Richard Jacobs, former owner of the Indians, passed away:

Jacobs and his brother David bought the Indians from the Steve O’Neill estate in late 1986 for $40 million. David Jacobs died in 1992.

Dick Jacobs focused on restoring the struggling American League franchise’s profitability and making it competitive on the field.

The team’s new ballpark in downtown Cleveland became Jacobs Field when it opened in 1994, and the Indians made it to the World Series in 1995 and 1997. Jacobs owned the club until 2001.

The Jacobs brought the Indians back from two decades of being a laughing stock to one of the most competitive ball clubs of the 1990s. Richard’s only failure was securing a World Series trophy, but they reached the fall classic twice and came about as close as possible to winning in 1997. He built a beautiful ballpark, and with John Hart pioneered the idea of signing young players to long term contracts to control costs. There should be more owners like him.

My thought go out to his family and friends.