel called PRISM. He also started WIP, which was the first all-sports radio station.
He later helped build a new arena, the CoreStates Center. This arena is now known as the Wells Fargo Center. It became the home for both the Flyers and the 76ers.
Before the Wells Fargo Center opened in 1996, Snider sold most of his businesses to Comcast. This created a new company called Comcast-Spectacor. Snider remained the chairman and a part-owner. He became close friends and business partners with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.
Comcast-Spectacor then created Comcast SportsNet in 1996. They also started a new hockey team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, in the AHL. In 1999, the Philadelphia Daily News called Snider Philadelphia's "Greatest Mover and Shaker of the Millennium." This showed how much he had done for the city's sports.
Giving Back to the Community
Ed Snider was also very involved in helping others. In 2003, he became a founding board member of Beyond Celiac. This group helps people who have celiac disease.
In 2005, Snider created the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. This amazing program helps kids in Philadelphia learn to play hockey. It gives them a chance to be active and learn important life skills.
In 2014, Snider gave $5 million to the University of Maryland. This money helped create the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets. This center teaches students about business and how markets work.
Snider also started The Snider Foundation. This family charity continues to donate millions of dollars every year. It supports causes he believed in, like Jewish charities and educational programs.
Awards and Recognition
Ed Snider received many honors for his contributions to sports.
- In 1988, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
- In 1989, he joined the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame.
- In 1997, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
- In 2005, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
- In 2011, he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
- In 2012, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association renamed their Humanitarian Award after him. It became the Ed Snider Lifetime Distinguished Humanitarian Award.
Family Life
Ed Snider had five children and 15 grandchildren. Many of his children worked for his companies at different times. His son, Jay Snider, even served as president of the Philadelphia Flyers from 1983 to 1994.
Ed Snider was married four times during his life.
Death
In 2014, Ed Snider was treated for bladder cancer. Although he announced he was cancer-free in September 2014, the cancer returned in 2015.
Ed Snider passed away on April 11, 2016, at his home in California. He was buried in Pennsylvania.
To honor him, the Flyers wore a special patch on their jerseys during the playoffs. It was a black circle with "EMS" (his initials) in white. The next season, they wore a patch with his signature and the Flyers logo.
In 2017, the Philadelphia Flyers unveiled a statue of Ed Snider. It stands outside the Wells Fargo Center, near where his old office used to be.
