| Abe Pollin Laid to Rest |
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| Sports Archives | |||
| By Carla Peay – WI Sports Editor | |||
| Saturday, November 28, 2009 | |||
 Abe PollinCourtesy PhotoSeveral hundred people attended a funeral service for Abe Pollin, long time owner of the Washington Wizards, at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Northeast, D.C. on Fri., Nov. 27. Pollin died on Tue., Nov. 24 at the age of 85 after a long battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain disorder that impairs movement and balance. Pollin had recently been confined to a wheelchair due to his condition, but by all accounts, his mind was as sharp as it had been before his illness. Pollin was remembered as a man who cared about family and friends, and as someone who was fiercely loyal to those closest to him. He has wife Irene Pollin has been married since for 65 years at the time of his death. He was eulogized by Rabbi Bruce Lustig, who told the story of Pollin’s life, his career success, and the impact his generosity had on those that knew him. Former Bullets/Wizards general manager Wes Unseld also remembered a man he called his friend and mentor. “My religion tells me that this is a time to be sad. There is grief. None of feels what his family feels right now. But that void will be with us all,” Unseld said. He then lightened the mood by recalling his regular phone call from Pollin during his tenure as a player, as a coach and eventually general manager. “Mr. Pollin would call me after a loss and say ‘Wes, what’s wrong with my team?’ I said ‘I don’t know, I guess it’s the coach,’” Unseld said, during the time that he was the coach. “I want to thank him for allowing me to be a part of his family. I loved him,” Unseld said. At the time of his death, Pollin had been the NBA’s longest tenured owner, having purchased the Baltimore Bullets for $1 million in 1964. He moved the team from Baltimore to Washington D.C. into the Capital Centre in Landover, which he built with his own money. Ten years ago, he built the MCI Center, which was later named the Verizon Center, also with his own money, and is credited with jump starting the revitalization of the area known as Penn Quarter. The area is now sprawling with new office buildings, restaurants, shops, movie theatres and sports bars, and is one of the most vibrant areas in the city. But Pollin declined to purchase any of the surrounding property, telling associates that he wanted others to share in the prosperity that revitalization would bring. Sensitive to the violence in Washington D.C., Pollin also changed the name of his team from Bullets to Wizards in 1995, but the franchise has only seen one NBA title, in 1978. Pollin’s sports holdings included the NHL’s Washington Capitals and WNBA’s Washington Mystics, which he sold to Ted Leonsis and Sheila Johnson respectively several years ago. His charitable activities included college scholarship programs; UNICEF, which raised money for children in Africa, Sudan and Iraq, and “Abe’s Table”, which feeds thousands of homeless people in the District every year. Ofield Dukes, whose firm Ofield Dukes & Associates served as the public relations representatives for the Bullets for 10 years, including the 1978 championship season. Dukes recalled a conversation with Pollin asking what kind of celebration he should plan if the team won. “Ofield, I am superstitious. I don’t want to discuss it. Whatever you decide is fine with me,” Dukes recalled Pollin telling him. “For him to allow me to have full responsibility for planning one of the most important events in his sports ownership history was characteristic of him, a genuinely kind, humble, soft spoken gentleman with an uncanny sense of loyalty. I will treasure the collection of thank you letters from Mr. Pollin, who did so much for so many.” When Pollin sold the Capitals to Leonsis, the two struck a partnership agreement that gives Leonsis right of first refusal to buy both the Wizards and the Verizon Center, and it is believed that if Leonsis has the necessary funds, a smooth ownership transition should take place. Leonsis called Pollin “man of courage and compassion, with high levels of personal empathy and integrity.” “He showed passion and commitment to our city when no one else would. He was a man of spirit who knew his higher calling and the value of public service. His selflessness and caring are evident around Washington today,” added Leonsis, who described Pollin as a friend and mentor. “I will never forget the sage advice Abe gave me in regard to leading a team as a public trust, nor his memorable counsel. ‘Ted, don't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows, as this too shall pass.’”
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