After losing the battle to gain control of Maple Leaf Gardens, Mr. Ballard got out of the concert promotion business. There were differences of opinion on how good a businessman Harold Ballard was "He couldn't promote the Second Coming with the original cast," cracked Toronto Star columnist Frank Orr but his son's reputation was solid in that respect. Preceded in death by his parents, William Wallace and Carrie Buford (Pinkard) Hurt; brother, William ("Bill") Wallace, Jr.; and sister, Frances Hurt. He was not only angry at how the WHA had decimated his roster earlier in the decade, but also wasn't enamored at the prospect of reduced television revenue. Harold George Ballard - age 68 of Kodak passed away Sunday, December 3, 2017. Ballard was pulled from the water unconscious, but one of his friends died. Please. [31], In 1989, Bill Ballard was convicted of assaulting Yolanda and fined $500. After Ballard's release from prison, he had an apartment built at the Gardens facing Church Street where he would live through most of the year, while spending summers at his cottage near Lafontaine, Ontario in the Thunder Beach community. Born Aug. 6, 1944, at Cairo, Illinois, to the late Harold Vance Delk Sr. and Mary Cogdill Delk, he had lived in Bertrand most of his life. Obituary Harold B. Born to Fred and Merleen Steele, David grew up in Pennsylvania and New Mexico. However, Ballard soon began displaying tendencies that would eventually make him one of the most detested owners in NHL history. Robert A. Ballard, 82, of Mount Joy and formerly of Landisville, passed away on Thanksgiving, November 24, 2016, at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, VA. Robert was the loving husband. 3 talking about this. [30] Even before his death, there had been battles between his children, Bill Ballard, Harold Ballard Jr., and Mary Elizabeth Flynn, and his longtime companion, Yolanda Ballard. This became clear when the arena was dim for the first game. As owner of the Tiger Cats, Ballard claimed to be losing a million dollars a year. Facing an untenable situation, Bassett resigned as chairman and sold his shares to Ballard and Stafford Smythe in September 1971. In 1977, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and into the Canadian Football hall of Fame in 1987. There is a problem with your email/password. All [8], At the time Ballard took over, the Leafs' captain was Dave Keon, who had been with the team since 1960. He was "Billy" to his friends, and he had many of those. Canadian businessman and sportsman (19031990). A social media post showed video of what appears to be the shooting. BEVERLEY JOYCE BALLA February 17, 1929 ! In August, just weeks before the series began, Ballard was convicted on 47 of the charges. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (1977) and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1987). At the conclusion of the series, Ballard sent a bill to Hockey Canada for use of the building. Following the 1930 racing season, the Yacht Club sponsored a senior team in the Ontario Hockey Association called the Toronto National Sea Fleas. Well, you added Yolanda to the mix and it actually did get more colourful, recalled Bob Stellick, who worked for the Leafs on the business side in the late 80s and compared the relationship to Archie and Edith Bunker from the old sitcom All In The Family.. To order His death set off a feeding frenzy that had already been begun over the iconic properties he controlled: the Toronto Maple Leafs and. Not wanting to unnerve Mr. McDermott with the sight of an empty seat where his dad was supposed to be, Mr. Ballard spent the first half of the concert trying in vain to find a lookalike to pass for the senior McDermott. "Leafs' owner Ballard spends $1.3 million to buy the Tiger-Cats," Rick Matsumoto. Sittler himself ripped the captain's C off his sweater, later commenting that a captain had to be the go-between with players and management, and he no longer had any communication with management. There is only one Mrs. Ballard and that was my mother (Dorothy, who died in 1969), said Bill Ballard, who was found of guilty of assaulting Yolanda in 1989 and fined $500. [14] Eagleson called the trade "a classless act."[12]. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? In 1944, Ballard formed Harold E. Ballard Ltd., the personal holding company he would later use to purchase shares in Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. Obituary Mr. Harold Ballard Sheriff, 78, of Cromer Road, Elberton, husband of 27 years to Betty Ann Powell Sheriff, finished his course in faith on Monday, April 1, 2019, at St. Mary's Hospice House in Watkinsville. Most of the money was left to a charitable foundation. Anyone can read what you share. Harold Ballard, the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League and a man described by his team's fact book as ''one of the most loved and hated men in Canada,'' died yesterday in Toronto. In one instance, some time in the 1970s, the family of three along with sister Ana travelled regularly to Ann Arbor in a gold Cadillac to watch the University of Michigan football team. . Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Though Imlach was gone, Sittler's relationship with the Leafs worsened again in the 198182 season and he was traded that year to the Philadelphia Flyers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Lone Eagle Entertainment, Sam Lim However, hostility to Ballard's overture from the Toronto Argonauts (then owned by Ballard's former partner John Bassett) ensured it never went anywhere. He was accused by the Crown attorney of using funds from Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. to pay for renovations to his home on Montgomery Rd., in Etobicoke. Imlach never returned to work and his contract was allowed to expire. I know the family and friends were totally aghast and Oh my god, shes a gold digger but he figured out she could take his s--- and she, as time evolved, became his caregiver.. