Max Winter
Encyclopedia
Max Winter was a Minneapolis businessman and sport executive. Winter was born in Austria-Hungary
and his family emigrated to the United States
in 1913 and settled in Minneapolis
, Minnesota
. Winter graduated from high school in 1922. He attended Hamline University
on a basketball scholarship.
In 1933, Winter opened The 620 Club with his brother Henry and boxing manager/promoter Ernie Fliegel as equal partners. Located at 620 Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, the restaurant specialized in turkey and by the late 1950s was selling more of it than any other eatery in the United States. The club closed in 1965.
In 1947, Winter became part owner with Ben Berger, Sid Hartman
, and Morris Chalfin and assumed the general manager duties of the new Minneapolis Lakers in the National Basketball League
. By the mid 1950s, Winter was interested in attracting a pro football
team to Minneapolis. He attempted to get an expansion team in the National Football League
, when that failed Winter and his partners joined with the newly created American Football League
in the fall of 1959. By 1960, with creation of the AFL, the NFL decided to expand to both Dallas and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Winter and his group pulled out of the AFL and received an NFL expansion team that began in the 1961 season
. The team was named the Minnesota Vikings
in September 1960.
Winter remained on the board of directors until 1989. He served as team president from 1965-87. In 1985, Winter shocked and angered his fellow Vikings owners when he attempted to sell his share of the team to Irwin L. Jacobs
and Carl Pohlad
. The case went to the Minnesota Supreme Court
and finally was settled in Winter's favor. Winter died in 1996. The Minnesota Vikings headquarters and training facility in Eden Prairie, Minnesota is named Winter Park, in honor of Max Winter.
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and his family emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1913 and settled in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Winter graduated from high school in 1922. He attended Hamline University
Hamline University
-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...
on a basketball scholarship.
In 1933, Winter opened The 620 Club with his brother Henry and boxing manager/promoter Ernie Fliegel as equal partners. Located at 620 Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, the restaurant specialized in turkey and by the late 1950s was selling more of it than any other eatery in the United States. The club closed in 1965.
In 1947, Winter became part owner with Ben Berger, Sid Hartman
Sid Hartman
Sid Hartman is an American sports journalist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the WCCO 830 AM radio station.-Background and early career:A high-school dropout, Hartman received no formal writing training...
, and Morris Chalfin and assumed the general manager duties of the new Minneapolis Lakers in the National Basketball League
National Basketball League (United States)
Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association in 1949.- League history :The...
. By the mid 1950s, Winter was interested in attracting a pro football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team to Minneapolis. He attempted to get an expansion team in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, when that failed Winter and his partners joined with the newly created American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
in the fall of 1959. By 1960, with creation of the AFL, the NFL decided to expand to both Dallas and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Winter and his group pulled out of the AFL and received an NFL expansion team that began in the 1961 season
1961 NFL season
The 1961 NFL season was the 42nd regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Vikings, after the team's owners declined to be charter members of the new American Football League. The schedule was also expanded from 12 games per...
. The team was named the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in September 1960.
Winter remained on the board of directors until 1989. He served as team president from 1965-87. In 1985, Winter shocked and angered his fellow Vikings owners when he attempted to sell his share of the team to Irwin L. Jacobs
Irwin L. Jacobs
Irwin L Jacobs is an entrepreneur and the CEO of several large corporations, including Genmar Holdings, Inc. the worlds largest boat building company. He earned the nickname "Irv the Liquidator" for his aggressive business practices in the 1970s and early 1980s...
and Carl Pohlad
Carl Pohlad
Carl R. Pohlad was a successful financier and the owner of the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise from 1984 until his death in 2009.-Early life:...
. The case went to the Minnesota Supreme Court
Minnesota Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by...
and finally was settled in Winter's favor. Winter died in 1996. The Minnesota Vikings headquarters and training facility in Eden Prairie, Minnesota is named Winter Park, in honor of Max Winter.