Ed Snider

Ed Snider
Ed Snider
Born	Edward Malcolm Snider; 6 January 1933 (age 93); Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	11 April 2016 (aged 83); Montecito, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Business executive, sports team owner
Years active	1960s–2016
Known for	Chairman of Comcast Spectacor; owner of Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers; managing role with Philadelphia Eagles
Notable work	Founder of Spectacor, founding donor of Ayn Rand Institute, Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation

Edward Malcolm Snider (January 6, 1933 – April 11, 2016) was a prominent American business leader who served as chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a Philadelphia-based enterprise specializing in sports and entertainment. The company owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, the Xfinity Mobile Arena, the regional sports network Comcast SportsNet, and the facilities management company Global Spectrum. Previously, Snider held ownership of the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA and played a managerial role with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL during the 1960s.

Early life and education

Raised in a Jewish household near Washington, D.C., Snider was the son of a grocery store chain proprietor. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Business career

During the 1960s, Snider co-established Edge Ltd., a record label that achieved moderate success before eventually closing. In 1964, alongside Jerry Wolman and his brother-in-law Earl Foreman, he acquired a 7% share of the Philadelphia Eagles, assuming the roles of vice president and treasurer with responsibility for daily management.

Foreseeing the NHL’s expansion, Snider and Wolman collaborated on plans to construct the Spectrum arena to host both a hockey franchise and the 76ers basketball team. Philadelphia was granted an NHL franchise on February 8, 1966, which launched as the Philadelphia Flyers in 1967. Following their partnership’s dissolution in 1967, Snider became the principal owner of the Flyers while Wolman took full control of the Spectrum. After Wolman’s Spectrum bankruptcy in 1971, Snider and Foreman assumed control and settled outstanding debts. In 1974, Snider founded Spectacor as a holding entity for operations related to both the Flyers and Spectrum. The Flyers made history by winning consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975 as the first NHL expansion team to achieve this feat.

Snider broadened his business interests by founding or acquiring ventures such as premium cable network PRISM and sports radio station WIP. Amid conflicts with other owners and local governments over arena site selections, he privately financed what would become CoreStates Center (currently known as Xfinity Mobile Arena) to ensure that both the Flyers and 76ers remained in Philadelphia.

Before CoreStates Center opened in 1996, Snider sold a majority stake—66%—of his enterprises, including Spectacor, to Comcast, resulting in the creation of Comcast-Spectacor. He retained his position as chairman along with a minority ownership share. This transaction also included Comcast’s acquisition of the 76ers. Snider forged a close working relationship with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts that endured until his passing.

Subsequently, Comcast-Spectacor launched Comcast SportsNet in 1996 and obtained an AHL expansion team called the Philadelphia Phantoms. In a 1999 poll conducted by Philadelphia Daily News, Snider was recognized as Philadelphia’s most influential sports figure, surpassing notable personalities such as Connie Mack and Roger Penske.

Nonprofit organizations

In 1985, Snider was among the founding donors of the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI), established by philosopher Leonard Peikoff to advance Rand's Objectivist philosophy. Following a dispute between ARI and philosopher David Kelley in 1990, Snider supported Kelley’s competing organization, initially named the Institute for Objectivist Studies (now The Atlas Society).

In 2003, he helped establish the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (now Beyond Celiac) as a founding board member and continued backing it until his death in 2016.

In 2005, Snider launched the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation with the goal of providing children from Philadelphia’s inner city with access to hockey programs, addressing disparities faced by underserved communities.

In 2014, he contributed $5 million to the University of Maryland to create the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets within the Robert H. Smith School of Business, dedicated to promoting education about capitalism and market systems.

Additionally, he founded The Snider Foundation, a family-run charitable organization that remains active in donating millions annually to causes he championed—such as Jewish initiatives, conservative political organizations, and educational endeavors.

Honors and awards

In 1988, Snider was honored with induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The subsequent year, he was added to the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame alongside Keith Allen and Bill Barber. Later, in 1997, Snider was recognized by being inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

The Philadelphia Daily News designated Snider as Philadelphia's "Greatest Mover and Shaker of the Millennium" in 1999. He was further acknowledged with entry into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and later into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.

In 2012, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association renamed its Humanitarian Award to the Ed Snider Lifetime Distinguished Humanitarian Award, with Snider honored as its inaugural recipient.

Personal life

At the time of his passing, Snider was survived by six children and fifteen grandchildren. His son Jay Snider held leadership roles as president of the Philadelphia Flyers from 1983 to 1994 and of Spectacor, Inc. from 1987 to 1994. A majority of his offspring were employed by Spectacor or Comcast-Spectacor.

Snider entered into matrimony four times. His first union with Myrna Gordon resulted in four children before their divorce in 1981. Two years later, in 1983, he married model Martha McGeary; they had two children before eventually divorcing. In 2004, he wed Belgian former singer Christine Decroix; their marriage ended in divorce in 2009. His final marriage was to Lin Spivak in 2013.

He was affiliated with the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.

Death

After receiving treatment for bladder cancer in 2014 and being declared "cancer free" later that year, Snider’s illness returned in 2015. Following a lengthy struggle, he passed away on April 11, 2016, at his residence in Montecito, California. He was laid to rest at West Laurel Hill Cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

To honor his memory, during their Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers wore a black patch inscribed with "EMS." In the next season, they sported a patch featuring Snider’s signature alongside the Flyers emblem. Additionally, in 2017, a statue commemorating Snider was unveiled near his former office adjacent to the Wells Fargo Center.

References

Bass, Alan (2022). "Ed Snider: The Last Sports Mogul". Triumph Books.

External links