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One man's plan leaves a legacy of success

Developer learns to appreciate baseball as owner of Indians, does what’s best for Cleveland

By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal staff writer

POSTED: 09:20 p.m. EDT, Jun 05, 2009

CHICAGO: Richard E. Jacobs was one of the wealthiest men in Cleveland, but outside of his family, friends and business associates, most people in Northeast Ohio never heard his name until he decided to purchase the Indians for $40 million in 1986.

By that time, Jacobs was 61 years old. He was one of the country's foremost mall developers, and he owned hotels and chain restaurants.

Jacobs died Thursday, 11 days before his 84th birthday. His real estate company said Jacobs had been in ill health and died peacefully.

He grew up in Akron's West Hill — as the neighborhood was known then — not far from Swensons drive-in restaurant on Hawkins Avenue, where he car-hopped as a Buchtel High School student.

He and his brother Dave, who preceded him in death, moved to Cleveland and, with Dominic Visconsi, formed the Richard E. Jacobs Group. The company began its business by buying small strip shopping centers.

Jacobs kept a low profile — not unlike many businessmen who eventually strike it rich — until the Indians came up for sale in the 1980s. Suddenly, Jacobs was a public figure, a position he was none too comfortable with early on.

After purchasing the ballclub, he hired as club president and general manager highly respected veteran Hank Peters, who had been in charge of the baseball operations for the Baltimore Orioles. Earlier in his career, Peters was farm director for the Indians and thus had ties to Cleveland.

Peters brought with him a young former third-base coach and scout, John Hart, who would eventually lead the Tribe to its greatest glory since the team won the American League pennant in 1954.

Eventually, Hart succeeded Peters and brought in the players — Sandy Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Orel Hershiser, Dennis Martinez — who would win five consecutive Central Division championships and play in the 1995 and 1997 World Series under manager Mike Hargrove.

Jacobs and Hart formed a bond that lasted until the last day of Jacobs' life, when Hart visited his home.

''I spent two hours with Dick yesterday,'' Hart said by phone Thursday. ''I walked in the room — he couldn't really speak, but he was aware — and I said, 'Hey, Dick, I got a couple of pitchers. Will you spring for them?' He gave me the thumbs up and squeezed my hand.''

Hart counts Jacobs as a special man who could drive a hard bargain, but do it with grace. He usually asked the right questions and listened to the answers, allowing the people he hired to do their jobs.

''In my early dealings with Dick, I really became aware of how smart he was, how bold he was,'' Hart said. ''He was tough, but he was a great guy. He grasped things [quickly], and he realized risk but understood.''

Those qualities came into play in 1991, when Hart decided he needed to gut the team of veterans and start over with young talent. He also proposed what was then a revolutionary idea: signing young players to multi-year contracts, thus bypassing years of arbitration hearings and possibly a season or two of free agency.

Such contracts could backfire. A player might not live up to his early success or become injured and miss months or even seasons.

''But Dick bought into the idea,'' Hart said. ''And when he did, we were off and running. This had never been done and there was lot of risk. But it was so typical of Dick. He would hear you out, ask pointed questions and here we go. He just made things happen. So for me, this is an end of an era.''

Jacobs, in contrast to his older brother, was not a baseball fan — ''I don't think Dick ever watched SportsCenter,'' Hart said — but he learned to become one. Mostly, he seemed to enjoy being around baseball people.

''We would go to the [fall] instructional league,'' Hart said. ''He got to know all of the guys — the coaches and the staff people — and liked them. He respected them for who they were and what they did.''

Jacobs could be comfortable in the company of players who dressed and behaved more like they belonged to a biker gang. Former pitcher David Wells was one.

Hart had decided to make an effort to sign Wells as a free agent and invited him and his agent for lunch in a private room at Johnny's in downtown Cleveland to meet Jacobs.

''Wells showed up in a tank top and sweats,'' Hart said. ''He had the tattoo, and he'd already had a couple of beers and a basket full of rolls before he met Dick. They talk for a while, and he tells Dick, 'I don't drink much before games, but on the other four days.' . . . and he's telling other stories.

