55 Facts About Hugh Culverhouse

Hugh Culverhouse was a successful tax lawyer, and his real estate investments made him wealthy.

Hugh Culverhouse's work brought him into contact with National Football League team owners, and his failed purchase of the Los Angeles Rams placed him in line to become the owner of the fledgling Buccaneer franchise.

Hugh Culverhouse owned the team from its inception until his death.

Hugh Culverhouse became one of the most influential team owners in the NFL.

Hugh Culverhouse oversaw the league's course of direction through two player strikes, and the modern league's financial stability is in great part due to his leadership.

Hugh Culverhouse held influence for over a decade, before stepping back due to criticism of what other owners saw as his overly-secretive ways.

Hugh Culverhouse was initially lauded for bringing professional football to the Tampa Bay area, but eventually came to be blamed for the team's struggles.

The Buccaneers' NFL-record streak of 14 consecutive losing seasons contributed to this perception, although Hugh Culverhouse did make several notable attempts to improve the team.

Hugh Culverhouse was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992, and died in 1994.

Hugh Culverhouse immediately took a job as an assistant state attorney general, serving there for two years.

Hugh Culverhouse resigned from the IRS in 1962 after a decade of service, and moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he entered private practice, specializing in tax law.

Hugh Culverhouse served as a personal representative of President Gerald Ford, bearing the title of US Ambassador, at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Hugh Culverhouse's investments included several banks, Provincetown-Boston Airlines, the Palmer Ranch real estate development near Sarasota, Florida, and movie productions including A Chorus Line and The Emerald Forest.

Hugh Culverhouse was criticized over a planned extension of Interstate 75 into South Florida, as its route went directly past land owned by numerous powerful investors, including Culverhouse, Governor Bob Graham, State Attorney General Jim Smith, and the Arvida Corporation.

When Irsay then traded teams with Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom, Hugh Culverhouse sued, claiming that the others had conspired to prevent his purchase of the team.

Hugh Culverhouse was offered the Seattle expansion franchise, but declined it due to his residence in Jacksonville.

Hugh Culverhouse quickly became one of the most influential NFL owners; he served as a member of the Player Club Relations Committee that handled player grievances, and of the NFL Congressional Committee.

Hugh Culverhouse was a member of the executive committee that handled negotiations during the 1982 NFL strike, an experience that earned him great praise from NFL negotiator Jack Donlan.

Hugh Culverhouse was credited with having a big hand in the owners' course of direction during the strike, and was responsible for recruiting Donlan as negotiator.

Hugh Culverhouse repeated the role during the 1987 players' strike, after which NFLPA President Gene Upshaw described him as "formidable", and said that "at times, the whole league seemed to flow from this one guy".

Hugh Culverhouse was chairman of the NFL Finance Committee and the Management Council Executive Committee.

Hugh Culverhouse's efforts were instrumental in bringing Super Bowl XVIII to Tampa, despite a lack of adequate hotel space in the city.

Hugh Culverhouse was a pioneer in using computers to handle team finances and scouting reports.

Hugh Culverhouse was a member of the four-man committee that stripped ownership of the New England Patriots from the Sullivan family when their debt became too great.

Patriots founder Billy Sullivan later accused Hugh Culverhouse of blocking his effort to propose a stock sale that would have eased the debt.

Hugh Culverhouse distanced himself from the NFL power core in later years, stung by other owners' criticisms of the Management Council.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue credited Hugh Culverhouse for building much of the strength and unity of the modern NFL.

Hugh Culverhouse was criticized by other team owners as the team prepared for its debut season, who said that his involvement in day-to-day team operations was reminiscent of the owners of the expansion Falcons and Saints, teams which had yet to qualify for the playoffs after a decade of play.

Buccaneer employees were described as living in an "atmosphere of fear", especially after the firings during the 1977 offseason of executives who had been involved with unpopular decisions that Hugh Culverhouse had supported at the time.

