Abe Pollin Dies at 85

Abe Pollin, who has owned the Washington Wizards since 1964 when they were the Baltimore Bullets, has died. He was 85 years old.

Pollin had suffered from an undisclosed chronic illness for the past several years, one which confined him to a wheelchair but didn't keep him away from the Wiz. Pollin had previously owned the NHL's Washington Capitals, but sold the team to a group led by Ted Leonsis in 1999.

Pollin was the NBA's longest tenured team owner. Upon selling the Caps, Pollin told reporters his sons had "no interest" in running a sports team, and it's not known whether Pollin's wife Irene will maintain control of the franchise.

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Pollin is the fourth NBA majority owner to die in the past nine months, following Utah's Larry Miller, Detroit's Bill Davidson and Indiana's Mel Simon.

Pollin won one championship, the 1978 NBA title with Wes Unseld as the star. A year after the victory, Pollin took his players and their families on a goodwill tour of China, the first such visit from a professional American sports team. The visit is said to have helped infect the Middle Kingdom with a love of the game, one which began to manifest itself for decades forward. Pollin was unfortunately unable to join his team on a return visit this past summer.