Enki
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TORONTO (CP) - Steve Stavro, the grocery store giant whose sports holdings once included his beloved Maple Leafs, has died. He was 78.
Toronto Sun corporate sports editor George Gross, a close friend, said Monday that Stavro died overnight of a heart attack.
Gross had breakfast with Stavro on Saturday and said he looked well, although "he complained about a pain in his shoulder."
Despite his high-profile role in the sports and business world, Stavro stayed out of the spotlight.
"He wasn't a newshound," said Gross.
"He was a very charitable man," Gross added. "There wasn't a charity he didn't help out."
Stavro was a close friend of former Leafs owner Harold Ballard, who made him a director of the NHL team. Stavro acquired control of the Leafs in the early 1990s with the financial support of TD Bank and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. The Raptors NBA basketball team and Air Canada Centre, home of the Leafs and Raptors, were subsequently added to the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment portfolio.
In 1991, he became chairman of the board of MLSE, a governor of the National Hockey League and chairman of the board of the Air Canada Centre. He remained president of Knob Hill Farms Ltd., his grocery chain
With other interests squeezing him out, Stavro sold his share in Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment to Bell Globemedia in December 2003.
"This change in ownerships guarantees that Canada's teams - the Leafs and the Raptors, will remain in Canada, in Canadian hands," Stavro said.
His fondness for his hockey team never wavered.
"He loved the Maple Leafs," said Gross.
His sale left the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan with 58 per cent of MLSE, Bell Globemedia 15 per cent, TD Capital 14 per cent, and construction magnate Larry Tanenbaum had the remaining 13 per cent.
Born Sept, 27, 1927, in Gabresh, Macedonia, Stavro came to Canada at a child and worked in his father's grocery store. He went on to open his own grocery store on Danforth Avenue, eventually expanding it into a chain of food terminals known as Knob Hill Farms.
In addition to hockey, Stavro was a huge supporter of soccer and was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame as a builder in 2005.
Over the years he was involved in the organization and management of the Continental Soccer League, the International Soccer League, the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League, the United Soccer Association and the North American Soccer League.
In 1961, Stavro helped form the Toronto City Soccer Club which played in the newly created Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League. The team signed such British stars as Stanley Matthews, Danny Blanchflower, Jackie Mudie, Johnny Haynes with Tommy Younger player-coach.
Gross, who helped create Toronto City, said that team was "his biggest joy."
Haynes was captain of England, Blanchflower captain of Northern Ireland and Younger captain of Scotland. They were all on the same team.
"That has never been accomplished before or since," Gross said.
Stavro was also a racing enthusiast. His Knob Hill Stable grew into one of the country's most successful racing operations.
In 1992, Knob Hill Stable won nine stakes, topping the owners' list and, from just 94 starters, earned $1,894,248, second only to Sam-Son Farm.
The star of the stable was Benburb, named Canada's Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old that season.
The son of Dr. Carter pulled off major upsets in the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, defeating Queen's Plate winner Alydeed and in the Molson Export Million, handing eventual Breeders' Cup winner A.P. Indy a shocking defeat.
Stavro, as well, was honoured with Sovereign Awards that year as Outstanding Owner and Breeder.
In 1993, his filly Apelia was voted a Sovereign Award as top sprinter. In 1999, Thornfield carried the Knob Hill colours to an upset win in the Canadian International, scoring at 17-1 and going on to Top Male Turfer and Canadian Horse of the Year honours.
In 2002, Knob Hill Stable banked more than $460,000, $740,784 in 2003 and $565,037 in 2004.
