CHICAGO -- Arthur Wirtz, long-time owner of the NHL Chicago Black Hawks and principal owner of the NBA Chicago Bulls, died Thursday following a long hospitalization. He was 82.
Word of his death came while his son, William, president of the Black Hawks, attended an NHL Board of Governors meeting to determine the fate of the St. Louis Blues. Funeral arrangements were pending.
Wirtz had been a patient at Henrotin Hospital since New Years Eve, when he collapsed at burial services for his wife, Virginia.
Wirtz was born in Chicago Jan. 23, 1901, the son of a policeman. He built his fortune on real estate, acquiring the American Furniture Mart, the Bismarck Hotel, Chicago Stadium, apartment buildings, movie theaters, banks and farms around Chicago and across the nation. His personal fortune was estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1923, Wirtz became a real estate salesman. He earned $30,000 his first year -- a sizeable amount at the time.
During the Great Depression, Wirtz started amassing his fortune by reorganizing failing building corporations to reduce their debts and save them from receivership.
During that time he met and started a partnership with James Norris, a grain speculator. The two acquired Olympia Stadium in Detroit and the Detroit National Hockey League franchise in 1933. Two years later, they purchased Chicago Stadium, home of the Black Hawks since their founding in 1926.
Witrz and Norris sold their interest in the Red Wings and the Olympia in 1954 to take over full ownership of the Black Hawks.
By the end of World War II, Wirtz and Norris also owned stadiums in Omaha, Neb., Indianapolis, St. Louis and a 40 percent controlling interest in Madison Square Garden. They became involved in boxing and between 1949 and 1955 promoted 47 of the 51 championship fights held in the United States.
Norris died in 1966 and the Norris-Wirtz interests were separated.
Though Wirtz was best known as a sports figure, people close to him said he viewed sporting events primarily as a way to fill his real estate with paying customers.
'I had a piece of real estate that needed tenants, so I made them,' he once said, referring to the purchase of Chicago Stadium.
Wirtz attained national acclaim when he formed the Hollywood Ice Capades and brought Olympic gold medalist Sonja Henie -- as well as other Olympic stars -- to the stadium in 1937.
In 1960, Wirtz suddenly canceled an Ice Capades performance to permit Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy to appear at the stadium for a last-minute rally. More than 30,000 people attended the event, which was credited with giving Kennedy his election victory in Illinois.
Wirtz had the distinction of serving three Chicago mayors in various civic endeavors, including the chairmanship of the Chicago Urban Transit District. Wirtz also served as chairman of the Milwaukee-St. Paul Railway Co.
In 1976, Wirtz and his wife, Virginia, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at the Chicago Stadium, which was transformed into a giant ballroom.
Among his honors, Wirtz was given the Royal Order of St. Olaf by King Olaf of Norway, while he and his son William were elected to hockey's Hall of Fame in 1975.
When Wirtz hired Tommy Ivan, a former NHL great from Montreal, to run the team, the Black Hawks zoomed to the Stanley Cup title in 1961. The Hawks have appeared in the Cup playoffs in 22 of the last 23 years, including the semifinals in each of the last two seasons.
In the early 1970s, Wirtz, who was the Hawks chairman of the board, relinquished some of his duties to William, who was elected to the NHL Board of Governors.
Wirtz also headed a combine of prominent businessmen who took over the team in 1978.
He is survived by his sons, William and Arthur Michael; daughters Cynthia McArthur and Elizabeth Wirtz; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His wife, Virginia, died Dec, 28, 1982.
