![]() He said of Finks, "We had some terrible teams then, and they would have been a lot worse without Jim."įinks was a native of Salem, Ill., and a renowned high school athlete, who later was a catcher in the Cincinnati Reds' farm system between pro football seasons. But Art Rooney, the Pittsburgh owner, differed on Finks's ability as a player. Unitas went on to become a Hall of Fame quarterback with the Baltimore Colts. Combining humility with humor, as was his habit, Finks said in later years he was a memorable quarterback for the Steelers only because, in 1955, "They cut Johnny Unitas and kept me." in 1949 from Tulsa University as the Pittsburgh Steelers' 12th-round draft choice. A Minor League Catcherįinks came to the N.F.L. White Sox owner Art Allyn, however, did not. Chicago Bears owner George Halas supported the plan and P.K. It would have a grass field and an open roof. Differences with the Tribune Company, which owned the team, ended that job. The final report, released in December 1964, called for a 55,000-60,000 seat 34-million multi-purpose stadium which would replace Soldier Field. In 1984, he spent a brief interlude in major league baseball as president of the Chicago Cubs. In 1985, the automobile dealer and bank investor bought the New Orleans Saints to prevent the team from moving to Jacksonville, Fla. Under a new coach, Jim Mora, who Finks had hired, the 20-year-old franchise had its first winning team and trip to the playoffs in 1987.įinks had similarly hired new coaches and built winning teams at Minnesota, where he was the Vikings' general manager from 1965 to 1974, and then at Chicago, where he directed the Bears' operations for nine years. Also, the distant fans attachment to the stadium is mainly stemmed from team. So Finks returned to New Orleans, where he had been president and a minority owner of the Saints since 1986. A New Journey to the West: Chinese Tourists Burgeoning in Europe. A group of younger club owners objected not so much to Finks, but to the idea that the senior owners were dictating their choice of commissioner. commissioner in 1989, but Paul Tagliabue was chosen instead on the sixth ballot after an acrimonious three-day meeting in Cleveland. But the club's owner, Tom Benson, had retained him as a consultant while leaving his positions open.įinks was the choice of the nominating committee to succeed Pete Rozelle as N.F.L. The cause of death was lung cancer, according to Rusty Kasmiersky, a Saints spokesman.įinks, who learned a year ago that he had lung cancer, had been too ill to continue as president and general manager of the Saints. This month it reaches a new era as its co-founder and owner, David Fink, completes the building’s sale to the Acorn Center for the Performing Arts, a nonprofit organization that has been operating. Jim Finks, the New Orleans Saints executive who moved in pro football from player to coach to general manager to club president and almost to commissioner of the National Football League, died Sunday night at his home in Metairie, La., outside New Orleans.
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