In one case, marketing director Bill Marcum was fired due to public backlash over the team's $12 ticket prices for an exhibition in Jacksonville, even though Hugh Culverhouse had set the ticket prices, and Marcum had opposed them.

Hugh Culverhouse was named one of the executors of Los Angeles Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom's estate, and after Rosenbloom's death, Hugh Culverhouse continued a business relationship with his widow, Georgia.

The relationship, in which Hugh Culverhouse served as an advisor to the Rams while maintaining ownership of the Buccaneers, was criticized as a conflict of interest.

Hugh Culverhouse oversaw a reorganization of the Rams' front office; the relationship earned him the nickname of "Godfather" of the Rams.

Hugh Culverhouse was described as late as 1982 as a rare owner who was popular with players, coaches, and fans.

Hugh Culverhouse was then accused of trying to divide the players during the strike, when some of the team's assistant coaches contacted players to ask whether they would be willing to return to the team.

Hugh Culverhouse was considered to have drawn a closer friendship than an owner should to his coach, having guaranteed John McKay employment for life.

Hugh Culverhouse was credited with recognizing the need for a change in leadership, as he went outside of the organization in seeking a replacement when McKay retired.

Hugh Culverhouse refused to budge from his initial offer of $400,000, which he said would make Williams one of the five highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.

Williams' agent disputed this, saying that Hugh Culverhouse's offer was substantially less than what several other quarterbacks made.

Williams' comments that he would have been treated differently had he been white resonated with the Bay Area African American community, who saw the Buccaneers' ensuing on-field woes as retribution, boycotted Buccaneer games by the thousands, and commented that Hugh Culverhouse threw parties that cost more than what Williams was asking for.

Hugh Culverhouse went so far as to dictate that Miami Dolphins games be blacked out, sometimes even when Buccaneer games were sellouts.

The Tampa Chamber of Commerce countered with a billboard thanking Hugh Culverhouse for bringing Super Bowl XXV to Tampa.

Hugh Culverhouse admitted to being known for his frugality, due to moves such as wearing outdated clothing, and having the One Buc Place walls painted white to avoid having to spend money on projection screens.

Hugh Culverhouse fired well-regarded personnel director Ken Herock, when Herock demanded to be paid in line with his value around the league.

Hugh Culverhouse offered Bill Parcells $6.5 million to coach the team, offered draft pick Bo Jackson a five-year, $7 million contract that was at the time the highest in NFL history for a rookie, paid Keith McCants an NFL-record $2.5 million signing bonus, and paid Steve Young $6 million in salary, plus another $1 million for the buyout of his USFL contract.

Hugh Culverhouse was survived by wife Joy, daughter Gay, and son Hugh, Jr.

Several investors stepped forward with offers to buy the Buccaneers after Hugh Culverhouse's death, including Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and Massachusetts developer Socrates Babacas.

Hugh Culverhouse had paid $16 million for the franchise, which was now valued at $142 million.

Hugh Culverhouse filed a malpractice suit against Cone for advising her to give up her marital rights, and a second suit asking for accounting of the estate and removal of the trustees.

Hugh Culverhouse said that Hugh and Cone advised her to sign the agreement for tax reasons, and falsely claimed that Culverhouse was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Hugh Culverhouse charged that the three trustees, Cone, Jack Donlan, and Stephen F Story, paid themselves $4.35 million in bonuses for arranging the Buccaneers' sale, sums far in excess of what Culverhouse himself had specified, and that they paid Story a sum that was comparable to the salary of a Fortune 500 executive for managing the estate and included a 10-year golden parachute clause.

Hugh Culverhouse alleged that the value of Culverhouse's estate had been misrepresented to her at the time that she signed the agreement.

In contrast with his frugal ways in business, Hugh Culverhouse frequently contributed to the community.

Hugh Culverhouse was a member of the board of trustees who administered the annual Florida Prize award for outstanding work in the visual or performing arts.

Hugh Culverhouse had at least one son, who maintains his tradition of philanthropy and is a former assistant US attorney for the US Department of Justice.