Gabrielle Russon
Pat Williams, the hall of fame sports executive who helped Orlando get a NBA team, has died at 84 due to pneumonia complications.
“Pat Williams simply brought magic to Orlando,” said Orlando Magic Chair Dan DeVos and CEO Alex Martins in a joint statement. “His accomplishments will always be remembered. Armed with his ever-present optimism and unparalleled energy, he was an incredible visionary who helped transform the world of sports in multiple ways.”
In 1986, Williams, who had previously been the Philadelphia 76ers General Manager, joined with businessman Jimmy Hewitt to begin the work to lure the NBA to the City Beautiful. Williams, who wisely envisioned Florida’s growth, wanted to build a team from scratch to give the state its first NBA team, he told the Orlando Sentinel at the time.
”I think Orlando is viewed as apple pie, motherhood, baseball, Chevrolet, Mickey Mouse … the whole package,” Williams told the Sentinel before the NBA officially picked Orlando as the next franchise.
Williams was the Magic’s biggest cheerleader on Oct. 13, 1989, for the team’s first-ever tipoff, an exhibition game against the bad boys-era Detroit Pistons.
”I’ll tell you what I want. I want this to become an absolute pit of passion,” Williams told the Sentinel. “What I have to say to Central Florida is this: Come in cheering. At this point, don’t worry about your knowledge of the game. If the peanut vendor makes a good pitch, cheer that. Come ready to cheer everything.”
The Magic beat the NBA champions.
“It finally opens — O-Town is big league,” the Sentinel headline said the next day.
Williams received the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and worked for several professional sports teams in his career.
He was successful outside his work, too. He and his wife, Ruth, were the parents of 19 children — 14 of them adopted from foreign countries. He ran 58 marathons, including the prestigious Boston Marathon 13 times. He wrote more than 100 books. He beat cancer.
Williams’ next big goal was to lure a professional baseball team to Orlando and build a $1.7 billion domed stadium off International Drive with public money.
“The Rays know that if things don’t work out over yonder, we’re here waiting for them,” Williams said at an Orange County advisory meeting last year.
In classic Williams’ style, his pitch was colorful and entertaining — he broke into song at one point — but this time, not successful.
“Pat forever changed the sports landscape in Orlando. He shined a light on what those who called Orlando home already knew — that Central Florida was a fabulous place to live, work and play,” Martins and DeVos said in their statement. “We all owe him a debt of gratitude and he will certainly be missed, but never forgotten.”
