Herman Sarkowsky
Encyclopedia
Herman Sarkowsky is a Seattle, Washington
, United States
businessman, philanthropist, thoroughbred
breeder
, and former sports executive. He was a co-founder of two Pacific Northwest
sports franchises, the Portland Trail Blazers
and the Seattle Seahawks
.
, he and his family immigrated to New York City
in 1934 after Hitler came to power. The family moved to Seattle, Washington
in 1937. A 1949 graduate of the University of Washington
, he entered the home building and construction trade the following year.
of Beverly Hills, California
, and Robert Schmertz
of Lakewood, New Jersey paid US$3.7 million and was awarded an expansion NBA
franchise in the city of Portland, Oregon
. This team, soon to be named the Portland Trail Blazers
, started play in November 1970. Sarkowsky was named president and managing partner of the team. His stake increased two years later when he bought out Schmertz, when the latter purchased the Boston Celtics
. He reduced his stake in the team the next year, and sold the remainder of his stake in the Trail Blazers to Weinberg, who became managing partner in 1975.
formed an organization called Seattle Professional Football, which was created to bring an NFL franchise to the city. A franchise was awarded to the city in June 1974. After the NFL made known its ownership terms (any ownership group must include one entity with controlling interest
in the team), Sarkowsky entered into a partnership with the Nordstrom
family in which the Nordstroms would have a 51% stake. The NFL granted the Nordstrom/Sarkwosky consortium ownership of the new Seattle franchise, which would be christened the Seahawks
, in December of that year. The Seahawks began play in 1976. Sarkowsky would sell his stake in the team in 1988.
horse racing
. He got started in the sport in 1960, when he purchased a US$2000 claimer. He would later be an investor in Northwest Racing Associates, which would construct Emerald Downs
, a racetrack in Auburn, Washington
. Several horses he owned would have success in the Breeders' Cup
, including Phone Chatter, which won the 1993 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
, and Mr. Greeley, which placed in the 1995 Sprint
. , Sarkowsky owns 37 thoroughbreds, including 11 mares.
in Seattle, was a partner in the Frederick and Nelson department store chain, and founded the United Homes Corporation in the 1960s, which would become the largest homebuilder in the Seattle area at the time. , Sarkowsky operates a private investment firm. He is a Lifetime Board Member of the National Association of Home Builders. He is presently a director of HLTH Corporation.
, his alma mater, and sits on the board of the UW School of Medicine. He also has served as a director of numerous charitable and cultural institutions, including the Seattle Foundation, the United Way, Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Seattle Symphony
, and the Seattle Art Museum
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman, philanthropist, thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
breeder
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
, and former sports executive. He was a co-founder of two Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
sports franchises, the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
and the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
.
Early life and career
Sarkowsky was born in Germany in 1925. A JewJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, he and his family immigrated to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1934 after Hitler came to power. The family moved to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
in 1937. A 1949 graduate of the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, he entered the home building and construction trade the following year.
Portland Trail Blazers
In 1970, an investment group consisting of Sarkowsky, Larry WeinbergLarry Weinberg (businessman)
Larry Weinberg is an American real estate developer who was one of the founders of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Weinberg is a US military veteran who served in the US 6th Army Group as and infantry grunt during World War II. He was severely wounded in combat in France and spent over a year...
of Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, and Robert Schmertz
Robert Schmertz
Robert Schmertz was an American developer and sports franchise owner. He was owner or part-owner of two NBA franchises; the Portland Trail Blazers from 1970 through 1972, and the Boston Celtics from 1972 until 1975...
of Lakewood, New Jersey paid US$3.7 million and was awarded an expansion NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
franchise in the city of Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. This team, soon to be named the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
, started play in November 1970. Sarkowsky was named president and managing partner of the team. His stake increased two years later when he bought out Schmertz, when the latter purchased the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
. He reduced his stake in the team the next year, and sold the remainder of his stake in the Trail Blazers to Weinberg, who became managing partner in 1975.
Seattle Seahawks
At the same time that Sarkowsky was owner of the Trail Blazers, he was also attempting to bring a football team to his adopted hometown of Seattle. In 1972, he and Ned SkinnerNed Skinner
David E. "Ned" Skinner II was a shipping heir and philanthropist in Seattle, Washington who was one of the first owners of the Space Needle and Seattle Seahawks....
formed an organization called Seattle Professional Football, which was created to bring an NFL franchise to the city. A franchise was awarded to the city in June 1974. After the NFL made known its ownership terms (any ownership group must include one entity with controlling interest
Controlling interest
Controlling interest in a corporation means to have control of a large enough block of voting stock shares in a company such that no one stock holder or coalition of stock holders can successfully oppose a motion...
in the team), Sarkowsky entered into a partnership with the Nordstrom
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...
family in which the Nordstroms would have a 51% stake. The NFL granted the Nordstrom/Sarkwosky consortium ownership of the new Seattle franchise, which would be christened the Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, in December of that year. The Seahawks began play in 1976. Sarkowsky would sell his stake in the team in 1988.
Horse racing
Sarkowsky's greatest sporting love is ThoroughbredThoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. He got started in the sport in 1960, when he purchased a US$2000 claimer. He would later be an investor in Northwest Racing Associates, which would construct Emerald Downs
Emerald Downs
Emerald Downs is a thoroughbred racetrack in Auburn, Washington, located a half mile east of Highway 167. It is named after Seattle, the Emerald City.-History:...
, a racetrack in Auburn, Washington
Auburn, Washington
-Parks:Auburn has an extensive system of parks, open space and urban trails comprising 29 developed parks, 5 undeveloped sites under planning, 2 skate parks, 2 water roatary parks, and over of trails , and almost of open space for passive and active recreation.-Environmental Park:The Auburn...
. Several horses he owned would have success in the Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
, including Phone Chatter, which won the 1993 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a 1 1/16-mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.-Automatic Berths:Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup...
, and Mr. Greeley, which placed in the 1995 Sprint
Breeders' Cup Sprint
The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs , the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World...
. , Sarkowsky owns 37 thoroughbreds, including 11 mares.
Business and investments
In addition to his investments in team sports and horse racing, Sarkowsky is one of the most successful builders and real estate developers in Seattle history. He developed the Key TowerKey Tower
Key Tower is a skyscraper on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio designed by architect César Pelli. It is the tallest building in both the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio, the 18th tallest building in the United States, and the 70th tallest building in the world...
in Seattle, was a partner in the Frederick and Nelson department store chain, and founded the United Homes Corporation in the 1960s, which would become the largest homebuilder in the Seattle area at the time. , Sarkowsky operates a private investment firm. He is a Lifetime Board Member of the National Association of Home Builders. He is presently a director of HLTH Corporation.
Philanthropy
Sarkowksy has contributed to several philanthropic causes. He is a generous donor to the University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, his alma mater, and sits on the board of the UW School of Medicine. He also has served as a director of numerous charitable and cultural institutions, including the Seattle Foundation, the United Way, Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
, and the Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Art Museum
The Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...