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. She was a canning manager and was a. His father was Toronto Maple Leafs hockey mogul Harold Ballard. In September 1981, after Imlach had another heart attack during training camp, Ballard told the media that Imlach's poor health meant that "he's through as general manager". The singer was nearing 40 years old and working at The Toronto Sun when he embarked on a performing career. Stock shares were blood in the water; lawsuits were fiercely launched. BALLARD, JEAN LORENA Jean Lorena Ballard, age 90, passed away Sunday, July 28, 2013 at Rose Haven Assisted Living Center in Menahga, MN. She could dine with the Queen of England at night and the next morning be busting it with any kind of maintenance person, Gord Stellick recalled. Mom reaches under the front seat and she pulls out this gun, said MacMillan. These demands made it financially impossible for the Toros to survive in Toronto, and after the 1975-76 season they moved to Birmingham, Alabama. To make room for more seats, Ballard removed a large portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from the Gardens. "Silent runner or not, an incident in 1989 put Mr. Ballard in the public arena, where the light was not always flattering. Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.47, Penguin Books, Date-by-date story of Gardens takeover fight,", Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League, Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission, 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, "Harold Ballard: Hockey's Miscreant Owner", "37 Year Cup Drought: The Legacy of Harold Ballard", "Harold Ballard, 86, Feisty Owner of Toronto Maple Leafs, Is Dead", CBC Digital Archives Harold Ballard Convicted of Fraud, Hockey Trade Rumors NHL Rumors from around the league 37 Year Cup Drought The Legacy of Harold Ballard, CBC Digital Archives Canada's Favourite BROAD-caster, "Black Aces: The Gutter Bin Presents More Classic Quotes", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harold_Ballard&oldid=1140958443, Canada men's national ice hockey team coaches, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, In August 1979, to make room for private boxes, he had. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. The Leafs barely made the playoffs in 1980, finishing five games below .500. Kingfisher County District Court prosecutors charged Ballard in March with two misdemeanor charges - carrying a firearm while under the influence of alcohol and public intoxication. [11] Gregory learned of the news when he received a call from an NHL executive offering him the directorship of the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, unbeknownst to him that Ballard had fired him.[11]. Ballard booked The Beatles on each of their three North American tours from 19641966. Harold Virgil Ballard [ 1] + 1929 - 2015 (86 years) Has 18 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree. David Blaine Steele, born in Titusville, PA on February 25, 1963, passed away February 24, 2023 one day before his 60th birthday. ''I just booted her out,'' Ballard told Dick Beddoes, the author of the biography ''Pal Hal.'' Shelvie "Jeannie" Workman Ballard, 85, of Newton, passed away on Friday, January 6, 2023 at Carolina Caring in Newton. His death set off a feeding frenzy that had already been begun over the iconic properties he controlled: the Toronto Maple Leafs and the building the team played in, Maple Leaf Gardens. I was close with (Harold) and he figured out what she was, said Gord Stellick. Commented former Leafs' captain, Ballard had special gold medals made up for the Canadian team, after they were expelled from the, At the same postgame show, Ballard proceeded to get into an on-air argument with Dick Beddoes, which involved Beddoes saying Ballard would be better suited to guessing weights at the, For his 85th birthday party, Ballard invited Hunt, who was then with the, Biographical information and career statistics from, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 17:05. Once you find the obituary you are looking for, you can get important information about upcoming services, share a favorite photo or memory, and send flowers or gifts to the family. Mr. Ballard opposed hockey games against teams from the Soviet Union, calling the Russians ''parasites and barnacles who steal our money.'' Other notable incidents and anecdotes during Ballard's time as majority owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens include:[1]. At the time, NHL teams relied on the reserve clause to keep players from jumping to other teams in the league, but the clause could not prevent players from leaving the NHL to join a different league. Neilson did return, without the paper bag. Early in their relationship, the pair travelled to the Cayman Islands and met dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, as well as performers such as opera star Luciano Pavarotti. Ballard was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as Edwin Harold Ballard. Sorry! Try again. His father was the foreman of a machinery company and his mother took in boarders. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. And I had Billy on my side.". The Tiger-Cats made the playoffs every year under Ballard's ownership and played in four Grey Cup championship games, losing in 1980, 1984 and 1985 before finally winning the Cup in 1986. Make a life-giving gesture It's probably also true that few managers would have gone to the lengths that Mr. Ballard did to serve a client. [6] During the time Harold was in prison, his son Bill managed the Maple Leaf Gardens. ", (Indeed, Mr. Ballard was an enthusiastic chaser of properties to bring into Toronto.