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Jay Ramsdell

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ibdklbn (talk | contribs) at 20:36, 31 March 2021 (I corrected the often-made error of number of victims of Flight 232. The actual final toll was 112, not 111. On person died a bit later than the others, and that's why the total is so often reported incorrectly. I'm originally from the Sioux City area...and lived there, too, for many years, so I've watched this story very closely.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jay Ramsdell
File:Jay L. Ramsdell.jpg
Born(1964-01-30)January 30, 1964
Bar Harbor, Maine
DiedJuly 19, 1989(1989-07-19) (aged 25)
Sioux City, Iowa
Cause of deathPlane crash
OccupationCommissioner of the Continental Basketball Association

Jay L. Ramsdell (January 30, 1964 – July 19, 1989) was the Commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), a professional men's basketball league in the United States, from 1988 until his death.[1]

Continental Basketball Association

As a ninth-grade student in 1978, Ramsdell interviewed the owner of the expansion team the Maine Lumberjacks for an article in his high school newspaper. The owner was so impressed, he invited Jay to "help out" the team on Opening Night. That night Jay was assigned to the scorer's table, and by the end of the game he was the Statistical Crew Chief. Within a week, Jay had assumed the role of the team's Director of Public Relations.

Ramsdell remained with the 'Jacks until his high school graduation in 1982 when he was hired by CBA commissioner Jim Drucker as the league's Administrative Assistant. Within a year, he was the league's Director of Operations.

He returned to Bangor, Maine, to serve as the General Manager for the Maine Windjammers in 1985–86. After that franchise folded after one season, at the age of 20, Ramsdell returned to the CBA front office as Deputy Commissioner.[2]

With the resignation of Commissioner Mike Storen in 1988, Jay Ramsdell became the youngest Commissioner in the history of professional sports when he assumed the position at the age of 24.[3]

Death and legacy

Ramsdell and Deputy Commissioner Jerry Schemmel were on United Airlines Flight 232 on July 19, 1989, and traveling from the league headquarters in Denver to the player draft in Columbus, Ohio, when the plane crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa, after losing all hydraulics. Of the 296 passengers and crew on board the flight, Ramsdell was among the 112 passengers who were killed, while Schemmel survived.[4]

In 1989, the CBA league championship trophy was named the Jay Ramsdell Trophy to honor his memory.[3] Ramsdell was posthumously inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.[5]

References

  1. ^ Commissioners, The CBA Museum, Retrieved 2018-12-27
  2. ^ "Continental Basketball Association, AAA to the NBA: 1985-86 Official Guide & Register", (CBA, 1985)
  3. ^ a b The CBA Museum
  4. ^ Schemmel, Jerry; Simpson, Kevin (1996). Chosen to Live: The Inspiring Story of a Flight 232 Survivor. Victory Publishing. ISBN 0-9652086-5-6.
  5. ^ Clark, Ernie (August 16, 2019). "Storylines abound for this year's Maine Basketball Hall of Fame class". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine.


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