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Bill Laurie

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Bill Laurie
BornJuly 1952 (age 72)
Versailles, Missouri
Alma materMemphis State University
Occupation(s)Basketball player and coach, business executive, philanthropist
SpouseNancy Walton Laurie
Children1
RelativesJames "Bud" Walton (father-in-law)

Bill Laurie is an American former basketball player and coach, and current business executive and philanthropist. He is the former owner of the St. Louis Blues and is the co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment.

Early life

Laurie grew up in rural Missouri.[1] While attending high school in Versailles, he played basketball, leading the scoring across the state of Missouri as a senior.[2][3] He graduated from Memphis State University in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1974.[4] While he was in college, Laurie was part of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team, and competed in the 1973 NCAA national championship game, lost to the UCLA Bruins.[3][4] During college, Laurie started dating childhood friend Nancy Walton, and the two married a year after graduating.[5]

Career

He started his career as a teacher and a basketball coach, managing both the Christian Brothers College High School and Rock Bridge High School.[3] Since the late 1970s, he and his wife live at Crown Center Farms in Columbia, Missouri, where they breed race horses.[6] He quit his job in 1983 to serve as the manager of the family real estate portfolio.[3] He was the owner of the St. Louis Blues, a member of the National Hockey League which he acquired for US$153 million, from 1999 to 2011.[4] He was also the owner of the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[4] He failed to acquire the Denver Nuggets in 1999, the Vancouver Grizzlies in 2000, and the Charlotte Hornets in 2001.[4]

He is the co-founder and co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment (PSE) with his wife.[3] Alongside the St. Louis Blues and the Savvis Center, PSE operated SkinMarket, a cosmetics company headquartered in Carpinteria, California.[4] PSE is still an active company.[7]

In 2003, he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield, Missouri, for his "lifelong dedication and personal contributions to the betterment of sport and the spirit of sportsmanship... as a player, a coach, an executive and a benefactor."[3]

Philanthropy

With his wife, he donated US$25 million to the University of Missouri for the construction of a new sports arena for the Missouri Tigers in 2001.[1][8] They have also endowed the E. Paige Laurie Professorship for the Equine Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri,[1] and donated $10 million to the athletics department of their alma mater, the University of Memphis.[9] According to the Los Angeles Times, they have also made charitable gifts for "a cancer research center" and "a shelter for abused women" and "a children's hospital".[1]

Personal life

He married Nancy Walton Laurie, the daughter of James "Bud" Walton, the co-founder of Walmart.[citation needed] He has a brother, Barry, and a nephew, Spencer, who both played basketball for the Memphis Tigers. Also, a nephew, Shane, played for Memphis State University.[10]

They live at Crown Center Farms, a 350-acre equine farm in Columbia, Missouri, where they breed Appaloosa horses.[1][11] On March 23, 2014, a barn on the property burnt down.[11][12] The cause of the fire was ruled unintentional by the Columbia Fire Department.[12][13] The Lauries have additional homes in Henderson,[14] near Las Vegas, Nevada, and Bel Air, Los Angeles.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Stephanie Simon, "Fuming at What Isn't in a Name: A University of Missouri sports complex is named after philanthropists' child, who goes to USC". Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2004
  2. ^ McMillin, Zack. Valley Goal: The Tigers' talent, tenacity were essential to winning title. The Commercial Appeal.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Bill Laurie - Missouri Sports Hall of Fame". mosportshalloffame.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "ESPN.com: Bill Laurie". go.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "Wal-Mart Heirs Buy St. Louis Hockey Team, Sports Arena". highbeam.com. September 7, 1999. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Building Blocks from Background, Lauries Step to the Fore for Mu, St. Louis Post Dispatch
  7. ^ "Paige Sports Entertainment". PaigeSports.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  8. ^ Sarah DeShazo, Nancy Walton Laurie: Ballet's Next Best Friend?, Inside Philanthropy, July 31, 2013
  9. ^ "Memphis Announces $10 Million Gift to Athletics". GoTigersGo.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  10. ^ "Hey, Big Spencer". pitch.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Ashley Jost, Barn a complete loss after Crown Center Farms fire: Apartment burns in separate blaze., Columbia Daily Tribune, March 24, 2014
  12. ^ a b "City of Columbia In the News". GoColumbiaMo.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  13. ^ Jessica Quick, Crown Center Farms fire ruled unintentional, KQFX-LD, March 26, 2014
  14. ^ "The World's Billionaires (2010): #363 Nancy Walton Laurie". Forbes. March 3, 2010. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  15. ^ Matt Lopez, Wal-Mart Heiress Seeks Damages From Bel Air's 901 Strada Vecchia Archived 2015-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, The Beverly Hills Courier, January 23, 2015, pp. 1;11
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