CLEVELAND, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Al Lerner, the billionaire credit magnate and philanthropist who brought the Cleveland Browns back to the National Football League, died Wednesday. He was 69.
A statement from the Browns did not give a cause of death, but Lerner underwent a medical procedure on his brain in May 2001.
"The Browns have suffered a great loss," an unattributed quote from the team said. "Al Lerner was a remarkable man, exceptionally devoted to his family, a tremendously compassionate person and a trusted and valued friend.
"He was the embodiment of courage, humanity, leadership and patriotism, and he will be sorely missed. His love for this great city was exemplified by his deep commitment to the people of Cleveland. Our thoughts and prayers are with his his family."
On Sept. 8, 1998, Lerner was awarded the Browns franchise. He submitted a sealed bid of $530 million for the NFL's 31st team, filling the gaping void in a football-crazed city vacated by Art Modell.
Following the 1996 season, Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore, renaming them the Ravens. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue immediately began the search for a buyer for a new team that would assume the Browns' name, history and tradition.
That man was Lerner, the chairman and CEO of MBNA Corporation, the largest independent bank lender through credit cards in the United States. MBNA employs more than 20,000 people worldwide, including 2,000 in the Cleveland area.
With public funding, Lerner also oversaw the constuction of Cleveland Browns Stadium, a facility built on the site of old Municipal Stadium.
Lerner was joined by former San Francisco 49ers executive Carmen Policy in building the Browns from scratch. They began play in 1999, retaining all of the records of the previous franchise.
Although the team won just 12 games through its first three seasons, it was embraced by the football fans of Cleveland. The Browns are 3-4 this season and visit the New York Jets on Sunday.
"I love helping people," Lerner said recently. "It vindicates what I have been working for all these years."
Lerner and his family donated $100 million to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation to support its school of medicine for medical research that will work in conjuction with Case Western Reserve University.
Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Lerner created the Cleveland Browns Hero Fund, which "adopted" one family each from the New York Police and Fire Departments who lost a parent. The families will receive annual payments until the youngest child in each family turns 18.
