William Shea
William Alfred Shea (/ʃeɪ/ SHAY; June 21, 1907 – October 2, 1991) was an American lawyer and sports team owner. He co-founded the law firm of Shea & Gould in 1964 and established the Continental League, which was instrumental in bringing the MLB's New York Mets to the city, with the team's Shea Stadium being named for him. Shea also served on the board of directors of the NFL's Washington Redskins from 1961 until his death.
For other uses, see William Shea (disambiguation).
William Shea
October 2, 1991 (aged 84)
- Lawyer
- sports team owner
Early life and career[edit]
Born in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, Shea attended George Washington High School.[1][2] He began undergraduate work at New York University where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity, and later graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1930 and the Georgetown Law School, receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1931.[1][2] He was a member of the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team for three years and played one year for the Georgetown Hoyas football team.[2]
Shea worked for two state insurance bureaucracies before entering private practice in 1940. He accumulated political contacts through volunteer work on influential boards such as the Brooklyn Democratic Club and the Brooklyn Public Library. As one account put it: "Shea was neither a litigator nor a legal scholar. Rather, he was the sort of lawyer whom powerful men trusted with their secrets and whom they could rely upon as a go-between. ... [H]e earned a reputation as a man who could get things done."[3]
National Football League[edit]
Shea, a one-time owner of the Boston Yanks of the National Football League (NFL), was on the board of directors of the NFL's Washington Redskins from April 1961 until his death.[2][4] He further persuaded Harry Wismer to sell the New York Titans (now the Jets), and Sonny Werblin to buy them, and was integral to the creation and administration of the initial annual championship games between the AFL and the NFL, now known as the Super Bowl (thanks to Lamar Hunt). His law firm, Shea & Gould, also represented the NFL.
National Hockey League[edit]
Shea was also hired by Nassau County to persuade the National Hockey League (NHL) to grant a team to the then new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, resulting in the New York Islanders, who began play in 1972.
National Basketball Association[edit]
Shea was integral to bringing the New Jersey Americans of the American Basketball Association to Long Island in 1968 and arranging for them to play as the Nets in the Nassau County (they are now based in Brooklyn), as well as the absorption of four American Basketball Association teams into the National Basketball Association in 1976.