Bill Laurie is an American former basketball player and coach, and current business executive and philanthropist. He is the former owner of the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

and is the co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment.

Early life

Laurie grew up in rural Missouri.Stephanie Simon, "Fuming at What Isn't in a Name: A University of Missouri sports complex is named after philanthropists' child, who goes to USC". ''Los Angeles Times'', April 4, 2004
/ref> While attending high school in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, he played basketball, leading the scoring across the state of Missouri as a senior.McMillin, Zack
Valley Goal: The Tigers' talent, tenacity were essential to winning title
''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, als ...

''. He graduated from

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Tennessee, in 1974. While he was in college, Laurie was part of the

Memphis Tigers men's basketball The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represents the University of Memphis in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The Tigers have competed in the American Athletic Conference since 2013. As of 2020, the Tigers had the 26th highest winni ...

team, and competed in the 1973 NCAA national championship game, lost to the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

. During college, Laurie started dating childhood friend Nancy Walton, and the two married a year after graduating.

Career

He started his career as a teacher and a basketball coach, managing both the

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and ...

and

Rock Bridge High School Rock Bridge High School is a public high school located in southern Columbia, Missouri, United States. The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is one of four High Schools in Columbia Public Schools. It is located next to the Columbia Area Care ...

. Since the late 1970s, he and his wife live at Crown Center Farms in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

, where they breed

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s.Building Blocks from Background, Lauries Step to the Fore for Mu, ''St. Louis Post Dispatch''
/ref> He quit his job in 1983 to serve as the manager of the family real estate portfolio. He was the owner of the

, a member of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

which he acquired for US$153 million, from 1999 to 2011. He was also the owner of the

Savvis Center The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, N ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri. He failed to acquire the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in 1999, the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

in 2000, and the Charlotte Hornets in 2001. He is the co-founder and co-chairman of Paige Sports Entertainment (PSE) with his wife. Alongside the St. Louis Blues and the Savvis Center, PSE operated SkinMarket, a

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

company headquartered in Carpinteria, California. PSE is still an active company. In 2003, he was inducted into the

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1994 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons, the Hall of Fame is housed in a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building. On display are more than 4, ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, for his "lifelong dedication and personal contributions to the betterment of sport and the spirit of sportsmanship... as a player, a coach, an executive and a benefactor."

Philanthropy

With his wife, he donated US$25 million to the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

for the construction of a new sports arena for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

in 2001. They have also endowed the E. Paige Laurie Professorship for the Equine Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri, and donated $10 million to the athletics department of their alma mater, the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

. According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', they have also made charitable gifts for "a cancer research center" and "a shelter for abused women" and "a children's hospital".

Personal life

He married

Nancy Walton Laurie Nancy Walton Laurie (born May 15, 1951) is an American heir to the Walmart fortune. She is also a businesswoman and a philanthropist. Early life Nancy Walton was born on May 15, 1951. She is the younger daughter of Bud Walton, the brother and bus ...

, the daughter of

James "Bud" Walton James Lawrence "Bud" Walton (December 20, 1921 – March 21, 1995) was the brother of Sam Walton and co-founder of Walmart. Biography Early life Walton was born to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy "Nannie" Lee Lawrence Walton on December 20, 19 ...

, the co-founder of

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. He has a brother, Barry, and a nephew, Spencer, who both played basketball for the

. Also, a nephew, Shane, played for Missouri State University. They live at Crown Center Farms, a 350-acre equine farm in

, where they breed

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

horses.Ashley Jost
Barn a complete loss after Crown Center Farms fire: Apartment burns in separate blaze.
'' Columbia Daily Tribune'', March 24, 2014 On March 23, 2014, a barn on the property burnt down. The cause of the fire was ruled unintentional by the Columbia Fire Department.Jessica Quick
Crown Center Farms fire ruled unintentional
''

KQFX-LD KQFX-LD (channel 22), branded on-air as Fox 22, is a low-power television station licensed to Columbia, Missouri, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Columbia–Jefferson City market. It is owned by the News-Press & Gazette Co ...

'', March 26, 2014 The Lauries have additional homes in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...

, near

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, and

Bel Air, Los Angeles Bel Air (or Bel-Air) is a residential neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Founded in 1923, it is the home of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden and the American Jewish Universit ...

.Matt Lopez
Wal-Mart Heiress Seeks Damages From Bel Air's 901 Strada Vecchia
''

The Beverly Hills Courier ''The Beverly Hills Courier'' is a free weekly tabloid-sized print newspaper of circulation in Beverly Hills and the surrounding communities, and a daily web newspaper. History The publication was founded by March Schwartz in 1965. His staff incl ...

'', January 23, 2015, pp. 1;11

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurie, Bill Living people American men's basketball players American real estate businesspeople American racehorse owners and breeders American philanthropists Businesspeople from Missouri Memphis Tigers men's basketball players People from Bel Air, Los Angeles People from Henderson, Nevada Sportspeople from Columbia, Missouri St. Louis Blues owners Walton family People from Versailles, Missouri 1952 births