''Pretty soon, Wells puts his arm around Dick, and Dick put his arm around him, and I'm getting really embarrassed. But when lunch is over, Dick leaves and says, 'I love that guy. If we can get him, let's do it.' ''

Jacobs lacked any stuffy, corporate pretensions. It was common to see him out and about, taking advantage of the night life and picking up checks, even for relative strangers. Hart recalled the night the Indians wrapped up a playoff series win in Boston.

''We were all excited and went to the Capital Grille,'' he said. ''It ended up that almost the whole team and their significant others showed up, along with the staff. I asked for the check and was told that Mr. Jacobs was in a private room with some friends and took it.

''He never came out to beat his own chest. He just quietly took the check and never said a word about it. And I guarantee that it must have been $15,000.''

Although Jacobs bought low and sold high — he sold the team to Larry Dolan for $323 million — and was able to coax the city into erecting a ballpark that ensured the club's continued presence in Cleveland, he didn't always win.

''It's been too difficult for me to watch the 1997 World Series again,'' Hart said. ''In Game 7, we were leading going into the ninth inning, and someone from the network called us [Jacobs and Hart] down to the clubhouse to get ready for the postgame ceremony.

''Just about the time Dick and I got down there, we blew the lead and watched the rest of the [extra-innings] game in the cubbyhole that was the manager's office. When we finally lost, I was distraught. But Dick wasn't going to mire himself in it. He got up and was off, saying, 'Let's get ready for next year.' It broke my heart, but he took it in stride.' ''

Why did a non-baseball fan invest so much money (he suffered losses for several years) in the Indians?

''Dick talked a lot about loving the community,'' Hart said. ''He's a Northeast Ohio guy . . . .

''He had a business plan he hoped would succeed. But in the end, he just thought it was the right thing do to for Cleveland.''

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.

Dick Jacobs, former owner of the Indians and prominent businessman, passed away after a long illness. (Phil Masturzo/ Akron Beacon Journal file photo)
View more photos>>

CHICAGO: Richard E. Jacobs was one of the wealthiest men in Cleveland, but outside of his family, friends and business associates, most people in Northeast Ohio never heard his name until he decided to purchase the Indians for $40 million in 1986.

By that time, Jacobs was 61 years old. He was one of the country's foremost mall developers, and he owned hotels and chain restaurants.

Jacobs died Thursday, 11 days before his 84th birthday. His real estate company said Jacobs had been in ill health and died peacefully.

He grew up in Akron's West Hill — as the neighborhood was known then — not far from Swensons drive-in restaurant on Hawkins Avenue, where he car-hopped as a Buchtel High School student.

He and his brother Dave, who preceded him in death, moved to Cleveland and, with Dominic Visconsi, formed the Richard E. Jacobs Group. The company began its business by buying small strip shopping centers.

Jacobs kept a low profile — not unlike many businessmen who eventually strike it rich — until the Indians came up for sale in the 1980s. Suddenly, Jacobs was a public figure, a position he was none too comfortable with early on.

After purchasing the ballclub, he hired as club president and general manager highly respected veteran Hank Peters, who had been in charge of the baseball operations for the Baltimore Orioles. Earlier in his career, Peters was farm director for the Indians and thus had ties to Cleveland.

Peters brought with him a young former third-base coach and scout, John Hart, who would eventually lead the Tribe to its greatest glory since the team won the American League pennant in 1954.

Eventually, Hart succeeded Peters and brought in the players — Sandy Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Orel Hershiser, Dennis Martinez — who would win five consecutive Central Division championships and play in the 1995 and 1997 World Series under manager Mike Hargrove.

Jacobs and Hart formed a bond that lasted until the last day of Jacobs' life, when Hart visited his home.

''I spent two hours with Dick yesterday,'' Hart said by phone Thursday. ''I walked in the room — he couldn't really speak, but he was aware — and I said, 'Hey, Dick, I got a couple of pitchers. Will you spring for them?' He gave me the thumbs up and squeezed my hand.''

Hart counts Jacobs as a special man who could drive a hard bargain, but do it with grace. He usually asked the right questions and listened to the answers, allowing the people he hired to do their jobs.

