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Events and Attractions

Jerry Reinsdorf Through The Years

1930s

1936

Jerry Reinsdorf is born on Feb. 25 in Brooklyn, N.Y.

1950s

1957

He graduates with a bachelor of arts degree from George Washington University.

1960s

1960

He earns a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and takes a job in Chicago as a tax attorney with the IRS.

1964

He leaves the IRS to go into private practice.

1970s

1973

Reinsdorf forms Balcor, which eventually raises $650 million to invest in buildings already under construction.

1980s

Reinsdorf (right) and partner Eddie Einhorn buy the White Sox in 1981.
Photo by: AP IMAGES
1981

A group led by Reinsdorf purchases the Chicago White Sox from Bill Veeck and his partners for $20 million.

1982

Reinsdorf sells Balcor to Shearson Lehman Brothers for $102 million.


Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn launch SportsVision, a subscription TV service to broadcast live sporting events.

1983

The White Sox win their first of five division titles under Reinsdorf’s ownership.

1985

Reinsdorf assumes the position of chairman of the Chicago Bulls in March after purchasing controlling interest in the franchise for $9.2 million.

1988

Reinsdorf and Einhorn threaten to move the White Sox to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the 1989 season if a stadium proposal is not approved. In July, state legislators approve a proposal for a new state-financed stadium.

1990s

1990

The Bulls and WGN sue the NBA over the league’s restrictions on the superstation’s telecasts. Six years later, the NBA, Bulls and WGN reach an agreement over the antitrust challenge, and the league licenses WGN to televise 15 Bulls games nationally for the next four years. Prior to the settlement, the network was airing up to 30 Bulls games per year.

NBA Commissioner David Stern presents Reinsdorf and the Bulls the first of six championship trophies in 1991.
Photo by: AP IMAGES
1991

On the strength of Michael Jordan, the Bulls win their first of three consecutive NBA championships.

The $167 million new Comiskey Park opens.

1992

The Bulls move into their new training facility, the Sheri L. Berto Center, named after Reinsdorf’s former assistant.

Reinsdorf is widely credited — or blamed — for forcing the ouster of baseball commissioner Fay Vincent in 1992 and then orchestrating the owners’ hard-line labor strategy.

1993

Reinsdorf at Michael Jordan’s first retirement announcement in 1993
Photo by: AP IMAGES
Jordan retires from basketball at the beginning of the 1993-94 NBA season.

United Airlines agrees to a 20-year, $36 million naming-rights deal for the Bulls’ arena that is under construction.

1994

The $175 million United Center, home for the Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, opens.

Jordan makes his professional baseball debut with the White Sox’s Class AA affiliate Birmingham Barons.

The White Sox are in first place in their division when MLB players walk out on strike.

1995

In March, Jordan announces his return to the NBA with a two-word faxed press release: “I’m Back.”

1996

Jordan and the Bulls agree to the richest single-season contract ($30 million) in NBA history. Jordan would sign a $33 million one-year deal the next season.
 
The 1995-96 Bulls finish the regular season with a 72-10 record, becoming the first team ever to win 70 regular-season games.

The Bulls begin their second NBA championship three-peat.

Albert Belle signs a $55 million deal with the White Sox. The signing makes Reinsdorf the employer of the highest-paid MLB player and highest-paid NBA player (Jordan) at the same time.

1998
 

The Cactus League expands to 10 teams with the addition of the White Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The White Sox move to Tucson, Ariz., from Sarasota, Fla., after being lured by a $38 million new ballpark.

1999

Jordan retires for a second time. He eventually returns in 2001 for two more NBA seasons with the Washington Wizards.

2000s

2000

The Bulls’ home sellout streak, which began in November 1987, ends at 610 games; at the time, it’s the third-longest sellout streak in NBA history.

2001

The White Sox begin a five-year, $80 million renovation to Comiskey Park.

2003

The White Sox and U.S. Cellular sign a 23-year, $68 million naming-rights deal for U.S. Cellular Field.

2004

CSN Chicago is created and owned by Comcast and the Cubs, Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls.

From left: Reinsdorf, Bud Selig, Kenny Williams, Ozzie Guillen
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
2005

The White Sox win the franchise’s first World Series Championship since 1917. Reinsdorf becomes the third owner to win championships in two of the four major U.S. sports, joining Bill Davidson (Pistons, Lightning) and Jack Kent Cooke (Lakers, Redskins).

2006
 

Reinsdorf is inducted into the Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame. The White Sox were the parent club of the former Appleton (Wis.) Foxes when the team won three consecutive Midwest League championships.

2008

George Washington University inducts Reinsdorf into its Sports Executives Hall of Fame.

The White Sox host the Double Duty Classic, a high school baseball all-star game celebrating the history of the Negro Leagues in Chicago.

2009

The White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers open their new spring training facility, Camelback Ranch, in Glendale, Ariz. The ballpark cost $121 million, plus $37 million for off-site infrastructure.

On Sept. 14, the Chicago Bulls College Prep School officially opens with an opening class enrollment of more than 200 ninth graders.

Reinsdorf is part of a group of investors bidding to buy the Phoenix Coyotes.

President Barack Obama throws out the ceremonial first pitch of the MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis while wearing a White Sox jacket.

2010s

2010

President Obama throws the first pitch at the Phillies-Nationals season opener in a red Nationals jacket and a White Sox hat.

2011

Reinsdorf accepts the Jefferson Award, one of the nation’s top honors for community service and volunteerism, known as the “Nobel Prize for Public Service.”

Reinsdorf receives the Barnes & Thornburg Jackie Robinson Award for diversity in the workplace.

2012

Commissioner Bud Selig honors Reinsdorf and the White Sox with the 2011 Commissioner’s Award for Philanthropic Excellence for the club’s Volunteer Corps.

In June, the Bulls announce they are moving their practice facility to downtown Chicago from its current location in Deerfield, Ill.

2013

Reinsdorf begins his 33rd season as chairman of the White Sox, the longest ownership tenure in franchise history.

Reinsdorf is named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time.

— Compiled by Brandon McClung

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