Malcolm Glazer

Malcolm Irving Glazer (August 15, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American businessman and sports team owner.

He was the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests, and owned both Manchester United of the Premier League and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League.

Glazer was born in Rochester, New York, the fifth of seven children of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, Abraham and Hannah Glazer.

He began working in his father's watch parts business at age 8.

At 15, when his father died, he sold watches door to door to help support his family.

Reuters quoted Glazer as saying his father's death "was probably the most tragic thing that ever happened in my life, but it was good in one way" because "it made me a man."

He briefly attended Sampson College in Romulus, New York before committing himself full-time to jewelry and watch repair.

A small man with a reddish beard, he was referred to in the news media as "the leprechaun".

Glazer obtained the watch repair concession at the Sampson Air Force Base.

When the base closed in 1956, he expanded into real estate investing in single-family homes, duplexes and commercial buildings in Rochester, eventually owning commercial real estate across America.

In 1963, he bought the National Bank of Savannah in upstate New York.

In 1973, he bought the first of five health care facilities he was to own, the West Hill Convalescent Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1976, he purchased three television stations for $20 million including WRBL in Columbus, Georgia.

In 1984, he founded First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his various endeavors where he served as president and chief executive officer.

First Allied invested in a diverse portfolio of international holdings and public companies including: Zapata Corporation, Houlihan's Restaurant group, Harley-Davidson, Formica, Tonka Toys, Specialty Equipment and Omega Protein.

Glazer first gained national business attention in 1984, when he launched an unsuccessful $7.6 billion bid to buy the government-controlled freight rail company, Conrail.

He was later the largest shareholder of kitchen designer Formica in 1988 and, later, with motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.

Glazer achieved control of Zapata Corporation, an oil and gas company founded by George H. W. Bush.

Glazer successfully diversified it into fish protein and Caribbean supermarkets.

Glazer owned a diverse portfolio of investments, which included food service equipment, food packaging and food supplies, marine protein, broadcasting, health care, property, banking, natural gas and oil, the Internet, stocks and bonds.

Glazer purchased the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League (NFL) franchise on January 16, 1995, following the death of former owner Hugh Culverhouse.

He paid $192 million, a league record at that time.

Glazer served as president of the team, while sons Bryan, Joel and Edward were co-chairmen at the time.

Since coming under the Glazer family's ownership, the club has experienced an upswing in its fortunes, winning 131 regular season games, earning seven playoff berths and winning Super Bowl XXXVII and Super Bowl LV, the latter following Glazer's death.

Prior to Glazer's acquisition of the franchise, the Buccaneers had won just 87 games in 19 seasons and advanced to the postseason just three times.

Tampa Bay was the only team in the league to play in the postseason each year from 1999 to 2002.

Tampa Bay also eclipsed the club record for wins in a regular season with 12 in 2002.

The 2007 campaign saw the Buccaneers claim their third NFC South Division title in six years, the sixth division crown in franchise history.

After the team finished 9–7 in 2008, the team fired Jon Gruden, the most successful coach in franchise history.

In January 2009, Glazer and his family hired Raheem Morris as head coach of the Buccaneers, making him the youngest head coach in the National Football League upon his appointment.

In addition, the family named longtime Director of Pro Personnel Mark Dominik as the fourth general manager in club history.

Morris went 17–31 as a head coach and was fired after three seasons.

The fact that the Bucs lost their final 10 games of the 2011 season was a likely contributor to the decision.

On January 27, 2012, Glazer and his family hired long-time Rutgers University head coach Greg Schiano as the ninth head coach in franchise history.

Schiano only lasted two seasons, being fired following a disappointing 4–12 season in 2013.

Mark Dominik was also fired at that time, lasting five seasons.

During his tenure the team compiled a record of 28–52, which included only one winning season.

Glazer devoted a significant amount of time working to make the organization more fan-friendly by greatly increasing fan activities at Buccaneers home games through the expansion of the club's community relations and special events departments.

His mandate to enhance the team's visibility in the community was reflected through increased appearances by Buccaneer players, coaches, cheerleaders and front office officials in recent years.

The team did not make the playoffs again until the 2020 season under the leadership of Bruce Arians as coach and Tom Brady as quarterback.