''In my early dealings with Dick, I really became aware of how smart he was, how bold he was,'' Hart said. ''He was tough, but he was a great guy. He grasped things [quickly], and he realized risk but understood.''

Those qualities came into play in 1991, when Hart decided he needed to gut the team of veterans and start over with young talent. He also proposed what was then a revolutionary idea: signing young players to multi-year contracts, thus bypassing years of arbitration hearings and possibly a season or two of free agency.

Such contracts could backfire. A player might not live up to his early success or become injured and miss months or even seasons.

''But Dick bought into the idea,'' Hart said. ''And when he did, we were off and running. This had never been done and there was lot of risk. But it was so typical of Dick. He would hear you out, ask pointed questions and here we go. He just made things happen. So for me, this is an end of an era.''

Jacobs, in contrast to his older brother, was not a baseball fan — ''I don't think Dick ever watched SportsCenter,'' Hart said — but he learned to become one. Mostly, he seemed to enjoy being around baseball people.

''We would go to the [fall] instructional league,'' Hart said. ''He got to know all of the guys — the coaches and the staff people — and liked them. He respected them for who they were and what they did.''

Jacobs could be comfortable in the company of players who dressed and behaved more like they belonged to a biker gang. Former pitcher David Wells was one.

Hart had decided to make an effort to sign Wells as a free agent and invited him and his agent for lunch in a private room at Johnny's in downtown Cleveland to meet Jacobs.

''Wells showed up in a tank top and sweats,'' Hart said. ''He had the tattoo, and he'd already had a couple of beers and a basket full of rolls before he met Dick. They talk for a while, and he tells Dick, 'I don't drink much before games, but on the other four days.' . . . and he's telling other stories.

''Pretty soon, Wells puts his arm around Dick, and Dick put his arm around him, and I'm getting really embarrassed. But when lunch is over, Dick leaves and says, 'I love that guy. If we can get him, let's do it.' ''

Jacobs lacked any stuffy, corporate pretensions. It was common to see him out and about, taking advantage of the night life and picking up checks, even for relative strangers. Hart recalled the night the Indians wrapped up a playoff series win in Boston.

''We were all excited and went to the Capital Grille,'' he said. ''It ended up that almost the whole team and their significant others showed up, along with the staff. I asked for the check and was told that Mr. Jacobs was in a private room with some friends and took it.

''He never came out to beat his own chest. He just quietly took the check and never said a word about it. And I guarantee that it must have been $15,000.''

Although Jacobs bought low and sold high — he sold the team to Larry Dolan for $323 million — and was able to coax the city into erecting a ballpark that ensured the club's continued presence in Cleveland, he didn't always win.

''It's been too difficult for me to watch the 1997 World Series again,'' Hart said. ''In Game 7, we were leading going into the ninth inning, and someone from the network called us [Jacobs and Hart] down to the clubhouse to get ready for the postgame ceremony.

''Just about the time Dick and I got down there, we blew the lead and watched the rest of the [extra-innings] game in the cubbyhole that was the manager's office. When we finally lost, I was distraught. But Dick wasn't going to mire himself in it. He got up and was off, saying, 'Let's get ready for next year.' It broke my heart, but he took it in stride.' ''

Why did a non-baseball fan invest so much money (he suffered losses for several years) in the Indians?

''Dick talked a lot about loving the community,'' Hart said. ''He's a Northeast Ohio guy . . . .

''He had a business plan he hoped would succeed. But in the end, he just thought it was the right thing do to for Cleveland.''

Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/tribematters. Follow the Indians on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Indians.



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r m kraus
Akron, OH

Posted 11:10 PM, 06/05/2009

I have been wondering about John Hart . . . . . when did he leave the Indians? . . . . . . where did he go? . . . . . . where does he live now? . . . . . he was about as shrewd a baseball man as there ever was.


tman67
Canal Fulton, OH

Posted 01:06 PM, 06/06/2009

He left the Indians and was GM for the Texas Rangers. He resigned from that position and is an adviser to the team.
















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