F. Wayne Valley (March 28, 1914 – October 2, 1986) was an American businessman, philanthropist and football player. He attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

in the 1930s, where he was a starting

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and fullback on the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for ...

football team, though he would ultimately graduate with a business degree from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

due to OSU cutting his program of study. He would later go on to a successful career in the homebuilding industry, starting his first building business in the late 1940s. His businesses were based in the East Bay city of San Leandro, California where he lived. He and his family later moved to

Piedmont, California Piedmont is a small city located in Alameda County, California, United States, completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 11,270 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the region of Piedmont in Italy, and it me ...

in the late 1960s. Valley was one of the original owners (along with Chet Soda, Donald Blessing and five other investors) of the Oakland Raiders football team, and a founding member of the American Football League. He took control of the franchise in 1960 and served as the managing general partner of the team with Ed McGah until forced out of this role by Al Davis in 1972. Valley subsequently sold his stake in 1976. Along with his wife, Gladys L. Valley, they left the majority of their net worth to the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation, based in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. Valley died in 1986 and his wife continued operating the Foundation until her death in 1998. Their daughter Tamara A. Valley chairs the foundation and on September 15, 2003 the board of directors unanimously decided to wind down the foundation and distribute about $1 billion USD in assets by 2018. The foundation is a key donor to OSU, both academically and athletically; Valley Library, Valley Gymnastics Center, Valley Football Center, and the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building at OSU are all named in their honor. The Valleys' foundation was also a major benefactor of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, donating $64 million from 1989 to 2014. In 1989, the foundation gave Berkeley $15 million to support the renovation of the Valley Life Sciences Building, and in 2000, the foundation pledged another $25 million to advance biomedical and health sciences at the school. The foundation made a $10 million contribution to support the renovation of Berkeley's Bancroft Library in 2005, and it donated over $14 million during 2011 through 2014 to help fund the construction of the

Li Ka Shing Sir Ka-shing Li (; born 13 June 1928) is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. As of June 2019, Li is the 31st richest person in the world, with an estimated net wealth of US$33.4 billion. He is the senior ad ...

Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences. In 2005,

California State University, East Bay California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...

in Hayward, California launched an aggressive construction project with the building of three new facilities: the Wayne and Gladys Valley Business and Technology Center (VBT), the Pioneer Heights student housing expansion and the University Union annex. The Wayne and Gladys Valley Business and Technology Center was dedicated on February 28, 2007, making it the first new academic building on the Hayward Campus in over 30 years. The building houses programs in business, technology management, engineering, multimedia, science and online degree programs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valley, F. Wayne 1914 births 1986 deaths Oregon State Beavers football players Oakland Raiders owners American Football League owners Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area 20th-century American businesspeople

See also

References